Americas Fund Services Insights Report 2021

AMERICAS FUND SERVICES INSIGHTS REPORT 2021

FEATURING

AKRAM & ASSOCIATES, ALIGN, ALLIANT, ANCHIN, ARCESIUM, BTIG PRIME BROKERAGE, CITCO FUND SERVICES, COHNREZNICK, COPPER.CO, COWEN OUTSOURCED TRADING, FIS, HEDGEMARK, HORSESHOE FUND SERVICES, INVESTCORP-TAGES, JEFFERIES, LINEDATA, OPUS FUND SERVICES, PEAKS STRATEGIES, RFA, SADIS AND GOLDBERG, SENTIEO, SIMILARWEB, SS&C TECHNOLOGIES, UMB FUND SERVICES, WAYSTONE AMERICAS FUND SERVICES INSIGHTS REPORT 2021 | NOVEMBER

(Q)

Linedata Reimagine your operations.

Transform the way you do business.

Whether you're an emerging manager or an established hedge fund, we deliver all your needs on a single platform so you con focus on growth, investment alpha, and inspiring clients. · Modular software streamlines portfolio management and trading · Machine learning driven trade analytics module revamps execution results · Outsourced risk and middle office services scale while controlling costs · Integrated ESG data and scoring supports new regulation and differentiates your products

The Asset Management Platform for Alternatives Managers

linedata.com/amp getinfo@linedata.com

CONTENTS

INSIDE THIS ISSUE...

04

OVERVIEW

05

LINEDATA

06

ALLIANT

08

COPPER.CO

10

SIMILARWEB

12

SS&C TECHNOLOGIES

14

SENTIEO

16

ARCESIUM

18

RFA

20

UMB FUND SERVICES

22

WAYSTONE

24

CITCO FUND SERVICES

26

JEFFERIES

28

BTIG PRIME BROKERS

30

ANCHIN

32 COWEN OUTSOURCED TRADING

38

COHNREZNICK

40

OPUS FUND SERVICES

42

PEAKS STRATEGIES

44

HEDGEMARK

46

HORSESHOE FUND SERVICES

48

SADIS AND GOLDBERG

34

FIS

50

ALIGN

36

AKRAM & ASSOCIATES

52

INVESTCORTP-TAGES

Published by: Global Fund Media, 8 St James’s Square, London SW1Y 4JU, UK ©Copyright 2021 Global Fund Media Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Investment Warning: The information provided in this publication should not form the sole basis of any investment decision. No investment decision should be made in relation to any of the information provided other than on the advice of a professional financial advisor. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. The value and income derived from investments can go down as well as up.

AMERICAS FUND SERVICES INSIGHTS REPORT 2021 | NOVEMBER

3

OVER VIEW

CRITICAL OPERATIONAL SUPPORT AS REGULATION CONTINUES TO MOUNT

BY ANGELE PARIS

H

edge 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.

REGULATIONS AND COMPLIANCE IN THE INDUSTRY Within this context, the support offered by service providers is imperative. Their assistance can help hedge funds and broader alternative investment managers ensure accuracy in compliance and reporting, while allowing for smooth client relations. This is increasingly relevant given the current climate of enhanced demands for transparency and communication.

Matthew Brown, Global Head of Business Development, Waystone, winner of Best Offshore Regulatory and Compliance Firm for the eighth year running, notes how the industry as a whole is seeing increased regulatory complexities. This, in turn, is driving governance, risk and compliance requirements.

4

HEDGE FUND PERFORMANCE However, despite the rising regulatory and administrative burdens, hedge funds have had a robust year.

Jay Peller, Head of Fund Services, Citco Fund Services, winner of Best ESG Solution, outlines how the data collected by Citco on hedge fund performance shows how the funds have proven their worth during the pandemic.

This has led to growing appetite on behalf of institutional investors, with hedge fund assets under management hitting USD4.3 trillion in the second quarter of 2021, according to data from BarclayHedge.

ESG AND SUSTAINABLE INVESTING Sustainability is an area which is in sharp focus and quickly becoming part of the investment fabric. A study by BNP Paribas finds 40 per cent of participants integrate ESG into their investment process, and that this is primarily driven by their investors.

“While investor demand is crucial, there is also growing internal commitment from senior management,” the paper details.

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE Looking ahead, Philitsa Hanson, Global Head of Transformation at Linedata, this year’s winner for Best Trading Technology, predicts transparency and disclosure will grow beyond regulation and become integral

to an investment firm’s brand and identity.

Hanson notes: “Firms are investing in practices that are increasingly critical to their successful operations: data transparency, like with ESG, cybersecurity efforts, risk management practices and communication with clients and investors.”

Further to this, Armel Leslie, Partner at Peaks Strategies, winner of Best PR and Communications, believes that, over the next 12-18 months, signs are pointing to continued AUM growth for the industry, and investors (both institutional and retail) will require the diversification that alternatives provide.

“While the large, established players will continue to gain market-share, there are always opportunities for niche players to emerge and succeed, and we enjoy working with some of the more off-the-run managers (alternative) that are introducing new strategies into the market and/or innovating and finding new ways to capture alpha,” Leslie says.

According to the Deloitte 2022 Investment Management Outlook, “Progress toward quantifiable and transparent business metrics can help firms achieve a higher bottom line, financially and socially.” The report further concludes that firms using technology to better engage with clients and deliver on their expectations are likely to be more successful going forward.

AMERICAS FUND SERVICES INSIGHTS REPORT 2021 | NOVEMBER

LINEDATA

LINEDATA BEST TRADING TECHNOLOGY

O

ver 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.

Philitsa Hanson, Global Head of Transformation at Linedata, comments: “At the start of 2020, right before the pandemic, we launched our Asset Management Platform (AMP) and it turns out that was perfect timing.”

AMP brings together cloud-based, modular software, data solutions, and expertise to help hedge funds be faster and more adaptable in how they run their businesses. “That kind of operational nimbleness carried our clients through the pandemic. As an example, at the height of Covid-19 volatility, our hedge fund platform was processing 2.5 times its normal transaction volumes without any issues,” Hanson says.

Linedata recently published the tenth edition of its Global Asset Management Survey from approximately 200 Global Asset Management Executives, looking at their attitudes and plans for running their businesses. Hanson says: “One of

the most interesting shifts is that in 2019 more than half of the firms we surveyed said they had no plans to move to the cloud. By 2021, only five per cent of our respondents felt that way. This aligns with our AMP strategy – to provide cloudbased and modular solutions to our client base that are easy to deploy and update. “ EXPANDING THE BUSINESS In terms of new products and services, Hanson says: “Linedata’s clients are also concerned about meeting more stringent regulatory requirements across the globe.

Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) imposes mandatory ESG disclosure in Europe, and ESG-focused ESG Risk Alerts from the US SEC have now put a fine point on action questions for the industry. Linedata is supporting clients’ ESG decision-making, and improving workflow and operations, with ESG data already built into their software.”

In response to the EU’s SDR (Settlement Discipline Regime), which will be implemented in February 2022 and could lead to penalties or sanctions for trade settlement failures, Linedata has recently launched a machine-learning based service that provides predictive insights, enabling teams to spot issues before they occur. Linedata is committed to helping clients address these issues. The firm is fully engaged in supporting its clients’ ESG decision-making abilities, improving workflow, tools and operations. “In short,

we’re helping clients limit regulatory risk, create trustworthy products, and become more competitive,” Hanson says.

Over the coming months, Hanson predicts that transparency and disclosure will grow beyond regulation and become integral to an investment firm’s brand and identity. “Firms are investing in practices that are increasingly critical to their successful operations: data transparency, like with ESG, cybersecurity efforts, risk management practices, and how they are communicating with clients and investors. They will leverage their investments in an effort to promote greater transparency and disclosure, to gain the confidence of their own investors and attract new business,” she concludes.

PHILITSA HANSON

GLOBAL HEAD OF TRANSFORMATION, ASSET MANAGEMENT, LINEDATA Philitsa Hanson is the Head of Transformation for Linedata’s Asset Management Business. In this role, she leads cross-functional teams to transform venture concepts into executable offerings. During her 18-year tenure at Linedata, Hanson has worked closely with various types of asset managers, including institutional investors, private wealth managers, and hedge funds, to improve their operations.

AMERICAS FUND SERVICES INSIGHTS REPORT 2021 | NOVEMBER

5

ALLIANT

ALLIANT

BEST INSURANCE SERVICE PROVIDER

L

ike 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.

According to Ron Borys, SVP, Managing Director, Financial Institutions Industry Vertical Leader at Alliant: “While many in our space experienced distractions with the pandemic and other events disrupting our industry, our Alliant team stayed focused on providing excellent service and advice to our clients. Through the use of technology, we stayed actively engaged with our trading partners, and have communicated better with underwriters during the pandemic than we ever had before.”

Without having an in-person prospect meeting in more than 18 months, Alliant set department records for the number of new clients won in 2020 and 2021. “Our people are our business, and we are fortunate to have some of the best talent in the insurance brokerage industry working hard every day to drive the best possible outcomes for our clients,” Borys adds.

In terms of market trends, Borys stated that the insurance marketplace is experiencing a

“hard market” cycle where “underwriters are under strict mandates to seek premium rate increases across their insurance portfolio, and have been looking for opportunities to restrict and narrow the scope of coverage. This has made for some very challenging conversations with clients.”

PRESSING FOR THE BEST Rather than accepting the insurance market for what it is, Alliant’s brokers continue to challenge underwriters to consider and differentiate the unique risk factors of each of their clients, working to generate competition amongst insurers to minimise increases and maintain or expand coverage terms.

“Coverage for regulatory investigations and cyber breach events continues to be at the forefront of our risk discussions with clients. We are very fortunate to have added some top industry talent and resources, who specialise in policy wording and cyber risk, to work alongside our brokers and clients through these challenging issues,” Borys says.

Data and analytics have become an integral part of a financial services firm’s operational risk management framework, and Alliant’s proprietary benchmarking and risk modelling for hedge funds enables clients to make informed purchasing

decisions regarding insurance limits and self-insured retentions (deductibles). Borys says: “Our data and analytics resources help clients better understand their risk exposures and the value of the insurance coverages that they purchase.”

Regarding the next 12-18 months, Borys notes that hedge funds in general have been a highly desired class of business in the insurance market for many years, and he anticipates that this will continue to be the case in years to come.

“We expect that the overall insurance market conditions for the hedge fund industry will begin to flatten and ultimately soften over the next 12-18 months as new capacity enters the market, thus driving competition,” he says. “While certainly not a prediction by any means, I can tell you with certainty that we are going to continue to invest in resources and work hard to remain the best insurance provider to the hedge fund industry in 2022!” Borys concludes.

RON BORYS

SVP, MANAGING DIRECTOR, FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS PRACTICE LEADER, ALLIANT

Ron Borys leads the Financial Institutions Practice for Alliant. The practice, formerly Crystal before being acquired by Alliant in 2018, consists of 45 brokerage and legal professionals who specialise in insurance products and claims recoveries for hedge funds. Borys has over 20 years of insurance brokerage experience working with financial institutions and hedge funds.

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FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

COPPER.CO

COPPER.CO

BEST DIGITAL ASSET CUSTODIAN

T

he 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 biggest trend Copper has noticed is the increased search for alpha in digital assets within the hedge fund industry. With bonds around the world yielding close to zero, and stock market valuations near all-time highs, hedge funds are looking for better risk/reward investments, and have increasingly turned towards bitcoin and other digital currencies.

Another trend is that many of the larger hedge funds are allocating capital into the digital asset space in a manner very similar to venture capital funds. Instead of VC money dominating the longer-term investment space with respect to a company’s equity and cap table, more hedge funds are participating in the capital raising of crypto companies, especially those building out digital asset infrastructure.

Glenn Barber, Head of Sales at Copper, says: “This change in attitude reflects the fact that digital assets aren’t a short-

term fad, but a long-term, sustainable asset class. With the crypto landscape becoming more sophisticated, the demand for Copper’s custody and prime services products has increased exponentially.”

THE PRODUCT At the core of Copper’s offering is its multiaward-winning custody solution which leverages Multi-Party Computation (MPC) cryptography. MPC creates three separated key shards, effectively eliminating the risk of key exposure in online transactions.

However, it is ClearLoop that the firm is perhaps best known for. Barber says: “It is our ClearLoop product that may have the most far-reaching effects, since credit and counterparty risk are virtually eliminated as client assets never leave their custody account while trading on exchange. This is a game-changer for institutions, because they are no longer required to pre-fund their positions with exchanges integrated into ClearLoop and face the threat of hacking/ theft from a commingled pool of assets.

Institutions can have the peace of mind that their assets are safely stored in custody until real-time settlement is initiated after trading has finished.”

With proof-of-stake projects gaining more traction, Copper has introduced capabilities to enable its clients to earn staking rewards

without compromising the security of their assets. Clients are also increasingly eager to interact with decentralised finance (DeFi), so Copper has introduced a product called CopperConnect, a solution that provides a secure gateway to DeFi in which transactions are signed within Copper’s infrastructure in a secure manner.

Barber believes that digital assets are going to continue at an astonishing pace over the next 12-18 months, and that the growth will come from a number of segments, including new blockchain protocols, wider mainstream adoption of digital currencies, growth in stablecoins and the onslaught of the NFT (non-fungible token) market.

In response, Copper will continue to build out its product offering over the same time frame to keep pace with these new developments and offer institutional investors the same best-in-class solution that they are currently used to at Copper.

GLENN BARBER HEAD OF SALES, COPPER.CO

Glenn Barber is the Head of Sales & Business Development, Americas at Copper.co – a pioneering digital assets custody and settlement provider. Prior to joining Copper, Barber led sales as a Consultant at FalconX, an institutional digital asset brokerage, and he was also the Chief Institutional Officer at Voyager Digital, a publicly-traded holding company whose subsidiaries operate a crypto-asset platform to trade crypto assets. Barber also has over 25 years’ experience in global capital markets and was a Managing Director in Equities at Deutsche Bank and Barclays.

Barber holds a Master’s in International Management and Finance from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a BSc in Business Administration and Management.

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AMERICAS FUND SERVICES INSIGHTS REPORT 2021 | NOVEMBER

SIMILAR WE B

SIMILARWEB

BEST ALTERNATIVE DATA PROVIDER

T

he 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.

According to Ed Lavery, Director of Investor Solutions at SimilarWeb: “Our data provides investors with a solid foundation to analyse companies and markets of interest, and we have focused our efforts in supplementing this with curated metrics and insights to facilitate investors’ decisionmaking.”

To address clients’ needs for multidimensional views of company performance, SimilarWeb initiated strategic partnerships with select other alternative data providers – for example, geolocation, to show a complete view of the performance of retail companies, by combining foot traffic and web traffic data.

Lavery notes that the firm strongly believes in listening to its clients’ requirements and aligning to deliver the best product. “By putting our clients first, having a closed feedback loop across all of our teams at SimilarWeb, and leveraging an agile development process, we ensure our

relevancy, value, and timeliness.”

To build on its current performance, Lavery feels it is important to recognise that any firm is but one part of the mosaic of investing.

“We understand our importance as data providers, but we also realise the value that our clients place in being able to combine various datasets from other providers,” he says. “That’s why SimilarWeb is focused on continuing to provide digestible insights and important signals that can be integrated into the workflow of these busy investors.”

ADAPTING TO THE DIGITAL WORLD One standout issue for the firm is how rapidly the world shifted to digital – a trend not started, but accelerated by Covid-19.

“We know that this shift to digital and the importance of web traffic will only increase, and we’re looking forward to providing this data to our customers and guiding them to make the most informed decisions possible,” Lavery comments.

“We recognise this as an opportunity for SimilarWeb, and it’s our mission to help customers navigate this new world,” he adds.

In terms of key trends, Similarweb has seen that more investors are combining datasets to find signals. As such, more hedge funds are adopting alternative data sources. The firm has also seen this uptake

with VC funds using data to source and perform due diligence. Overall, Lavery notes an increasing and adoption of alternative data in the investment process.

Going forwards, Lavery believes that the business will continue to change in response to clients’ needs. “We will continue to invest in resources for our Investor Analytics team, to provide more of the curated metrics and insights that supplement our underlying data that are valued by our client base,” he says.

SimilarWeb’s development roadmap features significant effort in producing a purpose-built platform and user interface for its Investor Intelligence products, promising a more intuitive and accessible means of extracting data and insights, for both new and existing users.

“We also see growing demand from investors looking to analyse the private and credit markets, and our roadmap includes a number of enhancements to address those needs,” Lavery concludes.

ED LAVERY

DIRECTOR OF INVESTOR SOLUTIONS, SIMILARWEB

Ed Lavery heads SimilarWeb’s Global Investor Solutions business. Lavery joined SimilarWeb four years ago and has been spearheading the solution to help investors integrate Digital Alternative Data into their investment research. He has also worked with many of the world’s leading brands, shaping their digital strategies through market intelligence data. Prior to SimilarWeb, Lavery started his career in Investment Banking in London and worked at Rothschild and DC Advisory.

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AMERICAS FUND SERVICES INSIGHTS REPORT 2021 | NOVEMBER

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SS&C TECHNOLOGIES

SS&C TECHNOLOGIES

BEST ADMINISTRATOR – ESG

O

ver 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.

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AMERICAS FUND SERVICES INSIGHTS REPORT 2021 | NOVEMBER

The global leader in hedge fund administration

For more information, visit ssctech.com

SENTIEO

SENTIEO

BEST AI TECHNOLOGY PROVIDER

E

xcel, 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.

So when the pandemic hit, it upended how Sentieo’s customers operated, and every firm was forced to consider technology in ways they simply hadn’t before. Swati Tyagi, Vice President, Product at Sentieo asks: “If you couldn’t be in the office to access a Bloomberg terminal or walk down the hall to discuss the latest findings with a portfolio manager, what would you do? Our cloudbased platform made the answer easy.”

Like many organisations, Sentieo adapted to the early pandemic by being cautious and limiting investments. But, as they reached the middle of 2020, they saw an incredible wave of demand to support distributed research and teams.

“Our AI and other innovations alleviated their greatest research workflow challenges and, in turn, we were able to navigate through the turbulent business environment,” says Tyagi.

In recent months, Sentieo has noticed an accelerated drive to the cloud and AI by all types of institutional investors, both in response to the pandemic, but also due to a realisation that these technologies

can provide opportunities for productivity improvements, cost saving, and alpha generation.

That recognition has been a boon for Sentieo’s business. “We were fortunate that, when financial centres shut down, our clients could continue to use our cloudbased platform with no interruptions, licence challenges, or security concerns caused by working from home,” says Tyagi.

SUPPORTING STAFF AND CLIENTS This led the firm to double down on investments around how to support distributed teams with capabilities like NLP-powered search, integration with collaboration tools like Slack, and making it easier for teams to work consistently with tools like dashboard sharing. “We also increased investment in our customer success teams to enable the shift to remote operations for our clients,” Tyagi adds.

The three top areas Sentieo clients are asking the firm to invest in are: •

NLP-Powered Search: While NLP and ML tools are becoming a ‘must have’ for all investment professionals, financial document search is still in the early adopter market phase.

•

Integrations: Investment research platforms exist in an ecosystem of content, systems and market data terminals; thus, there needs to be a broad range of ways of integrating with

•

existing workflows, systems, content and data sources.

Research Workflow: A modern, searchfirst research management system (RMS) is becoming the centralised hub of an analyst’s workflow.

Sentieo’s primary business goal is to help more investors shift from the legacy of the old research stack they have deployed to a modern collaborative investment research platform, driving the mission of its product development team who are constantly working to improve the existing platform and extend its capabilities.

“For instance, the growing emphasis on ESG research led us to announce an integration with Sustainalytics ESG Risk Ratings reports earlier this year,” Tyagi says.

As the pandemic continues to recede, Sentieo predicts that more and more investment firms will seek out technology, not for technology’s sake, but to deliver time savings and better insights, analyst collaboration, and ultimately better research for their clients.

SWATI TYAGI

VICE PRESIDENT, PRODUCT, SENTIEO

Swati Tyagi serves as Vice President of Product at Sentieo. She has 16 years of Product Management experience leading conceptualisation, development, and growth of B2B SaaS products for various industries across the globe. Prior to Sentieo, Tyagi worked for Diligent Corporation, a leading platform for Governance, Risk, and Compliance, where she led the product team for Diligent’s flagship product and helped transform it from a point solution into an integrated platform used by 50 per cent of Fortune 1000 companies. Tyagi holds a BSc degree from CCS University in India.

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Collaborative Investment Research Platform

Proud to be Recognized

BEST AI TECHNOLOGY PROVIDER Hedgeweek Americas 2021 & Europe 2021

sentieo.com | London | San Francisco | New York City | New Delhi | +1 415.844.9345

ARCESIUM

ARCESIUM

BEST DATA MANAGEMENT SOLUTION

G

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

Dmitry Miller, SVP, Head of Technical Relationship Management at Arcesium, comments: “We were able to continue serving our existing clients and add new clients, without skipping a beat thanks to our cloud-native architecture and the hard work of our staff.”

Due to the pandemic, Arcesium’s clients experienced a series of events, including increased trading volumes, market volatility, forced transition to remote work, and other major impacts affecting their business. Miller says: “We were able to deliver continuous support and help mitigate these impacts of the pandemic through our technology platform and our financial operations services.”

In terms of emerging trends, Miller predicts that data-centric concerns will become front and centre of almost every interaction Arcesium has with its existing partners, and with the market in general.

“We really are seeing questions like ‘How do I access data in an easy, instant and digestible way to meet the needs of my

business, and ensure consistent quality?’

These types of inquiries arise commonly,” he says.

One specific area that a lot of market participants are looking at is the reduction of data integration friction between data suppliers and consumers. Many firms are looking to reduce data boundaries between organisations and empower their staff to work directly with the data.

Miller says: “In support of these trends, we have been working hard at providing productivity tools on top of the data in our platform – self-service configuration of business rules, an easyto-use data analytics user interface, direct access to their data via Snowflake.”

DATA SOLUTIONS He also identifies developments for cloudbased modern data stacks as both an opportunity and a challenge for clients.

“CDO and CTO offices are looking at the new tools and wondering, ‘Can I achieve better results using these?’ Arcesium is absolutely working on new innovative solutions to enable our clients to unlock the value of their data and increase the velocity of our clients’ data projects,” Miller says.

As this year’s winner of Best Data Management Solution, Arcesium has been

providing best-in-class data capabilities to its clients – not just this year, but since its launch. “We are honoured to be recognised in this category,” Miller says. “Our product provides comprehensive, sophisticated data models and integration links; we combine this with being a cloud-native SaaS platform in order to give our clients a quick time to market with the product. This year, we have been especially excited to share how we build on top of Snowflake’s data platform to help our clients access their data in an innovative way.”

To provide the most value from a data perspective, an external technology firm like Arcesium can bring together its investment expertise and practical experience with modern cloud technologies to rapidly solve any investment management firm’s data challenges. This model can be used to accelerate customer data initiatives, modernise the tech stack to be cloud-native, or unlock business growth through optimised use of data across the organisation.

“We’re actively working with our partners and clients on the next frontier of cloud adoption, specifically at the intersection of investment domain awareness and highly scalable data stacks,” Miller concludes.

DMITRY MILLER

SVP, HEAD OF TECHNICAL RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT, ARCESIUM

Dmitry Miller is a Senior Vice President and the Head of Technical Relationship Management at Arcesium. In this role, he represents the Arcesium platform to customers, and addresses the technology-related needs of their teams. In addition to leading technical relationship management, Dmitry is also a Product Manager, overseeing Arcesium’s data management and data warehouse products.

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AMERICAS FUND SERVICES INSIGHTS REPORT 2021 | NOVEMBER

RFA

RFA

BEST MANAGED SERVICE PROVIDER

R

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

“We have continued to work with clients to maintain and evolve our fully mobile working solutions – with clients’ mobility at the forefront alongside security, which requires a cloudbased network modelling, decentralised cyber security, behavioural analysis and, of course, centralised data, in all senses of the word, through to cloud-based automation and warehousing,” says George Ralph, Global Managing Director and CRO. RFA works to bring a firm’s data together using data management tools, effectively harnessing all its vital information into one central point to keep it not only safe from cyber-attack, but also to allow data to be accessed in a more efficient manner, often through a central remote dashboard with core controls and policies.

Ralph feels that the drivers for its client experience are service, solutions, guidance and support across the board, which translate to a bespoke, consultative approach that understands and anticipates client needs, and relieves them of infrastructure concerns in every area: from engineering and design, to procurement, to 24/7 global coverage, to cloud services that are agnostic.

He says: “Managing user experience

for maximum productivity is a cornerstone of RFA’s service architecture. We have retained our focus on digital transformation over the past 12 months and how we can help our clients to enhance their operational business model using technology to digitise operational processes.”

INDUSTRY PRESSURES RFA clients deal daily in what Ralph terms “a perfect storm”, with pressures from technology, regulatory, and competitive fronts.

As these alternative investment enterprises and their CTOs continue to wrestle with these pressures, exacerbated by Covid-19, infrastructure efficiency and productivity is mission critical to survival.

RFA therefore deploys a comprehensive service suite that includes cloud (public/ private and agnostic); IT service management; managed cyber security & compliance; managed data; managed application; cloud and code auditing; and managed detection and response.

In order to meet client needs, Ralph says: “We have retained a particular emphasis on advanced and neutral cloud-based solutions, with architecture and engineering that forms the basis for our product capability. In addition, we are in the process of securing that our cyber security services keep ahead of the ever-growing sophistication of rogue

actors, including ransomware.”

RFA’s managed detection and response capability, security application management, public cloud security governance and compliance, and vulnerability scanning and remediation capabilities, run 24/7/365 and cover all aspects from risk and impact assessment, threat monitoring and alerts, to remediation and scenario construction.

As we emerge from the Covid-19 environment, Ralph believes that business needs will remain the same. “What is likely to change are processes – greater automation, reliance on cloud and AI, continued threats in cybersecurity, and remote work,” he says.

These all mandate a risk-sensitive, secure and stable global provider that is anticipatory around needs and trends.

“Our global white glove service, combined with our R&D, is fully prepared to be ahead of developing trends, and ready to deliver to clients as these trends affect them,” Ralph adds.

As winner of Best Managed Service Provider, Ralph says: “We believe this award reflects the confidence our clients have in us, and the commitment our global team has in meeting their needs. RFA moves clients from the question of ‘what is our infrastructure doing?’ to, ‘how can we use our infrastructure to further our business growth?’,” he concludes.

GEORGE RALPH

CRO, MANAGING DIRECTOR, RFA

George Ralph CITP, has successfully founded three technology firms along with C-level advisory services include M&A to numerous firms. Ralph is a true leader and has been managing teams internationally and leading technology transformation projects for over 20 years. A certified GDPR, Cyber Assessor, Auditor, Architect and widely-experienced cybersecurity and RegTech professional, Ralph has extensive technical experience in network and server architecture, large scale migrations utilising leading technology brands, and IaaS offerings.

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AMERICAS FUND SERVICES INSIGHTS REPORT 2021 | NOVEMBER

UMB FUND SER VICES

UMB FUND SERVICES BEST ADMINISTRATOR TECHNOLOGY

F

or 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.”

Strong policies and procedures, a highly skilled and trained workforce, and paperless processes made this transition possible.

“We already had remote work integrated into our disaster recovery plan so we were able to implement those changes without service impacts to clients and stakeholders,” she adds.

UMB has seen strong growth in all sectors of the business: hedge, private equity and a growing interest in strategies pertaining to real estate, real assets and direct lending.

While there are some commonalities with other fund strategies, the administrator has invested resources in system enhancements to meet unique needs for real estate fund administration.

“We are witnessing a major shift in employment in the industry and as people are making more career moves than ever before, we are seeing asset managers turn to service providers to provide more

expertise and stability,” Calton says.

“An asset manager’s need for real time data continues to increase. We have continued to invest in making data more accessible and available on a real-time basis, whether related to investors, investments, financial performance, compliance or other matters. Automation continues to change the way the industry operates and the speed in which data flows,” she adds.

GROWING DEMAND There has also been a growing demand by clients to provide private equity strategies to a broader distribution channel and access to the retail accredited investors, and UMB is working with several clients on developing regulated investment companies (RIC) focused on private equity strategies.

Further, UMB continues to see high demand for core fund administration services. Increasingly, clients are asking for more support with regulatory compliance, data standardisation and transferability, custody and treasury services, and loan servicing support.

In terms of new products and services, UMB continues to grow regulatory compliance support services and has extended services for FATCA and CRS to existing clients who have funds serviced elsewhere.

Through its proprietary system AltPro, UMB offers a service to fund of funds to collect, standardise and report on underlying fund holdings and portfolio companies.

Calton adds: “UMB has expanded our offering for funds with lending strategies, and has made technology enhancements to track and price loan data. We have also developed a full offering to support RIC funds, and can support all functions associated with those complex products.”

Over the next 12-18 months, Calton believes that the industry will continue to offer risk-adjusted returns to investors and growth will continue, and that opportunities in private debt will be an additional driver of growth.

Calton also points to technology as a major factor in the industry as developments, like blockchain, influence workflow. “Technology will also support the increasing demand for transparency and monitoring, as regulatory requirements and government oversight increase and investor demands for information gets more granular,” she says.

“Our industry is quick to respond to changes and evolves to meet new challenges. So whatever lies ahead, the industry will adapt to,” she concludes.

JILL CALTON

EVP/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS, UMB FUND SERVICES

Jill Calton leads the alternative investment servicing business of UMB Fund Services, which offers a full range of back-office services for alternative investment funds. Her responsibilities include organisational leadership, strategic development and fiscal management. This includes overseeing the teams that provide fund accounting, administration, investor reporting, tax and audit services for the company’s alternative investment clients. She previously served as a Managing Director, overseeing one of these client service teams.

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AMERICAS FUND SERVICES INSIGHTS REPORT 2021 | NOVEMBER

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WAYSTONE

WAYSTONE

BEST OFFSHORE REGULATORY AND COMPLIANCE COMPANY

W

aystone, 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.

Matthew Brown, Global Head of Business Development at Waystone, comments: “Over the past 18 months and with the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic, Waystone has been providing its clients with a consistent level of high-quality service. The Our established infrastructure has allowed us to continue to develop our products and services to meet the needs of our clients, and we have been able to adapt quickly to any changes to ensure a continuation of high-quality services to our clients across the globe.”

Waystone’s extended range of services supports the increased demand seen across the asset management industry and includes diversification across asset classes and geographies. “Something that we have forecast previously is that clients are now looking for a truly global solution,” says Brown. “Our global expansion, in terms of service lines and jurisdictions, means we are well placed to help emerging and institutional asset managers with these challenges.”

The industry as a whole is seeing increased regulatory complexities, which is driving heightened levels of governance, risk and compliance. Clients are therefore seeking a regulatory solution at the management company level.

CLIENT DEMAND Brown points to the integration of Waystone’s regulatory compliance business as a solution to this client demand across Europe, the Middle East and North America.

“Bringing together these regulatory compliance solutions has been extremely well received by our clients,” he comments.

It is an approach that has resulted in an influx of new business for Waystone.

“Inflows into the hedge fund industry have been increasing significantly over the last 12 to 24 months, which is most likely a reflection of the performance of the liquid instruments in the market,” Brown says.

“From the private asset side, Waystone is extremely well-placed; as well as supporting hedge funds we have experience across all asset classes and we are equally equipped to support illiquid investment strategies in private equity real estate, venture capital, and infrastructure,” he adds.

Despite moving past the peak of the pandemic and the beginnings of something

approaching a normal office life, many people are still choosing to work from home and international business travel is yet to resume at anything near to pre-pandemic levels. Fortunately, the technology is now available to support an ongoing ‘hybrid’ approach in the sector. This flight to technology means that, should there be an urgent need to launch a product or implement a solution for a regulatory obligation, it can be done immediately.

Looking to the future, Brown believes that support from global central banks will remain steady, and that alternative investments will continue to increase. “We have seen some star performers make their names in the industry recently, and we are seeing a firm commitment from institutional allocators to encourage and support new launch investment managers, and, of course, from acorns mighty oaks grow,” he says.

Brown concludes: “At Waystone, we support both institutional clients and new and emerging managers. We are currently seeing a very healthy pipeline of new entrants into the market, and we look forward to continuing to support and guide them on their journey.”

MATTHEW BROWN

GLOBAL HEAD OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, WAYSTONE

Matthew Brown leads all aspects of client service delivery across the North America region. Brown has a wealth of experience as a new business executive who has operated in the equities, investments, trading and hedge fund markets. He has a successful track record in building teams, providing significant ROI, and developing strong networks in markets, such as Europe and the Middle East.

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AMERICAS FUND SERVICES INSIGHTS REPORT 2021 | NOVEMBER

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AMERICAS FUND SERVICES INSIGHTS REPORT 2021 | NOVEMBER

CITCO FUND SER VICES

CITCO FUND SERVICES BEST ESG SOLUTION

T

he 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 bestin-class solutions which prepared us to make quick transitions without sacrificing the superior service we provide.”

According to Peller, Citco went from zero per cent to 100 per cent business continuity planning (BCP) within 12 business days.

“Whilst making the transition, we were able to achieve 100 per cent of client deliverables in the face of increased inbound calls and support tickets, with a 93 per cent satisfaction rate, further proving ourselves a trustworthy and dependable service provider in these challenging circumstances,” Peller adds.

In terms of key trends over the last 18 months, Peller believes that the data collected by Citco on hedge fund performance shows that these funds have proven their worth during the pandemic and, as a result, interest from institutional allocators has increased.

However, this interest in hedge funds and other alternatives has come hand-in-hand with additional scrutiny during the due diligence process, which has also necessarily had to happen virtually to a large degree.

Peller says: “The depth and breadth of due diligence questionnaires (DDQs) has increased, and greater importance has been placed on ethical and social governance (ESG), especially operational ESG, which also encompasses diversity, equity and inclusion.”

OUTSOURCING Peller adds that, as well as the above, the working from home environment has meant that managers are increasingly outsourcing more tasks to asset servicers for improved operational efficiency and resilience.

Peller comments: “Alongside our traditional fund administration service, managers outsource an increasing number of additional functions to Citco such as risk reporting, middle-office solutions including treasury, collateral management and reconciliations, ESG reporting, and tax and regulatory reporting.

“Managers are also looking for services we provide that help them raise money in a more secure and efficient fashion, as part of the virtual due diligence environment we are in. Through our breadth of solutions, we aim to be a client’s operational backbone and foundation for growth,” Peller adds.

Peller terms this part of the ‘Citco Way’, with the business continually evaluating clients’ changing needs and

then developing solutions to address them.

Most recently, the firm launched Citco ESG Reporting, a robust ESG reporting and analytics solution, and Citco Data Services, a web-based data integration and reporting platform designed to empower hedge fund clients by improving transparency and efficiencies through actionable data.

Over the next 12-18 months, Peller feels that hedge funds are likely to continue their resurgence, creating a favourable environment for asset raising. In addition, he says, many asset managers that may have formerly concentrated on hedge funds have expanded in private markets, fueling the continued growth of hybrid funds and co-investments.

Peller comments: “Helping managers to meet tomorrow’s challenges will continue to extend to ESG, where factors such as ecological impacts, employee engagement, and business ethics have become increasingly vital, non-financial, indicators of the health of businesses and investments globally. Given the level of institutional participation in alternatives, and the regulatory scrutiny that many are under, we see ESG reporting and transparency as being a critical area that asset servicers can help managers with,” he concludes.

JAY PELLER

HEAD OF FUND SERVICES, CITCO FUND SERVICES

Jay Peller is a Managing Director, responsible for the Fund Services Division of Citco. Prior to joining Citco in January 2000, Peller was employed by Tudor Investment Corporation where he served in various senior positions, including Vice President of the Fund Accounting Group from 1998 to 1999 and Manager of the group from 1993 to 1997. From 1990 to 1993, Peller worked in the Ernst & Young Financial Services Group. Peller is a CPA and received a degree in Business Administration and Accounting from State University of New York at Albany.

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AMERICAS FUND SERVICES INSIGHTS REPORT 2021 | NOVEMBER

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AMERICAS FUND SERVICES INSIGHTS REPORT 2021 | NOVEMBER

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JEFFERIES

JEFFERIES

BEST PRIME BROKER

J

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

“For us, the last year and a half have been more about heightened levels of focus, awareness and discipline. We have a great team working hard to ensure we navigate challenges, with strong leadership at the senior level. The years 2020 and 2021, while challenging and eventful, for us reaffirmed the controls are there and working, and it’s more about being alert and on the front foot,” says John Laub, Global Head of Prime Services.

Jefferies’ clients have also had a difficult backdrop to deal with, but the firm is encouraged to see how they have performed and saw some great outperformance from hedge fund clients, especially during H2 2020. “We are regularly engaging with our clients and that was certainly evident during this period,” says Barsam Lakani, Global Head of Prime Services Sales.

In terms of key trends, Laub notes that capital comes in different forms, a theme that has become increasingly apparent in recent years.

“We’re seeing more SMAs, fund of ones, co-invests, SPVs etc. being structured for those capital allocators,” adds Leor Shapiro, Global Head of Capital Intelligence.

Furthermore, the emergence of hedge funds doing private investments is now less an observation and one-off item, and a more common offering. “We’re seeing a movement away from simply creating a traditional public investment vehicle and far more innovation and creativity when it comes to drawing capital,” he adds.

In 2018, Jefferies launched an outsourced trading business, one that has grown significantly since inception and shows no signs of slowing. “It’s not just start-ups that are engaging us, but also more established firms where we can help with their execution needs and compliment their existing trading operation,” Laub says.

DRIVING ADVISORY SERVICES Beyond trading and financing, Jefferies is a trusted advisor to its Prime clients and brings to them the full-service nature of its global equity sales, trading and research platform for large institutional clients. For start-up clients, it’s typically about business planning and capital formation and, for more mature clients, the focus is on new best practices, diversification, and continuity planning.

Shapiro says: “We’ve invested heavily in our advisory practices and have expanded to other geographies and regions, with the goal of sourcing and delivering that

intelligence to our clients.”

Jefferies is now seeing increasing demand and trends forming out of Europe and Asia.

“The number of pedigreed start-ups out of Asia and Europe is exciting and we are an important part of their distribution needs.”

Outside of the US markets, clients continue to use equity swaps to structure and finance their portfolios and trades, and Jefferies has been actively investing and expanding its offering, with many more established firms and multi-strats engaging the firm to form a swap financing relationship.

Over the next 12-18 months, Jefferies expects the positive momentum and growth to continue and while industry assets are at a reported peak, Lakani thinks that will continue with ex-US contributing to that growth. The popularity of private investment opportunities and the convergence of public and private investing is expected to continue, and Lakani notes that outsourced solutions and especially outsourced trading will continue to flourish. “We expect that to grow in popularity,” he concludes.

JOHN LAUB

GLOBAL HEAD OF PRIME SERVICES, JEFFRIES

Jefferies Group LLC is the largest independent, global, full-service investment banking firm headquartered in the US. Focused on serving clients for nearly 60 years, Jefferies is a leader in providing insight, expertise and execution to investors, companies and governments. Our firm provides a full range of investment banking, advisory, sales and trading, research and wealth management services across all products in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Jefferies Group LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jefferies Financial Group Inc (NYSE: JEF), a diversified financial services company.

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AMERICAS FUND SERVICES INSIGHTS REPORT 2021 | NOVEMBER

Jefferies Prime Services A Gateway for Hedge Funds to Access the Firm’s Global Platform

By creating connectivity to Investment Banking, Research, Sales and Trading, and Corporate Access for our clients, we help funds successfully build their business and create alpha over business cycles. Our full-service offering includes securities lending, financing, swaps, outsourced trading, a bestin-class technology platform, a Capital Intelligence program that helps managers develop and implement their marketing strategy as well as launch, grow and institutionalize their product offering across the various stages of their lifecycle. Our platform is fully self-clearing and provides global access to over 40 markets. In addition, Global Prime Services has achieved the SSAE Type II reporting standard. Find out more at Jefferies.com.

Clients First–Always

SM

INVESTMENT BANKING | EQUITIES | FIXED INCOME | ASSET MANAGEMENT | WEALTH MANAGEMENT | JEFFERIES.COM © 2021 Jefferies LLC. Member SIPC.

BTIG PRIME BROKERAGE

BTIG PRIME BROKERAGE

BEST PRIME BROKER – START-UP AND EMERGING MANAGERS

B

TIG, 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.

According to Justin Press, Managing Director and Co-Head of BTIG Prime Brokerage: “We continue to deliver top-tier, responsive and reliable resources for clients.

As we support clients’ long-term aspirations and near-term mandates, we provide a meaningful and distinct level of service driven by constant communication.”

One of the key trends BTIG is seeing is that asset levels across many of its clients are at all-time highs – achieved by fund performance and/or new allocations. Brian Petitt, Managing Director and Co-Head of BTIG Prime Brokerage, says: “We are winning mandates for multiple reasons, but often for our ability to help clients build and diversify their assets under management.

Our seamless integration, with our active capital introduction pipeline of investors and allocators is increasingly attractive to emerging and established managers. BTIG continues to act as a critical resource for many small and mid-size funds looking for capital.”

MOVING AWAY FROM TRADITION BTIG has provided outsource trading for more than 15 years and, in recent months, the firm has seen a dramatic shift where many of its prime brokerage clients are also utilising its services to replace their existing trading desk or use its traders to support a desk with a limited number of traders.

Another key trend is clients leveraging BTIG electronic trading. Petitt says: “Our client support team works closely with funds to help them maximise performance and streamline their trading experience. Our leading-edge proprietary systems include low-latency routing, machine learning and smart algorithms.”

Additionally, BTIG is experiencing growth across its prime brokerage family office platform. Managers who have returned outside capital to focus on managing

JUSTIN PRESS

BRIAN PETITT

Justin Press is a Managing Director and Co-Head of Prime Brokerage at BTIG. He is also a member of the firm’s Global Operating Committee. Press joined BTIG in 2005 via a predecessor firm, Baypoint Trading. Prior to Baypoint Trading, he held Prime Brokerage Sales roles at UBS Prime Brokerage and its predecessor firms ING Barings and ABN Amro.

Brian Petitt is a Managing Director and Co-Head of Prime Brokerage at BTIG. He oversees both the day-to-day operations and business development efforts of BTIG’s Prime Brokerage division. Petitt is also a member of the firm’s Global Operating Committee. He joined BTIG in 2005 via Baypoint Trading, a predecessor of BTIG.

MANAGING DIRECTOR AND CO-HEAD OF PRIME BROKERAGE, BTIG

28

personal assets continue to turn to the firm.

BTIG is also constantly enhancing its product suite. Recent innovations include stronger portfolio reporting tools and a monitoring service for its OMS to evaluate P&Ls and portfolios, and expansion of its outsource trading unit to support both equities and fixed income products. Further, its capital introduction team recently developed an online investor portal to provide a gateway to manager profiles, investor feedback and a video library of recorded events.

BTIG is hopeful that the trend of funds launching successfully and raising significant assets under management will continue throughout the next 12-18 months.

“As we look ahead, our pipeline is promising, and we are very optimistic about the future operating environment,” Press says. “As companies begin to see employees return to in-person activities, including conferences, events and meetings, we look forward to a busy 2021/2022 and a robust schedule. Our team is excited to once again engage in-person with our clients and prospects, and we are encouraged about the future.”

MANAGING DIRECTOR AND CO-HEAD OF PRIME BROKERAGE, BTIG

AMERICAS FUND SERVICES INSIGHTS REPORT 2021 | NOVEMBER

PRIME BROKERAGE

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 Prime Services Include Consulting Across Trading, Operations and Organizational Development  Experienced Professionals Act as Valuable Resources for Every Stage of Growth

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ANCHIN

ANCHIN

BEST TAX ADVISORY

T

his 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.”

Over the last year, Anchin has seen that with volatility comes opportunity and that managers have been able to take advantage of these swings in the market. Rosenthal notes that this has been particularly advantageous to start-ups, who form a significant part of the firm’s business.

Further, start-up costs are now lower due to a declining need for large physical offices from the outset.

“Capital raising has always been an issue, and at the onset of Covid it was even more difficult because most seeders and investors want to come in and kick the tires,” Rosenthal says. “However, I think it’s matured a little bit over the last 18 months, with seeders and investors getting more comfortable with virtual meetings.”

But he believes that volatility will remain,

and that it is important that managers don’t take risks outside of their normal strategy because they worry about money being pulled. “Stick with your strategy, because there will be ups and downs, and then communicate that message to your investors,” he says.

Also, while many start-up managers don’t need to register as advisors because the threshold is USD150 million, Rosenthal recommends that they operate like registered funds: adopt the best practices and focus on compliance. “Hopefully in the short-term, they’ll have to register,” he says. “If you start from day one, adopting best practice and functioning as if you were registered as an advisor, it makes it easier later on.”

INVESTING IN THE FUTURE Anchin has been leveraging its expertise with start-ups this past year with the launch of its Emerging Managers Platform for hedge funds, private equity, real estate and venture capital. “This harnesses all our skills working with start-ups, counselling them, getting them the assistance they need to try to be successful. Because some of those smaller start-ups might be billion-dollar funds in the future,” Rosenthal says.

Some more established funds are now

looking at different asset classes, such as crypto and cannabis, or becoming more hybrid. “They are doing some private equity and some venture capital. You don’t want to be left behind,” Rosenthal warns.

Over the next 18 months, Rosenthal believes that ESG will continue to be a hot topic and predicts that crypto will become an asset class in itself, creating more opportunity for funds to either diversify, or create whole new funds specialising in crypto.

Founded in 1923, Anchin will soon reach its 100th birthday. On Anchin’s recipe for such a long corporate life, Rosenthal comments: “We pride ourselves on the culture we instil within the firm. I feel that Anchin is my second family, and it’s extending that to our clients and watching them grow. We have clients that are third generation clients and I have fund clients that have been with us for over 30 years. I hope it lasts another 100 years.”

JEFFREY ROSENTHAL

PARTNER, LEADER OF FINANCIAL SERVICES PRACTICE, ANCHIN

Jeffrey Rosenthal, CPA, CGMA is the Leader of Anchin’s Financial Services Practice.

Rosenthal specialises in providing accounting, tax, and business advice to a wide array of financial services entities, including broker/dealers, investment partnerships (domestic and offshore), funds-of-funds, mutual funds, private equity funds, and investment advisors. He has experience advising newly formed entities and assisting with start-up considerations, such as form of practice, structure of agreements, compensation arrangements, compliance, and regulatory matters.

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AMERICAS FUND SERVICES INSIGHTS REPORT 2021 | NOVEMBER

With a team of professionals dedicated to the unique needs of investment partnerships, hedge and private equity funds, and investment advisors, Anchin is your big firm alternative for the Financial Services industry. industry We provide audit, tax, financial reporting, and advisory services to hundreds of clients.

To see how we can help your start-up or existing fund thrive, call Jeffrey Rosenthal or George Teixeira at 212.840.3456.

Jeffrey I. Rosenthal, CPA, CGMA Financial Services Partner-in-Charge jeffrey.rosenthal@anchin.com

1375 Broadway, New York, NY 10018

212.840.3456

E. George Teixeira, CPA, MST Financial Services Tax Leader george.teixeira@anchin.com

anchin.com

@anchincpa

COWEN OUTSOURCED TRA DING

COWEN OUTSOURCED TRADING BEST OUTSOURCED TRADING PROVIDER

A

t 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.

“Our personnel had access to all capabilities and were able to service our clients seamlessly during the height of market volatility and volume,” says Jack Seibald, Global Co-Head of prime brokerage and outsourced trading at Cowen.

This approach proved critical to the firm’s clients and resulted in a record year for revenues and profits. “In part because of the pandemic, we saw a good bit of movement within the prime brokerage business and were the beneficiaries of clients opting for a different – we like to think better – solution than the one they had,” he adds.

In the midst of all this disruption, Cowen also assumed the international prime brokerage business of a key rival. Seibald notes: “We have continued to succeed in our business development efforts this year

in the US as well as in Europe and Asia. The latter two have seen a particularly significant increase in their client rosters so far.”

Like all service providers, Cowen has been operating in a volatile market, with challenges beyond the pandemic, including the “meme” stock short squeezes and the Archegos implosion, which resulted in fund managers trading more actively in an attempt to de-risk their portfolios and, in many instances, to capture the dramatic swings in prices. “We also saw managers shy away from single stock shorts for some time to avoid getting caught by the squeezes,” Seibald says.

REGENERATION New launches have continued apace this year, with many notable start-ups by managers coming out of large, well-known platforms. “This cycle of regeneration is as good as we have seen it in years and appears likely to continue over the nearterm,” he comments. Driving this, in part, is a renewed interest by allocators in hedge fund managers, shortly after the Covidinduced market implosion in the spring of 2020. “This move by many allocators proved profitable as hedge funds performed well

over the remainder of the year,” he adds.

According to Seibald, the key service that fund managers are currently asking for is capital introduction. “The reality is that hedge fund managers want more capital to manage and are, for the most part, requesting more and more assistance from their prime brokers.”

In addition, managers are increasingly enquiring about trading and clearing markets around the globe and outsourced trading. To meet demand, Cowen launched FX trading last year and fixed income outsourced trading in 2021. “These business lines are particularly of interest to larger and more established funds, which provides us the opportunity to broaden our client profile,” Seibald comments.

On the client side, Cowen is seeing new launches continuing at a decent pace, with a number of very high-profile launches with substantial sums of capital already starting this year, and the flow of talented portfolio managers coming out of larger platforms is continuing, as they look to “control their own destiny,” Seibald concludes.

JACK SEIBALD

MANAGING DIRECTOR, GLOBAL CO-HEAD, PRIME BROKERAGE & OUTSOURCED TRADING, COWEN

Jack Seibald is Managing Director and Global Co-Head of Prime Brokerage & Outsourced Trading. Seibald co-founded Concept Capital Markets, LLC and, until its acquisition by Cowen, served as a Managing Member of the firm. During his tenure with Concept Capital, Seibald was involved in the management of all aspects of the firm’s operations, with a particular emphasis on business and client development and legal matters.

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AMERICAS FUND SERVICES INSIGHTS REPORT 2021 | NOVEMBER

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COWEN

COWEN INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

FIS

FIS

BEST RISK MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE

W

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

FIS Cross Asset Trading and Risk Platform is a single, modernised platform, available installed or cloud-based. It provides a realtime understanding of your risk. A top-flight risk management solution requires expertise in several challenging respects: a wide range of sophisticated models to provide true cross-asset coverage; a real-time architecture to ensure that key exposures are identified and acted upon the moment they arise; and a flexible integration and extension capability to ensure that the unique perspectives of your traders, portfolio managers and risk managers are not constrained by closed or inflexible systems.

FIS’ Cross-Asset Trading and Risk Platform excels in all three areas, and provides a flexible workflow and compliance framework over the top. That way, clients’ risks are always understood and controlled, and their business processes are managed exactly as they need them. The platform provides risk controls, including real-time PnL, so clients can understand your exposure quickly.

How have you overcome the challenges of the last 18 months?

FIS’ expertise and resources have allowed the firm to take a proactive approach to the pandemic, rather than a reactive one. 95 per cent of our 55,000 workforce was converted

to remote work within a matter of weeks, which allowed our clients to turn to us not only for additional manpower, but also for guidance and thought leadership on how to manage such an unprecedented disruption to our daily routines. That speed of action and scale of response allowed our clients to function on their key strategic initiatives, while knowing that the running of their daily operations was in good hands with FIS. What lessons have you learned?

We learned that successful organisations will find ways to adapt and challenge existing norms in order to thrive during periods of extreme upheaval. We were surprised at how swiftly and completely many of our clients embraced our managed services offerings.

What key trends are you currently witnessing in this space?

Vendor/system consolidation and cloud migration are the two hottest trends we see in our space. Clients want fewer systems, integration points and streamlined technology stacks with scalable, on-demand cloud capacity. They also want to work with fewer strategic suppliers. Companies who offer the broadest range of solutions and services are best equipped to help their clients grow assets and reduce costs in the long-term.

What services are your clients currently asking for?

Clients are increasingly preferring managed risk services over software applications, leverage expertise and solutions. They are looking to obtain a complete service offering from their vendors, rather than installed point solutions. Some firms find multiple vendor management a challenge, so choosing a single provider who can support their infrastructure and supplement their in-house teams is increasingly important.

Are you developing any new products and services in response to these requirements?

We are launching additional managed services offerings in 2022, all focused on allowing clients to concentrate on their core competencies and outsourcing commoditised functions to strategic partners.

How do you feel the landscape will develop over the next 1-2 years?

Vendors with the broadest capabilities and those who embrace managed services, keep pace with modernising technology and invest in their solutions will continue to distance themselves from tactical or point solutions.

CHRIS BURNHAM

DIRECTOR, CROSS-ASSET TRADING AND RISK BUSINESS, FIS

Chris Burnham is responsible for a specialised team within FIS’ Cross-Asset Trading and Risk (CATR) group, serving the global hedge funds, convertible bond and equitylinked markets. Burnham has worked with the world’s leading investment banks, hedge funds, asset managers and service providers for twenty years across roles in sales, delivery, product and general management. Burnham leads the team to help clients raise capital, trade efficiently, meet regulatory and compliance requirements, generate investment returns and manage risk.

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AMERICAS FUND SERVICES INSIGHTS REPORT 2021 | NOVEMBER

Thursday February 24, 2022 | University Club of New York

OPPORTUNITIES IN INSTITUTIONALISING

THE DIGITAL FRONTIER REGISTER NOW

AKRAM & ASSOCIATES

AKRAM & ASSOCIATES

BEST ACCOUNTING FIRM START-UP AND EMERGING FUNDS

INDUSTRY TRENDS

The accountancy firm has noted a number of key trends that are impacting on their clients and their accounting practice. The first of these is blockchain.

Akram comments: “We are seeing many emerging managers, and other funds which are in their growth stage, looking to invest in cryptocurrencies as an asset class and blockchain technology entities.”

He adds: “This trend has directly affected our business in that we needed to educate and train our staff on the industry best practices about accounting policies and

“

Using AI has given us, and our clients who choose to use it, the ability to analyse large amounts of data in a short period of time

“

U

S-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.

Muhammad Akram, Founder and Certified Public Accountant, says: “We used G-Meet for virtual client and team meetings when needed. Additionally, we began the process of updating our website and client portal in order to improve efficiency in receiving and disseminating documents. In the physical office setting, we have a strict Covid-19 policy in place, and as such we have been able to continue to provide our services to clients without interruption.”

Muhammad Akram, Founder, Certified Public Accountant, Akram & Associates

regulations.”

Akram also identifies the use of social media and search engine optimisation (SEO) as important, with both having an effect on the firm’s current client base and on potential new clients. These initiatives have allowed the firm to improve its brand awareness, increase sales to new clients and drive website traffic.

Akram further points to the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in his business. “Using AI has given us, and our clients who choose to use it, the ability to analyse large amounts of data in a short period of time. The use of AI on our larger clients and data sets has allowed us to increase productivity and generate more accurate data at a reduced cost, increasing our realisation,” Akram says.

Clients continue to request the typical fund audit and tax services, along with specifically tailored solutions to complex accounting and tax consulting issues. However, the firm is developing new offerings, with experienced personnel in those areas, to enhance its offerings. “For example, we have begun offering accounting and tax services for insurance-dedicated Funds,” Akram comments.

Over the next 12-18 months, the firm expects to see an explosion of outsourcing of certain functions. “The pandemic had made it difficult to properly staff and, by outsourcing, we can fill important skill gaps for highly technical projects,” he concludes.

MUHAMMAD AKRAM

FOUNDER, CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT, AKRAM & ASSOCIATES

Muhammad Akram is a Certified Public Accountant and leads the Firm’s overall practice. Akram earned a Bachelor of Accounting from SKANS School of Accountancy. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and North Carolina Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Akram worked with Ernst & Young International, Anchin Block and Anchin LLP and Rothstein Kass & Co where he worked on the audit, tax and consulting engagements for onshore and offshore alternative investment funds.

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Trusted Adviser to the Alternative Investments Industry

COHNREZNICK

COHNREZNICK BEST AUDIT FIRM

T

his 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.

Gary Berger, Partner and Northeast Practice Leader of CohnReznick’s Financial Services industry practice, says: “Successful alternative investment fund managers understand the market conditions and economic factors impacting their ability to raise capital, invest wisely and operate efficiently.”

CohnReznick is seeing more strategies around cryptocurrency or digital assets, but remains cautious on working with these due to regulatory concerns, audit issues and other uncertainties.

Berger notes that almost half of new fund launches are long-short equity managers, although with different strategies such as healthcare and emerging markets. “Private credit, multi-strategy, and real estate funds also predominate,” he adds.

Capital raising remains a major challenge, with a lot of headwinds, especially for emerging managers.

Raising capital demands that managers cast a wide net and talk to a lot of people; Berger believes that

if they have a good story, their chances of success are that much greater. Seeders look at hundreds of emerging managers every year and only seed a handful; therefore, an emerging manager must have their own capital or access to ‘friends and family’ money.

Berger says: “This itself is a vicious cycle because they’re making concessions along the way on those investors’ fees. And portfolio managers are putting a lot of their own liquid capital into the fund because they want to have skin in the game.”

He also points to a well-thought ESG strategy as a social and financial value driver for both emerging and experienced managers, with the expectation of continued emphasis on ESG going forward.

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE Over the next 12 months, CohnReznick notes that current uncertainty from tax, political, and inflationary perspectives, coupled with questions around tax proposals – particularly around capital gains and carried interest – may cause fund managers to adjust their trading strategies.

Overall, however, Berger remains optimistic on the alternatives industry: “We think it will continue to grow. Hedge funds have performed well so far this year, and we

think that performance will propel them to increase the overall AuM of the industry. We think more and more new funds will be out there.”

Among the key services requested from CohnReznick’s clients are: • Audit: “CohnReznick’s audit and assurance professionals create lasting relationships based on truth, and deliver comprehensive audit, attest, and accounting services held to the highest standards of excellence and independence,” Berger says.

• Tax: Through proactive, advice-driven strategies, CohnReznick helps clients to mitigate risk and realise appropriate tax advantages.

• Advisory: CohnReznick Advisory leverages a proprietary platform to oversee clients’ transactions or transform the way they do business.

• Compliance: In addition to core services, managers are increasingly asking for advisory services such as cybersecurity, technology risk and privacy, managed services and outsourcing.

Additionally, emerging managers are asking for help getting started, and CohnReznick is developing ESG strategy assessments and solutions for alternative investment funds.

GARY BERGER

SENIOR AUDIT PARTNER, COHNREZNICK

Based in the Firm’s New York office, Gary Berger is extensively involved in the Firm’s Financial Services practice and has over 25 years of experience serving domestic and offshore hedge funds, private equity funds and fund of funds. He provides advice on fund start-up issues, including organisational structure, economic and tax issues and general business consultation. Berger’s previous experience includes serving as a Senior Vice President at a large global administrator.

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AMERICAS FUND SERVICES INSIGHTS REPORT 2021 | NOVEMBER

OPTIMIZE PERFORMANCE The advisory, assurance, and tax professionals at CohnReznick work to understand your strategic objectives, helping you optimize fund performance and manage risk.

Let’s get going.

Visit us at cohnreznick.com/industries/financial-sponsors-and-financial-services

OPUS FUND SER VICES

OPUS FUND SERVICES

BEST ADMINISTRATOR – START-UP AND EMERGING FUNDS

T

he 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.

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AMERICAS FUND SERVICES INSIGHTS REPORT 2021 | NOVEMBER

PEAKS STRATEGIES

PEAKS STRATEGIES

BEST PR AND COMMUNICATIONS FIRM

I

n 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.

ESG and sustainable investing continues to be a major factor, both in how clients are managing portfolios and positioning for allocations from target investors.

“We are doing a lot more work for donor advised funds (DAFs) and other specialist alternative managers in this regard, and we now have a good track-record and client base in that niche, as well as staff and consultants that are passionate about this space and knowledgeable about the media landscape,” Leslie says.

He further notes the trend towards digital assets, either via investing in crypto, investing in tokenised securities or the growing applications around DeFi. “Many investment managers are now allocating or exploring this space, so that’s an exciting new asset class that we have luckily been entrenched in quite early on,” Leslie comments.

Peaks Strategies is also seeing interest and representing clients from the service provider side of the digital asset house, as it look to reach the buy-side with its offerings.

Over the next 12-18 months, Leslie believes that signs are pointing to continued AuM growth for the industry, and investors (both institutional and retail) need the diversification that alternatives provide.

“While the large, established players will continue to gain market-share, there are always opportunities for niche players to emerge and succeed, and we enjoy working with some of the more off-the-run managers (alternative) that are introducing new strategies into the market and innovating and finding new ways to capture alpha,” Leslie says.

OVERCOMING CHALLENGES To meet current and ongoing challenges, Peaks Strategies is seeing a large pick-up in client demand for content creation, ranging from short-form social media posts through to long-form white papers, and everything in between.

However, Leslie says: “Earned media is still our bread and butter and pound for pound still the most impactful and costeffective form of marketing communications.

So, media relations is vital and helping promote news, subject matter expertise, and thought leadership via these channels is a major part of what we do.”

Leslie feels that Peaks Strategies has

navigated the pandemic era well and its business has grown substantially in the past 18 months. “We are well set-up to be both remote and have a central office space to be used as needed,” he says.

“In addition, we have assembled a core of best-in-class advisors and consultants who we can turn to to meet specialised client needs and PR tasks, including digital strategies, content creation, and media training,” he adds.

On winning this award, Leslie feels that it is “our dedication to senior level service, predicated by our boutique model and our unrivaled knowledge and experience in this space” that differentiates Peaks Strategies in a crowded and competitive field.

“We are fortunate to have clients and industry colleagues that have supported us for many years, as we build and foster long-term relationships, and it’s an honour to accept this award again,” he concludes.

ARMEL LESLIE

PARTNER, PEAKS STRATEGIES

Armel Leslie is a Partner at Peaks Strategies, delivering integrated brand-building campaigns for clients across the capital markets ecosystem with a strong reputation and expertise across alternative investment management. Leslie began his career at Walek & Associates in 1999 where he rose to a Partner by the time of its sale to integrated PR agency Peppercomm in 2013, where Leslie was Senior Director of Capital Markets.

Following his time at Peppercomm, Leslie was a Senior Vice President at Sloane & Company, where he oversaw some of the firm’s leading financial services clients.

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AMERICAS FUND SERVICES INSIGHTS REPORT 2021 | NOVEMBER

Define.

Differentiate.

Promote.

Protect.

PEAKS S T R AT E G IE S

Ex perienc ed.

F oc used.

Driv en.

FINANCIAL & CAPITAL MARKETS COMMUNICATIONS

Knowledge. Service. Results.

New York | Stamford | Boulder www.PeaksStrategies.com info@PeaksStrategies.com

HEDGEMARK

HEDGEMARK

BEST MANAGED ACCOUNTS PLATFORM

T

he 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.

Joshua Kestler, Global Head of HedgeMark, comments: “At the outset of the pandemic, allocators faced challenges putting capital to work given the inability to visit managers onsite. The protections associated with managed account structures, including control, improved governance and transparency, helped many of our clients overcome these challenges.

The flexible and customised nature of managed account structures helped clients rapidly deploy capital to take advantage of unique market opportunities, such as coinvestments and SPACs.” Several key trends have dominated the past 18 months which have driven client adoption of managed accounts and related growth in HedgeMark’s business.

Risk Mitigating Strategies (RMS) portfolios are intended to hedge or offset the significant equity risk in pension plan portfolios and are intended to generate positive returns when equities decline. RMS programmes generally utilise three strategy components, which include long treasury duration, trend following/capture and alternative risk premia.

“The customisation, control and transparency afforded by managed

account structures, along with the ability to rebalance the portfolio intra-month, make such structures ideal for implementing an RMS programme. The initial wave of RMS allocators performed very well during some of the pandemic-related market volatility, and this success has driven a second wave of allocators implementing RMS programmes,” Kestler says.

Allocators are increasingly focusing on counterparty exposure and single-name risk. Concerns relating to counterparty losses, associated with Archegos and the volatility around internet meme stocks, such as AMC and GameStop, have driven investors to increase their focus on these specific areas of risk.

MANAGING RISK Managed account allocators have a significant advantage in terms of understanding and managing this risk as the transparency afforded by the managed account structure allows them to monitor counterparty and single-name exposure on a daily basis. HedgeMark has therefore developed dashboards for counterparty monitoring, as well as single name monitoring, including crowded shorts, unusual volume and highly active stocks.

Allocators are also monitoring their portfolios for ESG scoring and other related analytics, with managed account structures being the ideal way to implement a portfolio

requiring ESG monitoring, given the ability to customise the investment strategy and apply specific investment guidelines, and the availability of daily transparency and related tools.

Kestler also identifies co-investments as a major trend. “Many allocators see an opportunity to extract unique or additional alpha by working with managers on overflow ideas and co-investments. Clients have used managed account structures to access coinvestment opportunities in order to quickly deploy capital to these investments and maintain asset control.”

To meet these trends, Kestler says that clients are looking to outsource the noninvestment functions associated with building and operating a dedicated managed account platform, including platform structuring, fund formation, document negotiation, operations and accounting services, service provider oversight, plus risk and guideline monitoring and other analytics.

“The resources required to operate a Dedicated Managed Account (DMA) platform are specialised and significant,” Kestler says. “HedgeMark has the staff, processes, technology, and scale to deliver platform services to our clients in an efficient and cost-effective manner which alleviates the constraints of client resource capacity and the need for clients to absorb significant fixed costs associated with their platforms.”

JOSHUA KESTLER GLOBAL HEAD, HEDGEMARK

Joshua Kestler is responsible for overall management of the business, including development and implementation of business strategy. Kestler has more than 20 years of experience in the hedge fund industry. Prior experience includes Head of Managed Account Platform Operations for Deutsche Bank’s X-Markets Hedge Fund Platform in the US and CAO of DB Advisors Hedge Fund Group. Kestler was also an associate at Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP. Kestler received a JD, cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a BA, summa cum laude, from Rutgers College.

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AMERICAS FUND SERVICES INSIGHTS REPORT 2021 | NOVEMBER

HEDGEMARK

Dedicated Managed Account Solutions

BNY Mellon’s HedgeMark specializes in supporting institutional clients in the development and operation of their own private hedge fund dedicated managed account platforms.

HedgeMark combines a singular focus and a deep bench of experienced staff to offer what we believe is the most comprehensive model in the industry. HedgeMark seamlessly handles the set-up, operations and oversight of your DMA platform. We do one thing: launch and service DMAs. We’ve developed and refined our operations and technology with one purpose — to make every step of the DMA process easier, more efficient and more transparent.

HedgeMark To learn more visit www.hedgemark.com

No representation is made that any Dedicated Managed Account’s investment process, objectives, goals or risk management techniques will or are likely to be achieved or be s uccessful or that any Dedicated Managed Account or any underlying investment will make any profit or will not sustain losses. The risks of investing in hedge fund strategies will not be negated or even mitigated by HedgeMark’s Dedicated Managed Account platforms, analytic tools, compliance policies or monitoring and no assurance is given that any Dedicated Managed Account will not be exposed to risks, including but not limited to, significant trading losses and loss of principal. Dedicated Managed Accounts are not insured by FDIC (or any other state or federal agency) and are not deposits of or guaranteed by BNY Mellon. An investment in hedge fund strategies is speculative, should be discretionary capital set aside for speculative purposes, involves a high degree of risk and is not suitable for all investors. Investors could lose all or a substantial portion of their investment and must have the financial ability, sophistication, experience and willingness to bear the risks of an investment long term. Hedge fund strategies may be significantly leveraged and performance may be volatile. Accounts pursuing hedge fund strategies commonly enter into swaps, futures, forwards, options and other derivative transactions for various hedging and/or speculative purposes that can result in volatile fund performance.HedgeMark is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation and may also be used as a generic term to reference the Corporation as a whole and/or its various subsidiaries generally. Products and services may be provided under various brand names and in various countries by subsidiaries, affiliates, and joint ventures of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation where authorized and regulated as required within each jurisdiction. Not all products and services are offered at all locations. The statements contained herein, are not an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any products (including financial products) or services or to participate in any particular strategy mentioned and should not be construed as such. Trademarks, service marks and logos belong to their respective owners. © 2021 The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. All rights reserved.

HORSESHOE FUND SER VICES

HORSESHOE FUND SERVICES BEST OFFSHORE ADMINISTRATOR

W

ith 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.

Mike Gentile CAIA, FRM, Senior Vice President, Head of US Operations at Horseshoe, comments: “In order to ensure we could continue to deliver on these priorities, we implemented the necessary IT and infrastructure updates to accommodate our staff working from home, and ensured business continuity as we serviced our clients in a business-as-usual manner regardless of our work location.”

With the health and safety of its staff top of mind, and as the state of the pandemic and its impacts continues to fluctuate, Horseshoe has moved to a hybrid working model so that staff have the flexibility to produce their best work while taking care of their personal responsibilities.

Commenting on key trends in the industry over recent months, Brian Desmond FCA, CSO, EVP, Head of Fund Services at Horseshoe, says: “Given the complexity of

business travel at this time, our clients are seeing the impacts of not being able to meet face-to-face with potential investors, mainly affecting their ability to fundraise.”

Desmond has noticed that investors seem hesitant to invest in new managers without the deep dive that plays out during in-person meetings, which is especially frustrating for newer funds.

He also notes that, as the largest service provider to funds that invest in insurancelinked securities, Horseshoe is driven to specialise in other niche asset classes within its hedge fund operations. “In 2021 we have seen a large increase in clients investing in SPAC investments, especially post new guidance from the SEC, and we remain at the forefront in this area,” Desmond says.

Among services currently requested, those clients that invest in insurancelinked securities (ILS) are increasingly using Horseshoe’s valuation services due to the large catastrophe loss events that have occurred over the last few years.

“They appreciate that we provide independent actuarial valuation services in-

BRIAN DESMOND

MIKE GENTILE

Brian Desmond is a seasoned practitioner and respected leader within the global fund administration community, with over 27 years of successful experience. He is the Chief Strategy Officer and EVP, Head of Fund Services.

Desmond was one of the founding principles, CFO and COO of IKONIC, a specialist Fund Administration and Corporate Services Company, which was acquired by Horseshoe in 2016. He is a Fellow Chartered Accountant (FCA) and acts as Director of a number of offshore fund companies.

Mike Gentile is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst and Financial Risk Manager, and is responsible for managing the operations of the US office in Charlotte, NC, including portfolio and fund accounting, as well as investor services. Gentile joined the company in 2012 and has over 20 years’ experience in the area of fund administration, including expertise in investor services, internal controls and procedures, compliance and antimoney laundering. He graduated from Boston College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business, with a concentration in Finance.

CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, HEAD OF FUND SERVICES, HORSESHOE FUND SERVICES

46

house and that we can provide deep insights on valuation best practices, due to the volume of transactions we service across the ILS market,” Desmond says.

Additionally, clients are seeking greater access to their funds/portfolio data in realtime, which Horseshoe is able to deliver through its technology platform. “Our clients are able to independently run reports on demand and are given full transparency into the status of their portfolio,” Gentile comments. “That, combined with the ability to readily access our expertise for any ad hoc reports, gives them real-time transparency at their fingertips.”

Desmond adds: “Our clients know that we have touchpoints across the ILS sector due to our integrated business model. This continues to be a competitive advantage that is of great benefit to our clients in a number of ways, primarily the ease of accessing solutions, but more importantly, the efficiency and operational excellence that is derived from heightened levels of communication and coordination across our teams.”

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, HEAD OF US OPERATIONS, HORESESHOE FUND SERVICES

AMERICAS FUND SERVICES INSIGHTS REPORT 2021 | NOVEMBER

SADIS AND GOLDBERG

SADIS AND GOLDBERG BEST LAW FIRM

“

Our clients are diversified by strategy, location and size. This diversity enables Sadis to flourish when other law firms have had to contend with negative economic pressures resulting in a less stable work force

S

adis 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.

Ron Geffner, Partner at Sadis and Goldberg, says: “Not only are we familiar with commercial developments, as well as the most recent regulatory and tax developments but, given the number of funds we represent, we have global relationships that often assist our clients.”

Despite the challenges of the last 18 months, the firm feels it has been fortunate.

“Our clients are diversified by strategy,

location and size,” says Geffner. “This diversity enables Sadis to flourish when other law firms have had to contend with negative economic pressures resulting in a less stable work force.”

Sadis feels that its success is based entirely on the commitment of its colleagues “who are humbled by the devotion and support of our clientele,” Geffner says.

REFLECTING AND IMPROVING In terms of lessons learned, he comments: “Each of our client’s situations are unique to the client. First and foremost, we listen to better understand the effect that the market

“

Ron Geffner, Partner, Sadis and Goldberg

dynamics have on our client. Then, we seek to understand the clients’ need and provide a cost-effective solution.”

Many of Sadis’ clients have outperformed during the most recent cycle, and many of those clients have grown, Geffner notes.

Going forwards, Geffner says: “We are sensitive to the opportunity to allow colleagues to work from home due to the pandemic. We are also growing: we anticipate that we will be announcing the launch of a new location in Miami, Florida in 2022.”

RON GEFFNER

PARTNER, SADIS AND GOLDBERG

Ron Geffner oversees the Financial Services Group. He regularly structures, organises and counsels private investment vehicles, investment advisory organisations, brokerdealers, commodity pool operators and other investment fiduciaries. Geffner also routinely counsels clients in connection with regulatory investigations and actions. His broad background with federal and state securities laws, and the rules, regulations and customary practices of the SEC, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Commodities Futures Trading Commission and various other regulatory bodies, enables him to provide strategic guidance to a diverse clientele

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AMERICAS FUND SERVICES INSIGHTS REPORT 2021 | NOVEMBER

FOCUSED ON YOU LEARN HOW WE CAN HELP YOU WITH:

Fund Formation Regulatory Compliance Private Equity Mergers & Acquisitions

Financial Services Litigation Real Estate Family Office Tax

Sadis & Goldberg LLP | www.sadis.com

ALIGN

ALIGN

BEST CYBERSECURITY PROVIDER

I

t 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.

INNOVATION John Araneo, Managing Director, Cybersecurity & General Counsel, believes that Align was chosen for this award for one reason: innovation. He says: “The Align Cybersecurity team really pioneered the concept of providing model cybersecurity programmes that are appropriately scaled for investment advisers. Align was the first firm to intentionally design a full-on cybersecurity advisory team as part of a managed IT service provider.”

Align’s team made a conscious decision to build its cyber services inside of an MSP because: • Although Cybersecurity and IT are independent and autonomous business functions, they are inextricably intertwined, and a model Cybersecurity Programme can only exist if it has meaningful connective tissue with the IT function; and •

Although Cybersecurity engage with technology,

must many

other fundamental controls are not technological in nature. Align’s multi-disciplinary team and dynamic solutions address cybersecurity risk not just at technological level, but also from compliance, operational and governance perspectives.

Align provides IT and Cybersecurity Advisory services harmoniously, albeit each with its own independent voice and team leads, resulting in substantial efficiencies and economies for Align’s clients.

Align, like most others, has been impacted by the disruption of the last 18 months, but Araneo believes that Align was in a more advantageous position than many in the industry. “Align’s Managed Services platform was architected with a decentralised workforce in mind,” he says.

“The past 18 months showcased how our platform was able to support our clients during this tectonic, societal change.”

Align Managed Services and its dedicated Cybersecurity team ensured clients were able to operate their firms seamlessly and securely, while addressing the compliance, operational and security challenges associated with this shift. “Our clients experienced zero interruptions, distraction or issues with their networks and

security surrounding their data pools and workflows,” Araneo says.

To meet client demand, Align is continually evolving its services to account for how the industry as a whole (i.e., managers, their advisors, consultants, service providers and institutional investors) have become more educated and receptive to sharing information relating to data security.

Araneo says: “This has allowed us to deliver our Cybersecurity Advisory Services much more efficiently, cost-effectively and with more meaningful, practical information.

Cybersecurity spending, like cybersecurity risk itself, is not going away any time soon.”

Over the next 18 months, Align believes that cybersecurity risks, and the concomitant solutions that continue to emerge to address these risks, will continue to thrive and evolve.

“These various evolving cybersecurity controls will continue to adapt to the everchanging threat vectors, regulatory regimes, technologies, prevailing security standards and other changes in the workplace, and point to a more fundamental trend we are already seeing, with managers approaching Cybersecurity from the groundup by focusing and investing more on its underlying IT infrastructure, the construct upon which any Cybersecurity Programme is ultimately built,” Araneo concludes.

VINOD PAUL

JOHN ARANEO

Vinod Paul brings over 20 years of in-depth financial services and technology experience to his role as Align’s Chief Operating Officer. Paul oversees all of Align’s Managed Services offerings, including Align Cybersecurity™, the company’s comprehensive cybersecurity risk management solution. Paul is widely known as a luminary in the financial services sector.

John Araneo is Managing Director and General Counsel at Align Cybersecurity. He possesses a broad corporate legal background, encompassing investment management, law, data privacy, cybersecurity law, and governance and employment law. Araneo is a published author, thought leader, and expert with regards to cybersecurity issues.

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, ALIGN

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MANAGING DIRECTOR,GENERAL COUNSEL, CYBERSECURITY, ALIGN

AMERICAS FUND SERVICES INSIGHTS REPORT 2021 | NOVEMBER

Voted #1

Cybersecurity Provider A New Approach to Cybersecurity Risk Management Align Cybersecurity™ is part of a dual offering that delivers all the wide-scale benefits of a robust, cutting-edge public cloud infrastructure that is customized, designed and configured to provide a comprehensive solution that addresses all technological, security, governance and compliance requirements.

Align’s Award-Winning Managed Services: • • • • • • • •

Managed Cloud Services Cybersecurity Advisory Services IT Operations 24x7x365 End-User IT Support Colocation Services Security Awareness Training Customized Cybersecurity Programs Managed Threat Protection

• • • • • • •

Predictable Costs ODD Liaison and Support Scalable Pricing Dedicated Client Portal Outsourced Virtual Chief Information Security Officer (vCISO) Scalable Resourcing Specialists Vulnerability Assessments

www.align.com/managed-services | cyber@align.com | +1 855-482-5446

INVESTCORP-TAGES

INVESTCORP-TAGES

BEST SEEDING PLATFORM

D

uring 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.

Lionel Erdely, Co-CEO and CIO at Investcorp-Tages, says: “At the height of the crisis, we had a strong emphasis on capital preservation. As the situation normalised and improved, our investment team was focusing on identifying the new opportunities arising from the fluid environment.”

The company has also been able to leverage its larger and more global investment infrastructure, resulting from the integration of the Absolute Return Investment teams of Investcorp and Tages.

“Our focus on absolute return and high alpha strategies has been very relevant in the challenging environment we have been navigating,” Erdely adds. Over the period, the company’s assets have grown by USD1 billion to reach USD7.3 billion as of 1 October 2021.

In a context of tight risk premia across the board for traditional assets, Erdely believes there is a growing need for investors to find investment opportunities offering optimal return and diversification properties.

“We are noticing a greater investor interest in solid and consistent alpha generation

which translates into an increased need for steady and new sources of alpha above and beyond a well-contained market risk exposure,” he says. “We anticipate this trend will continue and accelerate.”

INDUSTRY TRENDS Another accelerating trend is the shift towards more socially-conscious investing, such as ESG and impact investing.

Investcorp-Tages believes this will have a profound and secular impact on financial markets, corporates, asset owners and asset managers.

“We have incorporated ESG in practices across our businesses,” Erdely says. “We are proud to have recently launched our first impact fund in Europe and are increasing our resources dedicated to this area.”

The strategic partnership dimension has become paramount to Investcorp-Tages’ clients, as the level of customisation needed to achieve their investment objectives increases. The company has therefore developed a robust, broad and flexible investment infrastructure to address the context of additional regulatory, reputational and liability driven constraints.

Erdely points to insurers’ desire to increase their exposure to alternative strategies and concurrent need for solutions

LIONEL ERDELY

CO-CEO, CIO, INVESTCORP-TAGES

Prior to joining Investcorp in 2013, Lionel Erdley worked at Lyxor Asset Management for 11 years, where he held the dual position of Chief Investment Officer (2004 – 2013) and Chief Executive Officer of Lyxor Inc (2009 – 2013).

Prior to joining Lyxor, he was a Vice President in the Equity Corporate Finance department at Société Générale, where he worked on several IPOs, capital increases and convertible bond issues. Erdley has an MBA Degree in Finance from the École Supérieure des Sciences Économiques et Commerciales (ESSEC) in Paris.

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that will take into account solvency cost and requirements, as well as ESG and sustainability criteria. “State of the art technology to access very granular and customised reporting is also becoming more important to our clients,” he adds.

Investcorp-Tages has continued to be active in the seeding space, with three new strategic partnerships established since the set-up of the joint venture. The company has also just launched its first social impact fund focusing on European firms, and has extended its fund due diligence capabilities to the private debt sector with the launch of a new private debt fund.

In the coming months, Erdely expects the industry to continue to grow and strengthen. He predicts the greater need for customisation as investors increasingly include diversification in their allocation criteria and thus require flexibility to leverage attractive investment opportunities. The increased focus on ESG considerations, and more capital deployed into seeding, as well as hybrid products (combining different liquidity profiles or merging private equity structures or hedge fund), increased interest in thematic investing, and solid AuM growth in cryptocurrency funds will also be burgeoning themes.

JONATHAN FEENEY

MANAGING DIRECTOR, INVESTCORP-TAGES

Prior to joining Investcorp in 2003, Jonathan Feeney worked for Cazenove Capital Management in London where he was a member of the Investment Strategy Group and Investment teams. He has also held positions in management consulting and quantitative analysis, and has more than 25 years’ of investment experience.

Feeney holds an MSc in Economics and Finance from the University of Bristol and the IIMR (UK equivalent of the CFA).

AMERICAS FUND SERVICES INSIGHTS REPORT 2021 | NOVEMBER

Investcorp-Tages is an independent alternatives specialist, providing bespoke solutions with a focus on emerging managers, hedge funds, private debt and impact investing We launched as a 50/50 joint venture between Investcorp and Tages Group in May 2020, leveraging our combined history and expertise in alternative assets since 1996. Investors needs remain at the core of our firm.

A global leader in alternative investing with a diverse and institutional client base across three continents $7.6bn firm assets * $2bn+ seed capital

SH

Seeding & Hedge Fund Partnerships

MM

Multi-Manager Solutions

•

$8bn AUM of seeded managers & partnerships

•

$3bn+ AUM in multi-manager portfolios

•

40+ seeding partnerships since launch

•

15+ customised mandates

•

•

Seeding program launched in 2004

Hedge funds investments platform established in 1996

•

Alternative UCITS platform in 2016

•

First multi-manager solution in 1997

•

Climate action fund seeded in 2021

•

Impact & private debt investing expertise

deployed

25+ industry awards

SO

combined

3 offices located in New York, London and Milan 1 independent UCITS

platform

World-class talent with an experienced and global investment team 18 investment professionals 20 years of industry

Special Opportunity Portfolios

average

Quantitative Solutions

•

$600m+ AUM in special opportunities

•

•

11 special opportunity portfolios (SOP) launched since inception

Cross-asset research and investments launched in 2015

•

•

Deployed proprietary capital in market dislocation opportunities since 2006

First customized alternative risk premia fund launched in 2016

•

•

First SOP for clients launched in 2011

First commingled defensive fund launched in 2018

Clients Come First Transparency & Integrity

Team work

Excellence in Performance

Lionel Erdely Salvatore Cordaro Co-CEO/CIO

experience on average

8 years with the firm on

QS

Entrepreneurial Spirit

ESG & Responsible Investing Ethos Our commitment to sustainability is applied both externally, as part of ESG incorporation into the investment process, and internally through the adoption of sustainable business practices.

Co-CEO/CIO

Combined 46 years experience in alternatives

ESG Policy (click icon to view)

Tages Capital is a signatory of United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI)

Please note dates stated prior to May 2020 are from either Investcorp’s ARI business or Tages Capital LLP. * Assets refers to revenue generating assets which includes AUM and assets on which fees are earned and committed capital. Data as of 30th June 2021. US regulatory firm assets are $1.4bn. Intended for recipient use only.

Investcorp-Tages Limited | www.InvestcorpTages.com

DIRECTORY

www.aifundservices.com

Akram & Associates is a trusted adviser to alternative fund managers – the cornerstone of our business. Our laser focus on this industry allows us to provide highly specialized accounting and tax services that are accurate and affordable. Our team of professionals is well versed in the nuances of hedge fund, private equity fund, venture capital fund, CTA and family office entity structures and strategies, positioning Akram & Associates as an expert resource to both emerging managers and sophisticated managers overseeing multiple funds.

www.align.com As a premier Managed Service Provider, with a specialty in the highly demanding financial services vertical, we understand the complexities of running a successful IT infrastructure. Align’s comprehensive Managed IT Services encompass everything from cloud computing and outsourced IT support, to vulnerability management and cybersecurity services. Further enhancing our service capabilities, Align is a Microsoft Tier 1 Cloud Solutions Provider (CSP) and Gold Partner, as well as an AWS Select Consulting Partner. By leveraging the Align Managed Services Platform – our complete Managed IT Services Stack – clients can focus on strategic priorities instead of daily IT operations.

www.alliant.com Alliant Insurance Services is a specialty insurance brokerage firm focused on delivering clients market leading insurance brokerage and consulting services. As one of only a few brokerage firms with a dedicated financial institution industry practice, our team sets the standard for service excellence, product expertise and complex claims resolution. We have become a destination of choice for top industry talent, and the insurance brokerage firm of choice to the hedge fund industry.

www.anchin.com Anchin’s mission is to be a premier accounting and advisory firm passionately delivering expert assurance, tax, and advisory services solutions.

From small, entrepreneurial startups to established funds, Anchin provides high level, high touch service to financial services firms. We are the right sized firm for you – we provide maximum value, senior level guidance and superior service.

www.arcesium.com Arcesium is a global financial technology and professional services firm, delivering post-investment and enterprise data management solutions to some of the world’s most sophisticated financial institutions, including hedge funds, banks, institutional asset managers, and private equity firms.

Expertly designed to achieve a single source of truth throughout a client’s ecosystem, Arcesium’s cloud-native technology is built to systematize the most complex workflows and help clients achieve scale. Building on a platform developed and tested by investment and technology development firm, the D. E. Shaw group, Arcesium was launched as a joint venture with Blackstone Alternative Asset Management. J.P. Morgan, another large client, later joined as our third partner. Today, Arcesium services over $490 billion in global client AUM with a staff of over 1,450 software engineering, accounting, operations, and treasury professionals.

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www.btig.com BTIG is a global financial services firm specializing in institutional trading, investment banking, research and related brokerage services. With an extensive global footprint and more than 700 employees, BTIG, LLC and its affiliates operate out of 19 cities throughout the U.S., and in Europe, Asia and Australia. BTIG offers execution, expertise and insights for equities, equity derivatives, ETFs and fixed income, currency and commodities (futures, interest rates, credit, and convertible and preferred securities). The firm’s core capabilities include global execution, portfolio, electronic and outsource trading, transition management, investment banking, prime brokerage, capital introduction, corporate access, research and strategy, commission management and more.

www.citco.com The Citco Group of Companies (Citco) is a leading provider of asset servicing solutions to the global alternative investment industry. With over $1.5 trillion in assets under administration and over 8,000 staff deployed across 40 countries, Citco’s unique culture of innovation and client driven solutions has provided Citco’s clients with a highly valued partner for five decades. Having grown organically into one of the largest asset servicers in the industry, Citco’s Fund Services division offers a full suite of Middle Office services including Treasury and Loan handling, Back Office services including daily NAV calculations and Investor services. Citco’s front-to-back offering combines front-end portfolio capture and real time position monitoring using proprietary Æxeo Technology with reporting delivered by CitcoOne’s industry leading visualisations and dashboards.. In addition, corporate and legal services, regulatory reporting, risk reporting, tax services and financial statement production are amongst a suite of services that are offered to clients.

www.cohnreznick.com CohnReznick LLP is one of the top accounting, tax, and advisory firms in the United States, combining the deep resources of a national firm with the hands-on, agile approach that today’s dynamic business environment demands. With diverse industry expertise, the Firm provides the alternative investment community and companies with the insight and experience to help them break through and seize growth opportunities. The Firm, with origins dating back to 1919, is headquartered in New York, NY with 2,700 employees in offices nationwide. CohnReznick is a member of Nexia International, a global network of independent accountancy, tax, and business advisors. For more information, visit www.cohnreznick.com.

www.copper.co Copper is transforming how institutional investors engage with digital assets, providing market-leading infrastructure in addition to custody, trading and prime brokerage solutions. Our award-winning custody application leverages the genius of multi-party computation (MPC) encryption and can be configured to support cold, warm, and hot wallet solutions. Asset managers are further protected by our pioneering ClearLoop network, which enables off-exchange trading and settlement at tier-1 digital asset exchanges. An offering enhanced by the availability of uncollateralised lending.Copper’s secure wallet architecture is available as a standalone application, a mobile app, and a browser extension for smart contract signing.

www.cowen.com Cowen Inc. (“Cowen” or the “Company”) is a diversified financial services firm offering investment banking services, equity and credit research, sales and trading, prime brokerage, global clearing, commission management services and actively managed alternative investment products.

Cowen focuses on delivering value-added capabilities to our clients in order to help them outperform. Founded in 1918, the Company is headquartered in New York and has offices worldwide. Learn more at Cowen.com

www.fisglobal.com FIS is at the heart of the commerce and financial transactions that power the world’s economy. We are passionate about helping businesses and communities thrive by advancing the way the world pays, banks and invests, serving more than 20,000 clients and more than one million merchant locations in over 130 countries. For more information about FIS, visit http://www.fisglobal.com.

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DIRECTORY

www.hedgemark.com HedgeMark, a BNY Mellon company, specializes in supporting institutional clients in the development and operation of their own private hedge fund dedicated managed account (“DMA”) platforms. Our DMA solution is aimed at supporting asset owners and asset managers seeking increased customization, transparency, control and governance around their hedge fund investments. HedgeMark’s platform assets have reached over $37 billion as of August 31, 2021. BNY Mellon is a global investments company dedicated to helping its clients manage and service their financial assets throughout the investment lifecycle. BNY Mellon delivers informed investment management and investment services in 35 countries and more than 100 markets.

www.horseshoeglobal.com Leading the way in integrated ILS solutions, Horseshoe, an Artex Risk Solutions company, is the world’s largest ILS service provider. Powered by the talent of 100 ILS professionals and operating in all major ILS locations, Horseshoe specializes in insurance management, risk transformation, fund administration, advisory and corporate services. With a market share in excess of 50% supporting a broad range of structures, Horseshoe facilitates all types of ILS transactions and platforms. This depth of market penetration enables unique insight into the ILS industry offering data, trends and themes. We deliver numerous benefits to clients, including the ease of accessing solutions and a synergy that comes as a direct result of heightened levels of communication, coordination and governance. This approach provides peace of mind that transactions are executed in both a timely and compliant manner, an essential commodity in the modern financial services industry.

www.investcorptages.com Investcorp-Tages is a global multi-manager investment firm with offices based in London, New York and Milan.

As a leading global multi-manager investment firm, Investcorp/Tages product portfolio includes: multi-manager portfolios across hedge fund strategies, private debt and impact investments, seeding and acceleration partnerships, thematic special opportunity portfolios, risk-premia and cross-asset strategies, and alternative UCITS. Investcorp and Tages Group entered into a 50/50 partnership in May 2020 by merging Investcorp’s Absolute Return Investments (ARI) business and Tages Capital LLP, the absolute return and multi-manager solutions subsidiary of Tages Group, to form Investcorp-Tages. The partnership brings together Tages Capital LLP and Investcorp ARI’s investment expertise and complementary footprints in seeking to create a global absolute return platform.

www.jefferies.com Jefferies Group LLC is the largest independent, global, full-service investment banking firm headquartered in the U.S. Focused on serving clients for nearly 60 years, Jefferies is a leader in providing insight, expertise and execution to investors, companies and governments. Our firm provides a full range of investment banking, advisory, sales and trading, research and wealth management services across all products in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Jefferies Group LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: JEF), a diversified financial services company.

www.linedata.com

Whether you’re an institutional manager or a wealth advisor, Linedata’s innovative Asset Management Platform – AMP – delivers all your business needs on a single platform to adapt nimbly to our changing world. AMP leverages a cloud-based technology architecture alongside robust core software for a seamless, enhanced user experience. You can layer in new features across the investment cycle with ease, for better integrations, performance, and scalability. A host of special features, including an intuitive trading user interface and web-based model management delivers value and drives growth, so you can reimagine your operations and respond to any challenge. We are 1300 strong in 20 locations serving over 700 clients. Whatever is on your mind today, Linedata’s award-winning service teams are ready to listen and help drive your business forward.

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AMERICAS FUND SERVICES INSIGHTS REPORT 2021 | NOVEMBER

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www.opusfundservices.com Established in 2006, Opus Fund Services is an award-winning independent and privately-owned full-service global fund administrator providing automated, integrated middle and back office administration services to hedge funds and asset management firms. Opus has offices in Bermuda, New York, Chicago (Naperville), San Francisco (Brentwood), Manila, Halifax, and Dublin. Opus Fund Services (Bermuda) Ltd. is licensed by the Bermuda Monetary Authority under the Investment Funds Act 2006. Opus Fund Services (IRE-Admin) Limited is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

www.peaksstrategies.com Founded by Thomas Walek, Peaks Strategies is an independent marketing communications firm that provides innovative and impactful solutions to private and public clients in global capital markets, alternative and traditional asset management, fintech, and financial and professional services. We build long term relationships with clients as we work with them to define, differentiate, promote and protect their reputations and brands in today’s demanding marketplace. Peaks Strategies provides integrated and strategic communications from inception through execution. We put our clients first and measure our performance based on their long term success.

www.rfa.com RFA is the technology partner to alternative investment firms who require end-to-end cloud, cybersecurity, infrastructure and application solutions.

RFA is a global, next-generation MSP with a distinguished 30-year pedigree Unlike other industry offerings, RFA does not put firms “in a box”; its culture of innovation and thought leadership empowers businesses to compete how they want to - securely.

www.sadis.com Sadis & Goldberg maintains a diverse, business-oriented practice focused on investment funds, litigation, corporate, real estate, regulatory, tax, and ERISA. Drawing on the experience and depth of our attorneys in these distinct areas, we can leverage each attorney’s industryspecific knowledge to help our clients succeed. This collaborative approach brings to the table a collective insight that contributes to sensible, efficient resolutions, and allows us to remain attentive to the cost and time sensitivities that may be involved. The firm’s clients include domestic and international entities, financial institutions, hedge funds, private equity funds, venture capital funds, buyout funds, commodity pools, and numerous corporate and business entities operating in a variety of industries around the world.

www.sentieo.com Sentieo is a financial and corporate research platform for executives, investment analysts, and researchers that offers them the insights, speed, and confidence they need to make informed strategic decisions so they can outperform the market and gain a competitive edge. Serving a global customer base of over 900, including 600 institutional investment firms and Fortune 500 corporations, Sentieo is the first platform to support the complete financial and corporate workflow.

www.similarweb.com As the most trusted platform for understanding online behavior, millions of people use Similarweb’s insights daily to strengthen their knowledge of the digital world. We empower anyone — from the curious individual to the enterprise business leader — to make smarter decisions by understanding why things happen across the digital ecosystem.

AMERICAS FUND SERVICES INSIGHTS REPORT 2021 | NOVEMBER

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DIRECTORY

www.ssctech.com SS&C Technologies is the world’s largest hedge fund and private equity administrator, as well as the largest mutual fund transfer agency. SS&C’s unique business model combines end-to-end expertise across financial services operations with software and solutions to service even the most demanding customers in the financial services and healthcare industries. SS&C owns and operates the full technology stack across securities accounting, front-to-back-office operations, performance and risk analytics, regulatory reporting, and healthcare information processes. SS&C’s trusted and proven technology delivers an unparalleled level of scalable capabilities for the most complex portfolios, the most sophisticated strategies, and the highest volumes of transactions. Through a series of carefully selected acquisitions and organic growth, the breadth and depth of SS&C’s expertise in financial services and healthcare technology are unmatched.

www.umb.com UMB Fund Services provides a customizable,proprietary technology platform foraccounting, recordkeeping and reporting forprivate equity, hedge funds, funds of funds,opportunity zone funds, private debt, realestate and venture capital. Our full-servicelineup includes fund administration andaccounting, investor servicing, tax preparationand reporting, and custody. UMB’s flexiblesolutions, high-touch service and productexpertise are backed by the stability of ahighly capitalized parent that has been aroundfor 100+ years. Visit us atumb.com/fundservices.

www.waystone.com Waystone leads the way in specialist services for the asset management industry. Partnering institutional investors, investment funds and asset managers, Waystone builds, supports and protects investment structures and strategies worldwide. With over 20 years’ experience and a comprehensive range of specialist services to its name, Waystone is now serving assets under management in excess of $1Tn. Waystone provides its clients with the guidance and tools to allow them to focus on managing their investment goals with confidence.

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AMERICAS FUND SERVICES INSIGHTS REPORT 2021 | NOVEMBER

FEATURING

AKRAM & ASSOCIATES, ALIGN, ALLIANT, ANCHIN, ARCESIUM, BTIG PRIME BROKERAGE, CITCO FUND SERVICES, COHNREZNICK, COPPER.CO, COWEN OUTSOURCED TRADING, FIS, HEDGEMARK, HORSESHOE FUND SERVICES, INVESTCORP-TAGES, JEFFERIES, LINEDATA, OPUS FUND SERVICES, PEAKS STRATEGIES, RFA, SADIS AND GOLDBERG, SENTIEO, SIMILARWEB, SS&C TECHNOLOGIES, UMB FUND SERVICES, WAYSTONE 59

AMERICAS FUND SERVICES INSIGHTS REPORT 2021 | NOVEMBER