Netwealth implements tax distribution service

The service – provided by global funds transaction network Calastone – "seamlessly" connects fund managers and clients, standardising the flow of information, according to a statement by Calastone.

Calastone director of Australia Sarah Hayward said, "the income and annual tax statement process has always been an extremely manual and time-consuming undertaking for Australian managed funds. The risk of inefficiency and error has long been a thorn in the industry's side."

"Year-end is traditionally a stressful time for the industry. At a time when cost pressures are very high, automating and streamlining this process offers huge benefits in redirecting these resources into higher-value work."

Netwealth manager for custody, Paul Hagger, said the firm has already experienced benefits from using the new service.

"We received automated tax statements in the first week of July – a big improvement on waiting for receipt by post or email," he said.

"We've been able to load those statements directly to our administration system, thereby largely eliminating the risks associated with manual input. The potential savings in time and cost are significant."

Calastone launched its distributions offering following its automation of orders and confirmations, and statements of holdings and transactions, over its four-year tenure in Australia, the statement said.