The last 18 months have caused unprecedented operational challenges to all industries, and businesses have needed to adapt overnight or die. Fortunately for Opus, it has always operated using shared service teams and a ‘follow the sun’ global office model, and its proprietary technology allows the firm to switch production between multiple locations based on capacity and resources.
The last 18 months have caused unprecedented operational challenges to all industries, and businesses have needed to adapt overnight or die. Fortunately for Opus, it has always operated using shared service teams and a ‘follow the sun’ global office model, and its proprietary technology allows the firm to switch production between multiple locations based on capacity and resources.
According to Robin Bedford, CEO of Opus: “This has allowed us ultimate flexibility for ‘who does what, when, and from where’. This was evidenced by our “Early NAV delivery” programme at the outset of Covid-19 when we delivered 95 per cent of NAVs earlier than obligated. Our goal was to help managers and their investors during a time of extreme uncertainty.”
The move to a distributed workforce has been a challenge for all industries. Technology teams have needed to adapt from servicing multiple company offices to hundreds or thousands of individual employee homes. Fund administrators had the added cyber challenge of being the custodian of highly sensitive client and investor data.
Bedford says: “Our dedicated technology, innovation, and cyber teams ensure we operate within ISO 27001 Cyber Security guidelines, along with NIST (US) guidelines.”
Opus sees continued demand for core fund administration services, delivered quickly, accurately and cost-effectively. Fund managers and their investors are demanding more transparency, connectivity, and integration directly into Opus’ operations teams.
Efficiency through technology
As fund managers and their investors become increasingly tech-sophisticated, they require real-time service from their administrator 24/7/365. Clients want to work with vendors who offer the core services to an exceptionally high standard, for an exceptionally low fee, Bedford says.
“Building proprietary technology is a cornerstone of our success,” Bedford states. “Opus has a 25+ (and growing) person development team, constantly releasing new products to maintain our momentum towards our ultimate goal of a straight through NAV. The delivery of this service is through the continual enhancement of our interactive Dashboards,” he adds.
Opus’ clients can provide inputs, clear breaks, request wires, submit, review, and approve investor activity, sign off NAVs and distribute statements within a single application, on their desktop, laptop, or cellular device, anywhere in the world.
Over the next 12-18 months, Bedford believes that relying on organic growth to scale will be harder, as firms like Opus redefine the industry and continue to attract the majority of new launch activity. The incumbents will be less able to compete with the new world challenges, and some firms will look to exit, whilst others will seek scale through consolidation.
Bedford concludes: “Regardless of the route chosen, it will become increasingly difficult to execute on any strategy that does not have differentiated proprietary technology as a core offering. Clients will continue to demand better service, faster, for lower fees. This can only be achieved by using a highly scalable SaaS based technology offering like that offered by Opus.”
Robin Bedford, CEO, Opus Fund Services
Robin Bedford is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Opus Fund Services. Opus disrupts the fund administration incumbents by executing a strategy focused on using proprietary SaaS based technology. Previously, Bedford was a Director and Head of the Bermuda office for Citadel Solutions, a subsidiary of Citadel LLC. Also, President of fund administrator Dundee Leeds, a subsidiary of Dundee Bancorp, a financial services company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Bedford is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales and has an honours degree in Business Studies.
