DST Acquires Strategic Advisory Firm kasina

Combination Brings a New Level of Business Intelligence to the Asset Management Industry

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Jan 06, 2015, 07:00 ET

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Jan. 6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- DST, a global provider of strategically unified data management, business processing, and customer communication solutions, today announced it has acquired kasina LLC, a leading strategic advisory firm to the asset management industry.

The combination of DST's sophisticated data analytics and sales reporting tools with kasina's thorough understanding of the challenges facing asset managers and insurers promises to bring the financial industry new ways to make economically actionable business decisions.

COMPREHENSIVE SOLUTIONS FOR DISTRIBUTION COMPANIES

New York-based kasina provides business analytics, consulting, and research to the 150 largest asset managers. The firm is recognized for introducing the industry to revolutionary business ideas related to hybrid wholesaling, profit-based compensation systems, digital marketing, social media, and behavior-based segmentation. Kasina's consulting services include engagements to analyze product strategies, sales models, and marketing strategies.

Kasina was founded in 1999 by Steven Miyao, who has served as the company's CEO, and Lee Kowarski. Both will continue their strategic roles for DST, where they will lead consulting and product development organizations for the company's Financial Services segment.

"Two industry leaders will be able to leverage their core strengths," says Miyao. "Together, we will provide clients with accurate, timely, actionable data analytics and insights that will enable them to transform their distribution, marketing, and product organizations."

A FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE FOR THE ASSET MANAGEMENT INDUSTY

DST continues to break new ground in the fields of data management, analytics, and business intelligence.

The new combined entity will provide a compelling offering of industry leading consulting, research, data management and analytics to the asset management industry. Kasina's research and consulting capabilities will provide critical perspective and insights that fully impact and leverage DST's acclaimed SalesConnect™ platform and its Big Data-driven Applied Analytics capabilities.

According to Steve Hooley, President and CEO of DST Systems, the acquisition of kasina will combine with DST's solid foundation of data management excellence to produce a powerful new solution set for the industry.

"The synergy between kasina's strategic advisory expertise and DST's technical resources and systems will result in extraordinary benefits for asset managers," says Hooley. "The data-driven insights we'll be able to provide will literally change the way fund company executives view their operations, their customers, and their market opportunities."

Immediate plans call for kasina to represent and enhance DST's ground-breaking "Predictive Wholesaling" and "Asset Persistency" products.

"Given their deep understanding of the business, kasina will provide us an enormous advantage in the way we help asset managers utilize data, research, and new technologies," says Hooley. "Kasina's going to be a great asset for us and we expect them to be great for our clients."

About DST
DST Systems, Inc. is a leading provider of sophisticated information processing and servicing solutions to companies around the world. Through its global enterprise, DST delivers strategically unified data management, business processing, and customer communications solutions to the asset management, brokerage, retirement, and healthcare markets. Headquartered in Kansas City, MO., DST is a publicly-traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. For more information, visit www.dstsystems.com

Media Contacts:

Laura M. Parsons
DST Global Public Relations
816.843.9087
[email protected]

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