Case Study
Learn about the efficiencies The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada gained pursuing automation for Derivative Instruments.
Key Challenges Castle Peak Associates identified in Equitable Life’s Derivative Workflow
Equitable Life’s growth in assets under administration and expansion of its derivatives footprint created operational and functional challenges. This was particularly evident in achieving operational efficiency within Equitable’s accounting system, State Street’s PAM for Investments.
Castle Peak provided a resource with extensive experience managing investment accounting and operations for insurance companies, subject matter expertise with complex derivatives, and deep knowledge of the PAM solution.
Castle Peak’s analysis encompassed the front to back office workflow of derivative products at Equitable Life. Castle Peak corroborated the pain points brought forward and identified additional opportunities to streamline processing of complex swaps and other derivative instruments.
With Castle Peak Associates’ subject matter expertise and collaborative approach, Equitable Life achieved a much improved flow of derivatives accounting activity through the organization. It is comforting to know that we have a reliable and trustworthy partner to help us tackle these kind of challenges as they arise.”
– Hendrik Low
Director, Investment Finance and Operations,
Equitable Life of Canada
Key benefits for Equitable Life partnering with
Castle Peak Associates
Castle Peak applied an industry best practice approach and knowledge of derivative instruments, investment operations, and PAM for Investments to holistically evaluate and mitigate operational risk for Equitable Life.
Proper instrument configuration led to the reduction of multiple spreadsheets and a decrease in manual work. Swap accruals no longer required offline spreadsheet processing and manual accounting entries.
As a result, accounting flowed accurately through PAM. Castle Peak actively engaged Equitable Life throughout the initiative to ensure proper transparency and realization of the changes being proposed.
In addition to supporting improved configurations in PAM, Castle Peak developed and implemented operational improvements covering Settlements, Reconciliation, Cash Movement, Valuation, Trade/Settlement date processing, Batch Processing and Reporting.
Hendrik Low, Director, Investment Finance and Operations, Equitable Life of Canada commented “With Castle Peak Associates’ subject matter expertise and collaborative approach, Equitable Life achieved a much improved flow of derivatives accounting activity through the organization. It is comforting to know that we have a reliable and trustworthy partner to help us tackle these kind of challenges as they arise.”
Our success with Equitable Life demonstrates Castle Peak’s ability to institute industry best practice and drive efficiency. Our resources have the depth and breadth of experience and knowledge to adapt to the unique needs of each client, without needing to mobilize a team of consultants. It was a pleasure engaging with the Equitable Life team, and we look forward to working with them in the future.”
– Ken Rahl
Principal,
Castle Peak Associates, LP
