Company History

Growth: 1997 to 2002

The rest of 1997 saw Envision sign more clients.

With the addition of these new clients Envision expanded PowerAgent's capabilities and a pattern was emerging which would influence Envision’s future growth path. Rather than build new features first, then look for clients, Envision took the approach of building new features tailored to its clients and their real-world challenges for maximum operational impact:

  • NSCC functionality was developed.
  • CDSC functionality was added to support the service provider arena as companies recognized the ability to easily leverage PowerAgent to support several underlying fund complexes on the same platform.
  • Asset allocation and money movement processes were added.
  • Multi-currency and other functionality unique to off-shore fund administration was incorporated into PowerAgent.
  • Multi-cycle pricing, group trading and real-time cash functionality were added while scalability of the system was significantly enhanced.
  • The ability to manage fixed term purchases was incorporated into PowerAgent.
  • The origins of PAFlow, Envision’s workflow and imaging system, began with client requirements and expanded rapidly with the addition of Oppenheimer Funds.

Envision’s clients did not have cookie cutter requirements. Each appreciated the intuitive nature and flexibility of PowerAgent but each had specialized needs. Envision was building a strong reputation of being able to weave unique requirements and reliably enhance PowerAgent because of the inherent flexibility of the underlying technology.

Through a steady stream of new clients, Envision had built a reputation of being experts in the conversion process. This is an important point of distinction as the fear of conversions often presents the biggest barriers to switching transfer agency systems for fund companies.

With the new millennium, Envision recognized a need to expand and identified industry veteran Tom Wiedecker as the first formal addition to the executive team. Mr. Wiedecker had first engaged Envision through his role leading the IT support of the retail business segment for T. Rowe Price. In this role during 1998, Mr. Wiedecker undertook a due diligence analysis of transfer agency system alternatives. While at that time Envision was still in its infancy, Mr. Wiedecker recognized their potential. His research brought to light the “refreshing” position of PowerAgent in a marketplace which seemed to have become stale in terms of viable alternatives. A relationship was cultivated from that point and two years later, Mr. Wiedecker eagerly joined Envision as a corporate officer.

In 2001, Envision began expansion efforts in response to the mounting demand for PowerAgent and the growing number of employees needed to support its increasing customer base. The corporate headquarters moved to a larger location in Tustin California and the company launched and staffed a new Operational Support Center on the east coast in Owings Mills, Maryland. The opening of its Owings Mills office supported the business need for expanded service hours and customer access to additional resources with mutual fund industry experience.