Stamdata – new service launch

Independent third-party verification of corporate commercial paper programs

The problem explained

For funds in Sweden to be able to invest in money market instruments (Sv. “företagscertifikat”), such instruments must either be listed on a stock exchange, which is unusual, or, alternatively the instruments’ related issue and issuer documentation must be verified by an independent third-party verifier.

The Swedish Investment Fund Association (SIFA) and a group of member fund companies found it difficult to have issuers obtain such verifications. Therefore, they engaged with Nordic Trustee/ Stamdata in 2021 to discuss alternatives for a verification service, aimed at helping to solve the existing issues the fund companies faced.

Together with four (4) SIFA member fund companies, among these some of Sweden’s leading asset management firms, Stamdata created a working group and task force to target the existing problem and come up with a suitable new service offering, which any fund company facing the same issues should be able to implement.

The role of the independent third-party verifier

Requires Nordic Trustee/ Stamdata to obtain and verify:

    1. Information on both the issue or issue program
    2. The legal and financial position of the issuer prior to the issue of the money market instrument

The new service implies Stamdata is required to source, verify, map and publish the relevant program(s) information, and to it related instruments information, on Stamdata.com.

“We highly appreciate the opportunity to engage with market participants on this rather complex problem. Going forward, we will help them mitigate existing compliance and investment risks, and by doing so, contributing to a better functioning Swedish short-term money market. The service does not solely help fund managers solve an issue, also it is the intention, it will help facilitate for issuers to attract funding from new and more investors. The service MVP went live on June 1st, 2023, but we foresee it to develop further over the coming years.”

Says Stamdata’s project manager, Patric Björk Andersson.

Stamdata’s value proposition in short:

  • Stamdata offers a third-party verification service to UCITS fund managers.
  • It helps asset managers that need to comply with regulatory requirements following investments in money market instruments;
  • By reducing the problem of investment limitation thresholds in unlisted money market instruments,
  • By increasing access to required reference data and securing verified investment information by an independent, recognized third-party,
  • On all corporate issuers, unlike today’s situation where no such service exists and poses a compliance risk.

For any questions related to the new service, please contact mail@stamdata.com.