Three specialist fund administration firms have come together under the umbrella of Phoenix Fund Services to service the increasing number of UK-based managers running offshore traditional
Three specialist fund administration firms have come together under the umbrella of Phoenix Fund Services to service the increasing number of UK-based managers running offshore traditional and hedge funds alongside their UK onshore platforms.
Phoenix Administration Services, Phoenix Financial Services and Phoenix Fund Services (UK), which previously handled different fund territories and services and have a combined total of USD12bn in assets under administration, have been amalgamated under the single brand of Phoenix Fund Services.
The new structure is designed to allow investment managers access to seamless fund administration and investment operations outsourcing services from a single platform covering multiple products and jurisdictions.
Phoenix Fund Services now provides offshore traditional and alternative fund administration, middle office outsourcing for traditional and alternative investment managers, and administration of investment trusts and UK collective investment schemes.
The combined firm is targeting a growing number of small to medium-sized and start-up investment management firms which fall below the radar of the global fund service providers. It is looking to attract managers who recognise the benefits of a comprehensive platform covering traditional and alternative administration and investment operations outsourcing.
‘There are a significant number of investment managers who are looking for most or all of the core services we provide,’ says Gavin Gray, managing director of Phoenix Fund Services’ offshore operation.
‘There are many UK-based managers running offshore funds alongside their onshore platform. We offer the additional benefits of putting the offshore and onshore structures onto a common platform and delivering a consistent high quality service, with commonality of data reporting, across all structures.
‘We are well placed to grow services in the hedge fund administration market, where, as a result of recent acquisitions of boutique administrators by the global banks, a number of funds are seeing a drop-off in quality of service.’
Steve King, who heads the firm’s UK-based operations, says: ‘This allows us to offer a more centralised service and has in part been driven by clients asking if we can handle administration services for other parts of their business because they are struggling to find comparable service levels.’
Established in Chelmsford in 1998 as Phoenix Administration Services, the group set up a second operation in Dublin in 2004 to satisfy the offshore and hedge fund administration requirements of European-based investment managers, and a third arm last year to cater to UK collective investment schemes.
Phoenix uses bespoke technology developed from a proprietary core transaction processing and accounting platform, Abacus Asset Management System, and features a Swift-capable automated trade matching and reporting model.
The firm deploys its order management system within the investment manager’s office and facilitates the delivery of trade information from managers to Phoenix teams. It includes a live valuation module that integrates with Bloomberg and gives real time access to Phoenix’s reconciled portfolio data including live pricing of positions, allowing managers to view portfolio data including intra-day profit and loss by position.
