Long term commitment to the wrap market assured

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Aviva and Citi have signed a 10 year deal for the administration of Avivas retail wrap platform. The agreement signals Avivas continued focus on providing advisers with a platform to meet the long-term investment needs of their clients, particularly those in the mid-market. This extends for a further 10 years Citis existing service administration contract for Avivas platform.

The agreement reflects both parties commitment to a long term partnership in providing leading savings and investment services in the UK. Aviva also confirmed this week that it had passed the £1 billion assets under management (AUM) milestone on its platform, experiencing growth of 53% in AUM since the beginning of 2012.

Citi will continue to provide administration support to Avivas wrap platform through its OpenWealth service. Citis OpenWealth wrap administration solution provides investment services to wealth managers through a highly automated, virtual environment, which is continuously accessible. Core services include account record keeping, investment trading transaction management and reporting in tax efficient structures.

Avivas Intermediary Director, Andy Beswick, said: This ten year contract with Citi gives a clear indication that we are in the platform market to stay. Citis expertise in this market allows us to offer a flexible proposition at a competitive price, while retaining the same robust platform service from them.

Avivas platform offering is designed to help advisers manage their clients portfolios efficiently, compliantly and profitably. Tools like model portfolios, individual and bulk switching and rebalancing - all help advisers control the cost of serving their clients.

Our investment range is designed to meet the needs of a broad range of clients. A choice of over 2000 funds, including a range of insured funds, will appeal to cost conscious clients with straightforward financial planning needs. For those with the appetite for a more diversified portfolio, we support structured products, exchange traded funds (ETFs) and equities, as well as commercial property investment via our SIPP. Were continuously looking to improve our platform and our agreement with Citi means we have a long-term partner with whom we can grow this part of our business.

Citis EMEA Head of Securities and Fund Services Sanjiv Sawhney said: We are delighted to extend our business with Aviva and this appointment is testament to the high quality of the wealth management services that we have been delivering. This mandate is a significant step towards our objective to establish OpenWealth as a leading player in the wrap administration market.

- Ends -

Notes to editors: About Aviva

Aviva provides insurance, savings and investment products to 43 million customers worldwide.

We are the UKs largest insurer with over 14 million customers and one of Europes leading providers of life and general insurance. We combine strong life insurance, general insurance and asset management businesses under one powerful brand. We are committed to serving our customers well in order to build a stronger, sustainable business, which makes a positive contribution to society, and for which our people are proud to work.

We are ranked as one of the UKs top ten most valuable brands and Aviva Plc are in the top 10% of socially responsible companies globally in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. In 2011 we invested £5.3m into our UK communities. One in three of our employees were involved in community investment activities which included giving nearly 33,000 hours.

Aviva is working in partnership with Railway Children through the Aviva Street to School programme to get children living or working on UK streets back into everyday life. Find out more at www.aviva.co.uk/street-to-school

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About Citi

Citi, the leading global financial services company, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.

Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com | Twitter: @CitiGTS | YouTube: www.youtube.com/citi | Blog: http://new.citi.com | Facebook: www.facebook.com/citi | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/citi

About Citi Transaction Services

Citi Transaction Services, a division of Citis Institutional Clients Group, offers integrated cash management, trade, and securities and fund services to multinational corporations, financial institutions and public sector organizations around the world. With a network that spans more than 95 countries, Transaction Services supports over 65,000 clients. As of the second quarter of 2012, it held on average $396 billion in liability balances and over $12 trillion in assets under custody.

About Citi OpenInvestor

Citi OpenInvestor^sm is the investment services solution for todays diversified investor that combines specialized expertise, comprehensive capabilities and the power of Citis global network to help clients meet performance objectives across asset classes, strategies and geographies. Citi OpenInvestor provides institutional, alternative and wealth managers with middle office, fund services, custody, investing and financing solutions that are focused on their specific challenges and customized to their individual needs. For more information, visit openinvestor.transactionservices.citi.com

Aviva Press Office
Diane Mangan
01904 684164
07800 691714
diane.mangan@aviva.co.uk
or
Fiona Robertson
01904 452659
07800 692299
fiona.robertson@aviva.co.uk
Citi Press Office
Capucine Boncenne
0207 508 9355
0771 3388862
capucine.boncenne@citi.com

Source: Citi

Copyright Business Wire 2012