Short takes: One-Day Settlement Would Require Help

Many mutual fund firms and brokerages say they would need help to meet an expected Securities and Exchange Commission requirement that securities transactions be settled in one day.

That is the finding of a survey of more than 100 companies by KPMG LLP. Fifty percent said they would need technology and systems help, KPMG said, and 40% said they would need a hand with back-office functions.

The one-day requirement, known as T+1, is expected to take hold by 2002. The industry standard for closing trades is T+3-three days after the transaction is initiated. A few years ago the standard was T+5.

Forty-seven percent of respondents said they were prepared to settle domestic trades in a day, and only 28% said they were prepared to do so for international trades.

"The good news is that people are aware that this is out there," said C. Steven Crosby, a partner with KPMG's Investment Industry Group. One of the challenges, he said, is for firms to realign their trading processes and products.

A spokesman for the Securities Industry Association said the new standard would increase market efficiency while reducing risks and speculators' activity.

KPMG, of New York, interviewed mutual fund companies and brokerages at the Investment Company Institute's general membership meeting in Washington last month.

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