Admiral Administration is one of the world’s leading hedge fund administrators. Headed by Canover Watson in the Cayman Islands, the firm also has offices in Ireland and the US, from where a combined staff of more than 110 professionals, including 60 qualified accountants, provides independent administration support.
Since Admiral was launched in 1996 the number of hedge funds it administers has grown steadily to more than 200 funds representing some USD20bn in total net assets. Within the hedge fund space, approximately 90 per cent of Admiral’s hedge fund clients are based in the US, with the remaining 10 per cent based in Europe.
The firm uses best-of-breed technology to provide its clients not only with high-quality fund reporting, asset valuation and investor management services but also customised solutions. In a period of major regulatory overhaul in both the US and Europe, hedge fund managers are beginning to recognise the importance of having a robust operational infrastructure.
As a result, the demand for services offered by Admiral – daily NAV calculations, price and position verification and web reporting – is rising. Ben Pershick (pictured), head of business and product development, says Admiral is well positioned to help its clients comply with the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
“We have great data warehousing technology that allows us to track the data needed for reporting,” he says. “We also have integration with risk providers should our clients decide to contract a risk provider to generate the information needed for filings or even just day-to-day portfolio risk management.”
Various platforms are available to Admiral clients, all of which are supported 24/7 by its dedicated team to foster long-term partnerships. Advent Geneva is a portfolio accounting platform and Paladyne offers middle office support, while Advent Partner and Web Reporting handle investor management and fund reporting respectively.
“Because we have a great technology platform and low monthly minimums, we have been a very attractive choice for emerging managers,” says Pershick, pointing to Admiral’s success in winning new mandates over the past year.
“Emerging managers generally don’t have a technology infrastructure in place and are looking to rely on an administrator for many middle office functions. We have secured several emerging manager mandates over the past 12 months.”
In what is fast becoming a competitive space as the number of fund administrators grows, Admiral is looking to stay ahead of the curve by continuing to invest heavily in technology. “We are focused on rolling out a transparency portal so that our clients can retrieve all investor and portfolio information in both data and report formats,” Pershick says.
He adds that everyone at Admiral is very proud of winning the Hedgeweek USA Award 2011 for Best Offshore Hedge Fund Administrator. “Our Cayman office is our flagship operation, housing 75 per cent of our global staff,” Pershick says. “To win an award such as this, we need the perfect combination of the right people, the right technology and the right offering price. To be recognised as the best offshore administrator validates our strategy and expenditure.”
Please click here to download a copy of the Hedgeweek Special Report: Hedgeweek USA Awards 2011
