These services comprise the collection of fund information from fund companies and the dissemination of this information to data vendors and end users. In 2009, it grew significantly its database and customer range.
Growth in the Finesti database

During 2009, Finesti added 1,129 funds, sub-funds and share classes to its database, bringing the total at the end of the year to 32,648 share classes. This growth was partly due to the general increase in the number of funds launched in Luxembourg and partly resulting from its efforts to recruit funds to its database domiciled in other European countries.
Increased use of e-file.lu, the secure platform for communication with the authorities
At the end of the year, 230 companies were using e-file.lu, the secure platform for communication with authorities that Finesti shares with its parent company. Of these, more than 40 were new customers specifically of Finesti services. This is in addition to the existing 81 fund administrators who were already using the various collection, management and dissemination tools of Finesti, providing a variety of data, such as NAVs, fund reference data and regulatory reporting.
In 2009, there was also an increase in the types of data and documents that could be transmitted via e-file to the authorities, primarily the Luxembourg Central Bank and the Luxembourg regulator (the CSSF). Notably, from the beginning of 2009, prospectuses and financial reports of investment funds could be sent via this platform. Almost all of these documents are published on the Finesti website and, by the end of 2009, around 41,500 prospectuses and annual and semi-annual reports were available.
Because of this growth in both client numbers and the types of information, the volume of transmissions between companies and the authorities also increased. The number of e-file envelopes (electronic packages which may contain various type of documents) that transited via the e-file platform grew to 1,172,852, which represents an increase of 28% compared to 2008.

A new name and a European focus

A significant event in 2009 for Finesti was its change of name on January 2009. Formerly known as CCLux, the decision to change the company’s name was taken as part of a re-positioning that focused on European expansion and, in particular, its stated aim to improve transparency and access to information of European investment funds.
As a result of the name change, various associated actions were carried out throughout the year, including the launch of a new web site with the Finesti corporate identity. Additional information was added to the site such as a catalogue of services, which offers a detailed description of all the services and products delivered by Finesti to a diverse customer community. A monthly newsletter covering news for customers, fund industry news, as well as statistics, was also introduced to the website.
In addition, the company put in place a client-driven organisational structure, including a new department named Investment Fund Industry (IFI). As well as providing global client relationship services, IFI also focuses on increasing, via organic growth, the types and quantity of data collected and disseminated, as well as improving the quality of such data.
As part of the new client focus, RSS feeds and Twitter http://twitter.com/Finesti) news were introduced.

European Fund Classification

Work also continued on the expansion of its two major European-level undertakings both sponsored by EFAMA, the European Fund and Asset Management Association
The first of these is the European Fund Classification (EFC), for which Finesti, together with FundConnect, is a joint classification administrator. The EFC aims to enhance market transparency by providing a true pan-European classification of investment funds. A Europe-wide classification will enable investors and asset managers to compare funds in a logical and meaningful way. In a broader context, it will create more opportunities for cross-border distribution of investment funds in Europe.
In April 2009, Finesti and FundConnect launched the EFC Operational Partnership. The EFC partnership consists in providing joint operations for all EFC services. The two companies provide complementary services:
- Finesti is in charge of collecting portfolio holding information from European fund groups
- FundConnect is in charge of classifying these portfolios.
Additionally, both Finesti and FundConnect will act together to publish classification results and to propose extended EFC services to the fund industry. Industrialisation of this process is expected to increase in 2010.

Fund Processing Passports

Finesti is also active in providing services for the Fund Processing Passport (FPP). The purpose of the FPP is to normalize the information required for fund processing, that is for subscription and redemption orders and the processing of such orders. In this sense, it aims to improve processing efficiency of European domestic and cross-border funds and ultimately to facilitate European fund distribution and trading.
During 2009, Finesti continued work on its objective to support the European fund industry with a larger coverage of FPPs.

Projects for 2010

Finesti plans to continue to expand its client base and fund database throughout 2010. Additionally it will be involved it two important projects: the implementation of UCITS IV in Luxembourg and the Luxembourg fund infrastructure.
As the major player in fund data in the Luxembourg financial centre and working together with the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, Finesti intends to position itself as a cornerstone of the project for a Luxembourg fund infrastructure.
The ambition of this fund infrastructure is to leverage from the expertise gained by the local industry over the years and create an innovative platform to confirm and position Luxembourg as a global centre of excellence for the fund industry.

Press release
Bourse de Luxembourg / Finesti
Luxembourg, 20 January 2010
http://www.bourse.lu
http://ww.finesti.com