Hedge funds operating in the US are bracing themselves for increased scrutiny, following the comments made by US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair, Gary Gensler, at the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) Summit earlier in November 2021. The regulator chair outlined plans to enhance reporting and disclosures, and keeping close watch on the way private funds charge investors and measure performance.

Over the past 18 months, investment firms have gone through periods of uncertainty, volatility, and increased risk, and Linedata’s clients are no exception. These experiences have forced many to “reimagine their operations”, from getting their employees access to the software and tools they need to do their jobs remotely, to changing their processes and how their teams collaborate, to improving how they integrate data and analytics into their workflows.   

Like many other firms, Alliant was very concerned with how the global shutdown was going to affect its clients, firm and people at the onset of the pandemic: its insurance advisory and brokerage business is collaborative and relies heavily on a high level of people interaction between clients, underwriters and colleagues.  

The global pandemic presented a difficult time for everyone but, as a technology company, Copper was able to continue delivering digital asset product to its clients and flourished alongside the digital asset industry in a tough environment. The firm increased its employee numbers nine-fold since the start of this year, reaching about 200 people globally.

The global pandemic accelerated digital transformation across a wide range of industries during the past 18 months, resulting in a growing demand for analysis into the digital performance of companies, in order to get insight into who’s winning and who’s losing market share of the all-important audiences these companies covet. 

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. 

Excel, email, and Evernote are still some of the most commonly used technologies across investment firms during the research process. Yet, Excel is 36 years old, email over 50 years old, and even Evernote is approaching nearly two decades in the business. While these tools have played a valuable role in the investment research process, it’s safe to say their innovation has long been maxed out.

Given the cloud-based nature of its operating model, Arcesium had the advantage of being well-positioned for a quick, seamless transition to a fully remote, global operation when the pandemic began. 

RFA has navigated the undoubted challenges of the last 12-18 months by helping clients to maintain work and deal flow. 

For UMB Fund Services, the past 18 months have been a lesson in adaptability, flexibility and commitment. According to Jill Calton, EVP, Executive Director Alternative Investments for UMB Fund Services: “We quickly adapted to a new working style in March 2020, and over the course of a weekend, transitioned our entire workforce to remote work.” 

Waystone, the leading global provider of specialist services to the asset management industry, has been awarded Best Offshore Regulatory and Compliance Firm for the eighth year running.  

The Citco group of companies (Citco) has navigated the minefields of the last 18 months with confidence. Jay Peller, Head of Fund Services, Citco Fund Services (USA) Inc, comments: “We have always maintained a commitment to best-in-class solutions which prepared us to make quick transitions without sacrificing the superior service we provide.” 

Jefferies has found the last 18 months an invigorating and uncharted period in the industry, both for itself and its clients. 

BTIG, this year’s winner of Best Prime Broker – Start-Up & Emerging Managers, onboarded and supported a record number of new clients this year, many of whom launched funds in the last few months, made valuable introductions through the BTIG Capital Introduction team and saw a strong uptick in clients utilising BTIG’s Outsource Trading team to execute trades on their behalf. 

This year’s winner of Best Tax Advisory, Anchin, prides itself on focusing on the needs of its clients. Jeffrey Rosenthal, Leader of Anchin’s Financial Services Practice, says: “Tax is very important to many of our clients, but tax planning can be traumatic because of changes in the law. We’re very proactive when it comes to reaching out to our clients, and we educate them to recognise issues that might be important for them.” 

At the advent of the pandemic, Cowen Outsourced Trading acted quickly to move its global personnel to a remote working environment by mid-March. Its swift embrace of new technologies and its ability to utilise them across the business – trading, client support, new client onboarding, and capital introduction – enabled it to sustain service to existing clients, while extending its reach to new ones.

Why do you feel you were chosen as the winner of Best Risk Management Software? 

US-based accountancy firm Akram|Assurance, Advisory & Tax Firm, which provides fund accounting for niche clients, has navigated the challenges of the last 18 months by accelerating the implementation of multiple technological platforms. 

This year’s winner of Hedgeweek’s Best US Audit Firm award for the second year running, CohnReznick, provider of integrated audit, tax and advisory services, keeps a keen eye on recent market trends to meet the needs of its alternative fund management clients. 

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. 

In a year dominated by the impact of the pandemic, other trends have tended to be somewhat overlooked in many reports. Yet Armel Leslie, Partner at Peaks Strategies, winner of this year’s Best PR and Communications award, is tracking an underlying shift in some areas. 

The pandemic has proved a busy period for BNY Mellon’s HedgeMark, the winner of this year’s Best Managed Accounts Platform award, with 2020 and 2021 being two of its most active years for its managed client accounts. 

With all of the changes and uncertainty over the last 18 months, Horseshoe Fund Services has remained laser-focused on its top priorities: its people and its clients. 

Sadis and Goldberg, this year’s winner of the Best Law Firm award, is focused on providing a value proposition not only to its clients, but also to the industry.   

It has been almost a decade since regulators asserted jurisdiction over networks, and yet cyber risk continues to plague the alternative investment management (AIM) space. Services offered by those such as 2021’s Best Cybersecurity Provider, therefore, remain imperative. 

During the challenging last 18 months, Investcorp-Tages – this year’s winner of Best Seeding Platform – has been focused on how to continue best serving its clients.

Nicholas Nolan, Vice President, SS&C Technologies, tells Hedgeweek why SS&C feels it deserved this award, how the firm has overcome certain challenges over these past 18 months and details industry trends and plans for the future in this interview.