Manamind AS

Manamind is a wholly owned subsidiary of VPS Holding ASA. The company was founded in 2001 and has been part of the VPS Group since 2004.

Manamind “develops and runs internetbased solutions for the securities area”, says the web page. But what kind of solutions? For whom? And how is the company faring? We asked Manamind’s CEO, Hugo Sundkjer.

To start with, Hugo Sandkjer, what is the core of Manamind’s business?
You could say we have two legs to stand on: one is sales of securities information,
the other is end-user solutions for actors in the security market. Our customers
are primarily professional actors in the financial market, both enduser firms and distributors – banks, investment firms, listed companies and online newspapers.

What kind of information do you sell?
Mostly processed information from the VPS registers which we distribute via our subscription service, Manamind Arena. This is a web-based, weekly updated list of the 30 largest shareholders in Norwegian companies that are listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.

But you also sell solutions, I believe?
Yes, these are partly standardised products and partly tailored solutions. The common denominator is stock prices and general information on financial instruments and financial markets. We get the information from partners such as stock exchanges, news agencies and data distributors.

Manamind Investorportal is a collective term for the tailored solutions that we offer to financial institutions and online newspapers. We design, develop, run and manage these solutions on an integrated basis. They include share trading on the Internet, portfolio reporting, stock information portal, and analysis publishing. Customers leave everything to us, and benefit at all times from competitive solutions.

We deliver price information to listed companies’ home pages through our product Manamind IR.

Another important product is Manamind Matador. You could call it a Windows-
based stock exchange terminal. Users have access to share prices in real time from local and international markets, foreign exchange rates, commodity prices, interest rates etc. They also get detailed information such as order depth, broker statistics, news, key figures, and estimates. This is all easily accessible via the wellknown Windows interface.

Matador is also available in a version integrated with brokers’ trading systems, enabling the broker to place an order in Matador and to keep track of orders, transactions and portfolios in real time. We also offer a mobile solution, Picador, which streams share prices in real time.

What do you mean by the phrase “real time” in this context?
Our end users expect changes in the price picture to be updated in our solutions immediately. Even a few seconds’ delay could inflict financial loss.

Seconds count even more in periods of sizeable price changes. And it’s at times of particularly high activity that our systems face the greatest burden. They have to be capable of functioning optimally under extreme market conditions at all times.

How did the business year 2006 turn out for Manamind?
2006 was an excellent year. We more than doubled our turnover and customer base, and delivered very good results. Of course we’re very pleased with that. Much of the explanation is probably down to a good reputation based on competent staff, good solutions and good supply capacity. But it’s also down to a good sales and marketing work.

Prospects and challenges ahead?
Prospects are generally bright. Our products are still much in demand in the market. We have fairly ambitious goals for 2007, and to reach them our organisation needs to grow. An important aim is to ensure sound recruitment to the company over the year.

Is it difficult to get hold of the right staff?
Systems developers are clearly in great demand. But Manamind has something
special to offer, namely distinctive, demanding and absorbing challenges related to distribution of market data in real time. We have a very good, but exacting work environment. Each staff member at Manamind has the opportunity to make his mark on the development of the company. The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and kicking at Manamind. We follow new paths, sometimes where no-one has been before – that’s probably what drives us forward!