-Appoints Shoichi Tokunaga as General Manager, Sophis Japan
-Opens new office in Brisbane, Australia
-Acquisition by Misys will increase scale and delivery of Sophis solutions significantly in Asia Pacific
Sophis, a leading provider of cross-asset, front-to-back portfolio and risk management solutions, today announced a number of key developments across its Asia Pacific operations which reflect the strong rise in business the company has seen in the region over the past year.
NEW HEAD OF JAPAN
Sophis has appointed Shoichi Tokunaga to head its Japanese office in a concerted effort to service the as-yet largely untapped buy-side market as well as continue to serve clients in the sell-side community. Mr. Tokunaga has nearly 30 years’ experience in the technology and financial services sectors in Japan and London, including 12 years in Reuters in London and Tokyo. More recently he was Head of Business Development (Buy and Sell-side) at Fidessa K.K. and before that President of Thomson Corporation’s Brandy International, both in Tokyo.
Sophis has been in Japan since 1998 when it opened its first office in Asia Pacific to support subsidiaries of its European clients. Since then, through its RISQUE product, Sophis has been an established player in the sell-side community which has long seen the need for sophisticated and comprehensive risk management software. More recently, Sophis has been pioneering the introduction of integrated portfolio and risk management platforms amongst buy-side firms, through its highly successful VALUE product.
Corinne Grillet chief operating officer of Sophis Asia, said, “The appointment of Shoichi Tokunaga is a significant step in pushing our business in Japan to the next level, developing business locally and in particular developing the buy-side market, where we already have made some headway, gaining new clients. Shoichi brings with him experience in this industry which is hard to rival and we are delighted to welcome him to our regional management team. He is already starting to make an impact in the market.”
FIRST OFFICE IN AUSTRALIA
On the back of its successful cooperation with QIC, one of Australia’s largest institutional fund managers with more than 70 institutional clients and $55.4 billion* in funds under management, Sophis has also recently opened an office in Brisbane where the company plans to grow its team as business develops.
Jean Sebastien Py, General Manager of Sophis, South East Asia, who has been driving the expansion into Australia, said; “The successful QIC implementation was a key base from which to launch our growth strategy in Australia, and the opening of our Brisbane office is another key step to further develop this market.” He adds, "As the trend for superannuation funds to manage their fund mandates directly gains momentum, we see tremendous opportunity for our solutions in this market. Sophis clearly provides an excellent out-of-the-box solution for asset managers.”
EXPANSION ACROSS THE REST OF ASIA
Sophis has also been expanding its teams in every one of its offices across the region over the year as the company has reaped the benefits of its policy of reinvesting a high proportion of revenues back into R&D at a time when financial institutions are looking for world-class financial and technological capabilities, along with the user-friendliness and ease of implementation required for their future development.
The Beijing office has expanded since it opened earlier this year to support such high profile clients as China Re Asset Management, and in Seoul the office has also grown on the back of its partnership with KOSCOM and successful deals such as the contract with Hyundai Securities.
GLOBAL ACQUISITION BY MISYS SEES SOPHIS’ GEOGRAPHIC REACH IN ASIA EXPAND SIGNIFICANTLY
In November, Misys, a provider of innovative, integrated solutions for the financial services industry announced that it had reached agreement to acquire Sophis, creating the number one application software and services provider in capital markets globally. Misys has been in Asia Pacific for 30 years and has more than 250 customers across the region. With over 60% of its staff in Asia Pacific across 12 offices, the scope for Sophis to extend the reach of its products and services will increase significantly.
Grillet commented, “2010 has proved somewhat of a milestone year for Sophis in Asia Pacific in terms of growth in business, teams and offices. We invest 40% of global revenues back into R&D, more than any other software firm, and have been constantly developing our RISQUE product for the sell-side and VALUE for the buy-side. Our commitment has helped us not only to appeal to companies across the region, large and small, but also to attract the top talent to work with us. This has culminated in the pending acquisition by Misys, expected to close in February 2011 – reaffirming the strength of our products and people. Our offerings are absolutely complementary. With Sophis’ leadership in the buy-side and Misys’ focus on the sell-side plus its extensive geographic reach, the combination of our two organizations will be a game changer, in particular in Asia.”
*As at 30th September 2010
