Franklin Templeton Investments Corp. has acquired Swissrisk’s 51% stake in Riva Financial Systems.

Riva is headquartered in the Isle of Man and has offices in Luxembourg. It operates a transfer agency business and also created the Riva Transfer Agent (Riva TA) software. Riva TA is a dealing and registration system for administering and controlling cross-border, multi-currency transfer agency operations. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Franklin Templeton says that the acquisition supports its long-term goal of having flexible, portable and scalable solutions across the many regions where its funds are sold and supported, while reducing its overall development costs. It also says that this partnership will ensure rapid time-to-market transfer agency solutions in new and existing markets for Franklin Templeton.

“We have long been searching for a transfer agency software solution that can support Franklin Templeton’s global reach and complexity across multiple jurisdictions,” said Ghassan Hakim, senior vice president of Franklin Templeton Investor Services, who has assumed the role of CEO of Riva Financial Systems. “We believe the Riva TA system, already functionally rich in support of European cross-border funds, has the potential of becoming a true and unique global platform.”

David Ball, Riva’s vice president of sales and marketing, said, “The scope of Franklin Templeton’s global operations will add further depth and flexibility to the Riva TA solution suite, and we look forward to building on Riva TA’s solid European base. In addition, Riva’s continued expansion and growth into a wide range of new jurisdictions with a single solution provides our customers with greater opportunities for cost effective market penetration.”