Scipion Capital, a frontier market investment firm, has appointed alternative investment firm Centaur Fund Services to take over the fund administration requirements for its range of funds.
Centaur will provide Scipion with the full suite of fund administration services, including fund accounting and investor and corporate services.
Scipion’s fund range, including the firm’s flagship Commodities Trade Finance Fund, will use Centaur’s iNAV process model, which provides an accurate daily NAV calculation and support services around the funds.
Nicolas Clavel, chief investment officer and founder of Scipion, says: “To be a successful frontier markets investor you must understand the landscape. There are outstanding returns available in frontier markets, but accessing them requires an intimate knowledge of the regions and an agile and nuanced strategy to capitalise on the opportunities as they appear. There is no such thing as a generalised frontier market strategy.
“We therefore needed a fund administrator that was able to adapt to our strategy and be thorough and flexible about the service it provides – the kind of customised service that Centaur specialises in. What we particularly liked about Centaur was their iNAV process which makes them responsible for fund accounting from start to finish."
Ronan Daly (pictured), chairman of Centaur, adds: “Scipion’s range of funds has highly specialised and innovative strategies. In many cases, the strategies they offer their investors are the first of their kind in the market. This kind of innovation requires that investors always have a clear picture of how the strategy is performing, and this requires a dedicated and customised administration service that can deliver up to the minute information on all of Scipion’s funds. Using our iNAV process we are able to be accountable for asset valuation while delivering on time, accurate NAV’s."
Scipion was established in February 2007 by Clavel, who has over 30 years’ experience of the financial services industry in Africa, with previous roles including chief executive of both Citibank in Senegal and Stanbic Bank Sarl in the Congo.
