Linedata Services has struck a deal to license MFact, MShare and Linedata Reporting to HBM Fund Services, the newly-launched fund administration arm spun out of HBM Group.

HBM Group is an independent financial services provider with 18 years of experience, headquartered in Curaçao in the Netherlands Antilles, and also operating in Anguilla, Aruba, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, New York, Malta, Panama, St. Maarten, The Netherlands and Uruguay.

HBM selected Linedata's MFact, a fund administration platform, MShare, a shareholder accounting solution, and Linedata Reporting, which can provide customised reports online, so it could service the entire spectrum of hedge funds in the market.

'Although we're a new entry in the market, we tap into a deep wealth of experience from our corporate parent, and have senior staff with more than 20 years of experience in the alternative space,' says Robert Schaeffer, managing director of HBM Fund Services.

'This experience, combined with Linedata's comprehensive, state-of-the-art technology and web-based reporting capabilities, gave us a compelling, differentiated service offering that has been successful from day one.'

This deal marks the first time that Linedata Reporting has been paired with Linedata Services' back-office suite. This gives HBM the ability to offer web-based reporting, a significant investment in technology and services by a 'start-up' fund administrator.

'We're a small fund administrator that made a big investment in technology which provides full operational support to funds, regardless of the size or strategy,' adds HBM's Schaeffer. 'We can provide our clients with comprehensive quarterly, monthly as well as daily reporting if necessary. This allows fund managers to focus on what they do best: generating returns, while demonstrating to investors that fiduciary and statutory obligations are being met.'

The deal reflects how investor due-diligence and demands for transparency and disclosure have worked their way across the entire buy-side, from front-office (traders) to the back-office (fund administrators). In the wake of recent industry scandals, many hedge funds and fund-of-funds are retaining independent fund administrators to help rebuild investor confidence and attract new investment capital, emphasizing transparency and responsiveness.

'Recent events have certainly elevated the independence of the hedge fund administrator,' says Peter Muldoon, executive vice president with Linedata Services North America. 'Now more than ever, administrators need software vendors that not only have the solutions to meet their current requirements, but that are also well-equipped to face their future challenges. Linedata Services provides that complementary offering to HBM, and we are delighted to have them as our client.'