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DTCC and SWIFT to Collaborate On Global Message Standards for the Alternative Investments Market

NEW YORK, July 9, 2008 – The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) and SWIFT today announced an initiative to expand options for communicating with DTCC’s new Alternative Investment Products (AIP) suite of services. This collaboration on global message standards will provide market participants the enhanced ability to connect to the AIP service suite using ISO 20022-compliant XML messages and the SWIFT network, in addition to the proprietary message formats and direct link to DTCC that is currently available today.

AIP, a service that links broker/dealers, fund managers, administrators and custodians, provides settlement of subscriptions and redemptions for various alternative investment vehicles, automating the exchange of all trade-related account information. Offered by DTCC’s National Securities Clearing Corporation subsidiary, AIP received regulatory approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in May.

“Building formats and messages in collaboration with SWIFT eases customer implementation of AIP, and addresses the market demand for building messaging interfaces only once,” said Ann Bergin, managing director, DTCC Wealth Management Services. “Feedback from our joint DTCC-SWIFT working group was very clear on this point: greater interoperability between global participant organizations and industry utilities benefits everyone who’s active in the alternative investment space.”

The announcement that the organizations are working together on standards for alternative investments has been welcomed by the hedge fund industry. Speaking at a meeting jointly hosted by DTCC and SWIFT in Dublin in May, Gary Palmer, CEO of the Irish Funds Industry Association, said, “I am delighted that organizations such as DTCC and SWIFT have come together to work towards the common good, to improve processing efficiency globally for hedge funds.”

Standard Formats, Standard Messages

AIP offers an automated solution to replace historically manual, faxed-based processes. Currently, customers of the AIP service communicate through XML, mainframe file transfers or spreadsheet uploads. Most of the world’s largest fund administrators operate in the U.S. and overseas, and the jointly developed message standards – targeted for testing in the fourth quarter of 2008, with full production in early 2009 – will enable market participants to use one solution globally.

Alternative investment products include funds of hedge funds, single hedge funds, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), private equity funds, and energy, equipment, and commodity pool funds. These are typically pooled investment products that are offered through private placements to high-net-worth individuals and institutional investors, such as pension funds. Driven by investors’ desire for portfolio diversification, the market for alternative investments has grown significantly since 2000. Hedge fund assets alone have grown to $2.7 trillion and are projected to reach $4 trillion by 2010. REIT assets, at $438 billion, have almost tripled in just five years.

This collaboration between DTCC and SWIFT to develop messages for processing alternative investments is just one of a number of initiatives on which the two entities are jointly working, to meet the industry’s requirement for greater harmonization of trade processing globally.

About DTCC

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), through its subsidiaries, provides clearance, settlement and information services for equities, corporate and municipal bonds, government and mortgage-backed securities, money market instruments and over-the-counter derivatives. In addition, DTCC is a leading processor of mutual funds and insurance transactions, linking funds and carriers with financial firms and third parties who market these products. DTCC's depository provides custody and asset servicing for 3.5 million securities issues from the United States and 110 other countries and territories, valued at $40 trillion. Last year, DTCC settled more than $1.86 quadrillion in securities transactions. DTCC has operating facilities in multiple locations in the United States and overseas. For more information on DTCC, visit www.dtcc.com.

About SWIFT

SWIFT is a member-owned cooperative that provides the communications platform, products and services to connect over 8,300 banking organisations, securities institutions and corporate customers in more than 208 countries. SWIFT enables its users to exchange automated, standardised financial information securely and reliably, thereby lowering costs, reducing operational risk and eliminating operational inefficiencies. SWIFT also brings the financial community together to work collaboratively to shape market practice, define standards and debate issues of mutual interest.