Background

Pensioenfonds Rail & Openbaar Vervoer (Rail & OV, formerly SPF Beheer) is a long-term SkySparc client that manages and administrates the pensions of Dutch railway and public-transport workers, investing assets and distributing income to individual pensioners.
To improve process efficiency and reduce costs such as management fees, the organization decided to merge its two previously separate pension funds. Among the many operational challenges was the consolidation of assets into a single entity, Rail-OV.
This required the migration and reconciliation of data across Rail & OV’s portfolio-management, general-ledger, and performance-management systems.

Merging funds is not a frequent event, but the challenges are comparable to any large-scale migration of multiple positions between entities or systems. Success depends on the accurate, efficient, and timely consolidation and reconciliation of cash, performance, and accounting data.

A further challenge was the project’s timeline: the migration was planned and executed under tight deadlines and in fully remote conditions, requiring new ways of collaborating and testing across distributed teams.

Getting started

Under an established support partnership, Rail & OV already relied on SkySparc for a range of ongoing needs.
The organization uses OmniFi for regular reporting requirements and frequently engages SkySparc for large-scale transformation projects, including system upgrades and regulatory-compliance initiatives.

Having decided to merge its two core funds, Rail & OV asked SkySparc to design and execute a comprehensive migration plan in close collaboration with its internal front-, middle-, and back-office teams, as well as accounting and performance-management stakeholders.

As independently managed portfolios, the OV and Rail funds were originally listed as separate portfolio owners in the system. The plan was to migrate all positions and records into a single portfolio structure, streamlining operational processes and establishing one unified fund.

Cash positions

Because the project involved a full portfolio migration, standard transfer functionality could not be used. Instead, migration tasks were executed in a tightly coordinated sequence.

Tradeable securities already owned by both funds were sold and repurchased by the merged entity, while over-the-counter instruments such as interest-rate swaps and FX positions required tailored migration methodologies.
In parallel, three types of data—cash, performance, and accounting—had to be merged, reconciled, and migrated on overlapping timelines.

To ensure unrealized gains and losses were correctly recorded for post-migration revaluation, securities were transferred at weighted-average cost prices.
For derivatives, manual workarounds included reopening SWIFT messages for FX transactions and unwinding interest-rate swaps as needed. Rate monitors were updated to ensure externally managed mandate valuations remained accurate.

The reconciliation of cash and liquidity data ensured cost-of-carry accuracy and proper alignment with the organization’s internal bank.
Most cash reconciliations were performed by the treasury team, with derivatives and securities reconciled by front-office staff. Despite resource constraints, close coordination between treasury, accounting, and portfolio management ensured a smooth handover.

Accounting

The transition between the two legacy funds and the newly merged fund created a “broken-year” scenario from an accounting perspective.
This was resolved using a reconciliation report set up in OmniFi, matching accounting positions from the legacy funds to those of the merged entity.

The process utilized existing monthly reconciliation reports within OmniFi, drawing multiple data extractions from the accounting and treasury modules, as well as Rail & OV’s general ledger. Because the report combined numerous data sources, it proved ideally suited to identifying differences and reconciling positions after the merger.

In addition, performance data from both funds for the initial transition period was consolidated within the performance-management system to ensure continuity and accuracy of historical records.

Dry run

To ensure a seamless migration, a full dry run was conducted prior to go-live.
This allowed the project team to test methodologies, validate FX-rate handling, and fine-tune reconciliation processes for cash, accounting, and performance data.

The dry run also helped identify corrections required to finalize month-end closing for the legacy funds and to prepare the first closing process for the merged entity. For cash reconciliation, the exercise confirmed the need for a robust procedure to transfer bank accounts and validate balances.
It also highlighted several performance-management nuances, including accurate attribution for dividends paid by legacy funds but settled in the new entity.

Final comments

Merging the two funds had long been a strategic goal for Rail & OV, promising cost savings, operational efficiencies, and stronger service to its beneficiaries.
Having overcome significant challenges, the organization successfully established a single, consolidated fund, enabling it to focus on pursuing enhanced returns, lower costs, and improved member service.

Despite the complexity of the project—particularly the transition between accounting periods and the need to work entirely remotely—the migration was delivered on schedule and within budget through careful planning and expert execution.

SkySparc designed and delivered a multi-layered data-migration project requiring deep coordination across trading, portfolio-management, performance, and accounting functions.
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The project demonstrated SkySparc’s ability to execute complex migrations with precision, flexibility, and collaboration—regardless of location or circumstance.

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