Citisoft, the London-based specialist investment management consulting firm, has launched its 15th systems evaluation and selection programme on behalf of onshore and offshore alternative
Citisoft, the London-based specialist investment management consulting firm, has launched its 15th systems evaluation and selection programme on behalf of onshore and offshore alternative investment clients in the UK, Europe and Asia.
The firm has conducted systems evaluations and selections for clients including hedge fund and fund of hedge funds managers, the alternative investment divisions of traditional asset managers, private equity managers and hedge fund administrators.
Over the past three years, the firm says, a new market for consulting services has emerged from the asset management industry, driven by new demand for services related to alternative investments.
In addition to adopting sell-side techniques, which traditionally utilised alternative products for improved returns and risk management, buy-side firms have also begun manufacturing their own products such as internal research and fully synthetic products such as LDI and structured credit.
‘It is a testament to buy-side creativity that this new market has developed at such a rapid pace,’ says Sunil Chadda, head of Citisoft’s hedge funds and derivatives practice.
‘Because Citisoft has invested time understanding and working in this market, the firm has been able to identify significant trends and their potential impact on its clients. As a result of this we have been able to build a successful practice specifically to service this market.’
Citisoft identifies and evaluates vendors providing functionality for clients across all asset and instrument classes in areas including trading and risk, pre- and post-trade compliance checking, decision support, pricing and valuation, accounting, ISDA document management, collateral and margin monitoring and management, performance contribution and measurement, administration of hedge funds and funds of hedge funds, sub-administration and pricing.
‘Citisoft’s reputation for successfully delivering product evaluation, selection and implementation projects within a short time-frame is driving our success in this space,’ says Howard Mannion, chief executive of Citisoft Europe. ‘Citisoft as a whole has enjoyed healthy growth over the last year, thanks in a large part to the firm’s commitment to the alternatives-driven market and by providing specialist investment management consulting services.’
With a client base of more than 75 per cent of the top 50 global asset managers, as well as some of the world’s leading wealth managers and hedge funds, Citisoft is a leading supplier of strategic planning and implementation services to the institutional, alternative and wealth management sectors.
Established in 1986, Citisoft combines analysis, planning and project management methodologies with knowledge of asset management business models, processes and technology. The firm, now part of the Satyam group, specialises in areas such as straight-through processing, client reporting, performance measurement, decision support, order management, trade execution, and outsourcing administration and custody.
