Singapore Life, Singapore, appointed an alliance formed between BlackRock Aladdin and Citi to provide asset management capabilities across its front, middle and back offices.
The agreement will provide Singlife with access to Citi's infrastructure and Aladdin's technology platform, allowing a streamlined front-to-back-office experience, automated controls and risk exposure mechanisms to optimize portfolio returns, according to a statement on Thursday.
The deal marks the first major contract awarded by Singlife after its S$3.2 billion ($2.4 billion) merger with Aviva Singapore in September 2020.
The agreement also ensures that internal and external portfolio management services are fully attributed and reconciled across all investment and accounting records, the statement said.
Singlife will also leverage the alliance's capabilities to incorporate regulatory requirements and sustainability metrics. The platform provided by BlackRock Aladdin will help the insurer to better calculate and monitor risk exposures and optimize portfolio returns, it said.
"We wanted to select one provider that offered front-to-back-office solutions," group CIO Kim Rosenkilde said in an interview. "That provider doesn't exist so it had to be a partnership between a senior custodian bank and a front-office provider."
"We went through a six-month process, that started with 28 bids, which we shortlisted to eight, then three, and then we landed on our choice," he said.
The firm worked with Alpha FMC, a specialist asset management consultancy, to select the vendors through a "rigorous selection methodology," the statement said.
"We ran this with military position — very strict criteria. I think most of the providers were incredibly surprised and subsequently quite appreciative about our approach," Mr. Rosenkilde said, referring to the approach where they combined the call for front-, back- and middle-office services into one RFP.
Asked about whether being a newly created entity gave them the opportunity to streamline front-to-back-office providers from the start, he said: "Without a doubt, the fact is we rarely get the chance to build from scratch — you should leverage it to the benefit of all stakeholders and regulators."
The insurer has S$11 billion in assets.
Aviva, IPGL, Sumitomo Life and TPG are listed as Singlife's shareholders.
