Broadridge takes stake in CENTRL for AI due diligence

Broadridge has made a minority investment in CENTRL and entered into a strategic partnership focused on due diligence and request-for-proposal tools for the asset management and retirement markets.

Under the agreement, Broadridge will integrate CENTRL's workflow and automation technology into products used by asset managers, retirement recordkeepers and retirement advisers. The partnership also includes plans to modernise Broadridge's Fi360 RFP Director and embed Broadridge data in CENTRL's platform.

The deal brings together Broadridge's data and analytics business with CENTRL's software for due diligence management and response processes. The combined offering is intended to reduce manual, repetitive work associated with counterparty reviews, due diligence questionnaires, and proposal responses.

Financial institutions are facing heavier regulatory demands, rising volumes of information requests and oversight processes spread across multiple systems. As a result, firms have been looking for ways to reduce repeated data collection, improve consistency in submissions and maintain clearer audit trails.

Clients will be able to use CENTRL's due diligence management and response platforms with deeper links to Broadridge distribution data and analytics. The focus is on workflows tied to fund oversight, counterparty oversight and RFP responses.

Product integration

Fi360 RFP Director is among the products set for modernisation under the partnership. AI-based workflow tools will be introduced across solutions for the asset management and retirement industry to shift more work away from manual handling.

Broadridge's data and analytics unit has focused its strategy on using operational, distribution and investor data across the asset management lifecycle. Adding CENTRL's software extends that approach into due diligence and counterparty review work, where firms often still rely on spreadsheets, emails and repeated document requests.

The investment also gives Broadridge clients access to CENTRL's broader diligence and response products. According to CENTRL, its customer base includes eight of the top 30 global banks, as well as asset allocators and asset managers in the Americas, Europe, the UK and Australia.

Neither company disclosed the financial terms of the minority investment. Broadridge has framed the move as part of a broader push to expand the use of AI in its data-led products for financial services clients.

Dan Cwenar, President of Data-driven Fund Solutions at Broadridge, said the agreement supports that strategy. "This partnership represents an important step in expanding our AI-enabled capabilities and delivering greater value for clients across our platform," he said.

He added that Broadridge's industry reach and data resources would be combined with CENTRL's technology in day-to-day workflows.

"By combining Broadridge's deep industry relationships and data assets with CENTRL's purpose-built AI technology, we are helping clients modernise due diligence and RFP response workflows, improve operational efficiency and better manage risk, and accumulate more assets," Cwenar said.

Industry focus

Founded in Silicon Valley, CENTRL develops software for diligence, research, DDQ, and RFP response processes in financial services. Its platform is designed for asset allocators, asset managers, banks and service providers handling large volumes of questionnaires and review work.

Sanjeev Dheer, Founder and Chief Executive of CENTRL, said the partnership would place the company's software inside processes used by large financial institutions. "Broadridge is a trusted partner to many of the world's leading financial institutions," he said.

He said the companies are targeting areas that are often labour-intensive for firms. "Together, we are bringing AI-driven intelligent automation to some of the industry's most complex and resource-intensive processes. By embedding AI directly into due diligence, research, and DDQ/RFP response and communication workflows, we can help firms move from manual, fragmented processes to streamlined, data-driven operations," Dheer said.

Broadridge employs more than 15,000 people in 21 countries. Its systems support average daily trading of more than $15 trillion in equities, fixed income and other securities globally.