Datascope, a Turkish software design company, is planning a mutual funds club trading platform for banks, to be released in 2001. The product is “a supermarket for banks,” as one of Datascope’s owners, Nuzhet Atabek, described it to IBS. The platform will allow Turkish banks to buy and sell each others’ mutual funds. “We expect 50-60 funds to be available initially, with 5-6 member banks. We are talking to fund managers about it now.” Another Datascope product, Invescope, has been on the market since 1997, and is now in its fourth version. It is a client server-based equities data aggregation platform, distributed via IT and financial magazines. The software includes an account registration facility with Ata Securities, though Datascope are expecting similar deals with other securities firms shortly. Datascope’s business model is based on free distribution of Invescope CDs, the production costs of which are also sometimes shouldered by distributors. Revenues come from an introductory fee paid by the broker for each account signed up, and thereafter account performance-based revenue. Downloading the software requires registration. Datascope where permitted passes these names on to brokers for their sales departments to approach. A similar revenue scheme for Datascope applies to new accounts opened by this method. Datascope estimates that the latest version of Invescope is downloaded on 40,000 PCs. It did offer IBS any usage figures.

18 Mayıs.2001 IBS Research