Technologists are responding rapidly to the operational demands of hedge fund managers as COOs and CCOs search for greater simplicity in an increasingly complex business environment. Compliance and regulatory demands are manifold. As such, managers need the confidence, and, importantly, the customisation of software solutions to help them integrate their operational workflows.  “One of our key value propositions is that all of our solutions are customisable based on the needs of the manager. In that sense, we become partners and an extension of their operations team,” says Mark Daniel, Principal at Imagineer Technology Group.  There are two clear trends that

With institutional dollars now dominating the hedge fund industry, managers are facing far more stringent operational due diligence assessments. Pension funds and endowments are hiring dedicated ODD teams simply to go in and find reasons not to invest in managers. The bar, when it comes to raising capital, has never been higher. Backstop Solutions Group has been a pioneer in providing a Software-as-a-service platform to the alternative funds industry since 2003, so as to help managers operate more efficiently. As such, it is able to sit in the middle and take a unique view on the way investor relations teams

“The major changes we see are in demands for access to data and demands for accuracy. Our clients want to see data more in real-time, anytime, anywhere. There is a lot more information that has to be managed and accuracy is required,” observes Bob Forsythe, IT Manager at UMB Fund Services.  Understandably, administrators are looking to smartly deploy technology to meet these data flow demands so as to provide access, minimise data entry mistakes, make sure processes are efficient and ensure that all of a manager’s regulatory and compliance requirements are identified and addressed. To stay ahead of the curve,

There has been an acceptance across many top-tier hedge funds that some of the operations they perform, whilst important, are not clear differentiators but rather diversions to their core task.  “Ultimately, the ability for a hedge fund to grow and reproduce is a function of its ability to raise capital and generate alpha,” says Bennett Egeth, President of Broadridge Investment Management Solutions. “Anything that doesn’t fall into those two buckets is non-differentiating, and thus not a good way for the manager to spend time and resources. “There is an increasingly widespread acknowledgement that the skill needed to run the technology

The word “innovation” is used far too casually, not just in financial services but across industries. At Advent Software, a pioneer of fund accounting technology for more than 30 years, the focus isn’t on delivering innovation for innovation’s sake. Rather, it is on taking a forward-looking stance, understanding where the industry is headed and listening to its clients’ needs. “We have a responsibility to deliver solutions that our clients value and will help them operate more efficiently. In other words, innovation has to add real, tangible value and be worthwhile,” says Robert Roley (pictured), Vice President of Solutions at Advent. 

As the asset management industry continues to grow, driving investors’ appetite for more transparency, reporting and risk controls, the biggest challenge hedge fund managers face is how to create scale.  Founder and CEO Jayesh Punater established Gravitas Technology Services in 1996. Gravitas provides a technology platform to the asset management industry with a particular focus on supporting the front- and middle-office for hedge funds. The solution is simple: Gravitas partners with managers to create smarter scalability for their funds. Working in conjunction with fund administrators, it enables hedge funds to leverage complete front- to back-office support. “As a result of

According to Alexei Miller, head of the Financial Services practice and managing director at DataArt, a technology consulting firm that designs and builds custom software systems, data and data management remains front and centre of managers’ minds in the alternatives industry. Regardless of their size, hedge fund managers face the same data management demands, which is leading to a lot of data-related projects and keeping Miller’s team busy. These projects range from data acquisition, data cleansing to customising data feeds and data visualisation.  “There’s still a significant need among managers, even those running USD100 million, not just billion dollar managers,

New York-based Imagineer Technology Group offers award-winning solutions to help hedge fund managers address the transparency and workflow demands necessary to stand out and succeed in today's marketplace.  These solutions, which include an industry specific client relationship management (CRM) software, a web reporting portal and a fund research and due diligence platform, have been designed to help managers build workflow efficiency and communicate more effectively with investors and prospects.  Imagineer is probably best known for its flagship CRM platform, Clienteer.  "Although Clienteer is often categorised as a CRM tool, it goes far beyond that," explains Erol Dusi, founder and president

Confluence is a data management and software company whose heritage lies in US mutual funds. The firm started out providing technology to automate the calculation and distribution of NAV prices for US mutual funds. Over time, the Confluence platform has grown to encompass financial reporting, expense management, regulatory reporting, etc.  One of the problems the industry faces today is that regulatory reform has created a shift towards a more intrusive operational oversight. Currently, in relation to data management and the problems thrown up by Annex IV reporting under the AIFMD in Europe managers tend to be somewhat reactive. As Nicola