Collins Stewart Limited is one of the fastest growing stock broking firms in the UK. Established in 1991 by four ex-partners of Simon & Coates, it now numbers 370 staff. Key to the firm's success is its working practices . The combination of an "old partnership" atmosphere, unencumbered by bureaucratic inefficiencies and supported by a highly technical infrastructure.

The business is spread between institutional equities, corporate finance and market making. The firm deals for over 250 of the UK's principal institutional investors and a wide range of overseas investors.
Collins Stewart bought NatWest's private client division in July 2001 which considerably added to a previously strong portfolio.. Collins Stewart now manages 5000 clients worth approximately £1bn.

This new addition to the firm's business is supported by the sound technical infrastructure including that provided by Vaild Information Systems. VALID's software R/KYV (pronounced Archive) is an electronic document and records management system that enables Collins Stewart to store and manage all aspects of its private clients' business from Excel spreadsheets to emails.

Familiarity with the R/KYV system meant that when Collins Stewart acquired the NatWest portfolio, the technical team did not even consider using NatWest's technology X4, preferring to rely on R/KYV and in just one week exported all the NatWest data, some 25,000 documents over to R/KYV

Collins Stewart has recently added value to the system by incorporating a direct transfer of data from the real-time specialist financial package, Pulse, directly into the electronic information management system, R/KYV. This integration provides all personnel with immediate access to comprehensive client information that is also correctly stored.

The data imported is translated from raw printer control language (PCL) directly into a perfectly clear image eliminating the room for human error. Further, R/KYV also automatically picks up the indexing details and puts the information directly into the appropriate electronic file.

In just a few months over 50,000 pieces of paper have been transferred electronically. The savings on labour and material are considerable. Previously, an individual was dedicated to scanning and indexing the statements produced by Pulse. Today, the information is transferred directly obviating the need for someone to scan and code as well as speeding up the output. Currently, 2-3,000 documents comprising between five and 10 pages are transferred monthly, directly from Pulse to R/KYV, with no manual intervention.

R/KYV manages all Collins Stewart's private client paper and electronic documentation. The process starts with the 2-300 pieces of correspondence, filed daily. Using the account number to index correspondence, all documentation is automatically placed into the appropriate client file.

The system encompasses all areas of data processing through its integration with MicrosoftÔ Office's suite of products. This permits each account manager to view all documentation relating to a client, including spreadsheets that are used internally by analysts, though the figures will not necessarily be sent out to the client.

The system can be used to allow any account manager to view all private client documents on screen, from all sources, in one go.

About Collins Stewart

In addition to its office in London, subsidiaries Collins Stewart (CI) Limited and Collins Stewart Asset Management Limited operate from offices in Guernsey, Jersey, and the Isle of Man. The firm also has a New York subsidiary, Collins Stewart Inc who provide an innovative, high quality Pan-European research and execution service to our US Institutional client base.

Collins Stewart is an independent stock broking group following a management buyout completed on 26th May, 2000 and subsequently floating on the London Stock Exchange in October 2000.