Over the last 35 years, SS&C has been on the front line, changing industry trends, and focusing on delivering the technology and services to help funds grow.
Over the last 35 years, SS&C has been on the front line, changing industry trends, and focusing on delivering the technology and services to help funds grow.
Rob Stone, Head of Alternative Asset Sales for SS&C, says: “Administrators are vital business partners, performing a mission-critical role in helping fund managers operate, launch new products, comply with regulations and satisfy investors.”
The global shift to remote working over the past 18 months has showcased SS&C’s advantage: funds are increasingly recognising fund administrators as essential components of business models versus another third-party vendor.
“Clients turned to us for more help and services over this past year than any other previous year,” Stone says. As a result, SS&C’s number of qualified prospects has reached pre- Covid levels, and its clients’ portfolios are growing through new fund launches. In Q2 2021 alone, its alternatives business rose 6.7 per cent.
Firms lean on administrators for knowledge and support as they expand into new niche product types and investor bases. Popular strategies include interval funds, non-traded REITs, Business Development Companies (BDCs) designed for the retail market, public/private hybrids, and insurance-based funds. Such niche strategies often require specialised expertise and technological know-how to manage. SS&C is well-positioned with unmatched asset class expertise and technology, and has quickly emerged as the single viable choice with a proven track record of administering complex asset classes.
Services offered
SS&C administers over USD2.02 trillion in alternative assets, making it the largest independent publicly-traded fund administrator in the world. The firm provides end-to-end investment management services, including core fund administration, investor and regulatory compliance, trading and tax services, and is especially proud of its latest ESG offering. SS&C’s ESG Solutions is the first solution to enable fund managers to parse through ESG data to make investment decisions and provide reporting to investors to ensure investments are truly ESG-focused.
Stone attributes SS&C’s “client-centric” ethos to why the firm excelled over the past 18 months. “SS&C pays attention to the changes in the industry and listens to clients’ opportunities and challenges, responding quickly and effectively to meet their needs.”
SS&C has continued to innovate throughout the pandemic. In addition to its ESG reporting solution for fund managers, SS&C launched a new front-to-back solution for emerging funds and several new tools to simplify client workflows, including reporting, data management, reconciliation handling and machine learning. “Fund managers expect robust middle office, data management, performance, risk and analytics services, as well as a completely digitised investor experience,” Stone says.
Over the next few months, Stone says that the firm aims to make its clients’ business growth even more efficient, with advanced technology and greater innovation. He adds: “Our goal is to facilitate, not impede, our client’s business growth. Over the coming months, we will roll out the next generation of AI-driven fund administration technology which will be more powerful, with faster access to data, powered by artificial intelligence capabilities. In addition, expect end-to-end servicing of clients, with modern process engineering technologies to make IBOR, NAV and middle- and back-office processing more efficient and transparent.”
Rob Stone, Head of Sales Alternative & Traditional Assets, SS&C Technologies
Rob Stone is the Head of Alternative Asset Sales, North America at SS&C Technologies. Stone manages sales professionals focused on SS&C’s outsourced services & technology platform, as well as oversees strategic sales accounts. Since joining in 2010, Stone has been directly involved in the onboarding of some of SS&C’s premier clients representing over USD250 billion in assets under administration. Stone joined SS&C as an intern while studying at the University of Connecticut where he was responsible for marketing SS&C’s risk management platform to insurers and institutional asset managers.
