First the good news for fund administrators: the funds industry is expanding.
European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) figures show net assets of UCITS and alternative investment funds rose 16.7% through 2021 to reach €21.9 trillion by year-end. Total assets under management in Europe topped €31 trillion. Almost a quarter of the investment portfolios managed by asset managers in Europe were made up of “other assets,” such as hedge funds, private equity, infrastructure and structured products – a sector that Preqin expects to soar globally, from $13.3 trillion at the end of 2021 to $23.2 trillion by 2026.
The bad news? Administrators are under intense pressure, with a long and lasting litany of challenges.
They include sustained margin compression. A mounting compliance burden. The need to adapt to a fast-moving investment landscape, with a rise in multi-asset class (increasingly alternative-oriented) portfolios, and expanding interest in cryptocurrencies and tokenised instruments.
Service demands are ratcheting higher too. End investors expect intuitive digital experiences that allow them to make decisions, interact with their investment manager, examine research and offer documents, and access accurate, real-time, personalised information on their device of choice. Investment managers want error-free profit and loss allocation, fee calculation and NAV data, and transparent insights into their marketing, fundraising and client service processes.
This is why we developed NTAS, Deep Pool’s market-leading investor servicing platform.
The NTAS solution
With its support for all hedge fund, private equity and retail fund structures, NTAS enables users to replace their existing mishmash of asset-specific transfer agency platforms with a single operating model delivering a unified client experience. Fund administrators and investment managers gain total control of their day to-day transfer agency record keeping, shareholder registry, complex fee calculations and reporting – producing enhanced operating efficiencies, transparency and client service responsiveness.
NTAS’ capabilities span the end-to-end investor servicing process:
Automated shareholder registry
Sophisticated transfer agency functionality automates maintenance of the investor shareholder register, with straight-through processing of all transfer agency capital activity. Automated cash instruction for settlement streamlines operational efficiency and reduces risk. API-enabled integration with third-party systems automates data imports and exports, while support for standards such as SWIFT and flexible data capture options allow administrators and investment managers to shift to an exception-based model where the system does the work.
NAV creation and complex fee calculations
A powerful engine for profit and loss allocation and NAV creation results in accurate valuations and faster investor reporting, helping boost client satisfaction. NTAS also caters for the full suite of (often complex) fee methods for open and closed-ended structures, producing timely, accurate performance and incentive fee calculations. Systematic control ensures reliability and consistency in the valuation process, removing the need for manual intervention and cumbersome spreadsheets.
Customised reporting
Personalised reporting has become a core expectation in the client servicing mix. But to meet the demands, firms are often forced to revert to offline processing. That compromises the accuracy and consistency of delivery to end-users and creates costly internal inefficiencies.
NTAS includes an extensive library of high quality, customisable investor, regulatory, operational, audit and user-defined reports. Reports can be generated dynamically or scheduled for retrieval at specified times, with report distribution automated and gated (including four-eye reviews) to ensure control is maintained without compromising efficiency.
Digitalised user experience
Rich digital experiences that give end-users greater control, freedom and immediacy have become another prerequisite.
NTAS features a multilingual, multi-functional web portal that provides investment managers and their investors with powerful on-demand, self-service capabilities and two-way communications. Interactive dashboards and reports keep investors informed and engaged. Investors can also submit orders and documents online, streamlining processes for all parties in the chain. Orders are available in real-time for the administrator to take through the investment process using NTAS’ integrated rules and workflow management tools, while managers receive up-to-date information on capital flows.
The result: enhanced fund/client relationships that help boost investment and fees.
Unlimited scalability and efficiency
Moving from a collection of asset-specific transfer agency systems to a single software platform with end-to-end capabilities across all asset classes cuts much of the cost duplication and risk fund administrators face from their traditional set-ups. But the infrastructure must have the capacity to cope with the processing volumes that now flow through the system, especially if the business includes retail fund administration.
NTAS is a proven solution trusted by the world’s leading fund administrators and investment managers. It employs a next-generation open architecture platform with Kubernetes functionality, enabling NTAS to modularise processing workloads to deliver unrivalled flexibility and scalability. ISO 20022 messaging support and seamless third-party system integration through a sophisticated API platform automate data exchange and ensure data integrity across the ecosystem. And best practice user and data security protections safeguard data against loss, corruption and breaches.
Platform for success
Success today depends on automating processes, increasing efficiencies and adding value for clients. With NTAS, you have all the tools you need.
What can the industry-leading transfer agency system do for you?
If you want to find out more about what NTAS can do for your business contact us today
ABOUT DEEP POOL
Deep Pool is the #1 investor servicing and compliance solutions supplier, providing cutting-edge software and consulting services to the world’s leading fund administrators and asset managers. Our flexible solution suite, developed by an experienced team of accountants, business analysts and software engineers, supports offshore and onshore hedge funds, partnerships, private equity vehicles, retail funds and regulated financial firms. Deep Pool is a global organisation with offices in Dublin, Ireland, the United States, the Cayman Islands and Slovakia. For more information, visit www.deep-pool.com.