How technology impacts the fund administration business

Market conditions are driving the sustained growth of the fund administration sector. Indeed, more and more business and investors are getting enticed by the benefits of using a third party administrator. At the same time, as the market grows, competition also becomes stiffer. Performance is key to gaining competitive advantage among peers. Of course, performance is affected by how effective the tools used by the administrators are.

Technology and analytics play a big role in setting the operational conditions. Through technology, administrators are given the tools to establish the most efficient and least costly operating model. With the growing clamor for transparency and reporting, the role of data analytics in fund administration becomes more pronounced. Investing in innovative technologies that help establish best practices and consolidate information has become an integral strategy to remain competitive.

However, this increased dependency on technology has also exposed the industry to cyber attacks. Cyber criminals have also become more and more sophisticated with their technologies and approach that cyber risk management can no longer be relegated to the periphery but must be included in the core competencies to ensure security. Funds are associated with a great deal of personal information that must be protected and kept private. An administrator’s policy on how this set of information is protected is a key factor for clients. Now it is fundamental to put in place a robust cyber risk assessment process that tries to strike a balance between accessibility and protection.

Data management and analytics also plays a big role in the struggle of administrators to institute reliable customer identification.  Administrators must ensure that clients are protected from identity theft. It must also do its part in securing its own yard from perpetrators of fraud and money laundering. Regulatory requirements that compel administrators to perform the above obligations are enforced more strictly now that threats are more imminent.

In the United States, because of the regulatory requirements that have become stricter, transparency in fund administration has become ever more important. Existing standards and reporting methods are now put under pressure. The requirements compel administrators to gather data from different sources, aggregate it, and submit to the regulating body. To minimize its impact on resources, administrators turned to modern software solutions.

The environment continues to be challenging for fund administrators. Being able to adapt operational model to these changes and investing in technologies, as well as seeking the help of more experienced third party providers can help the firm become more agile.

Technology a Must for Hedge Fund Compliance

Years ago, incorporating cutting-edge technologies to investment operations was considered as mere luxury for only the biggest firms. But with the complexity of regulatory requirement and a rising demand for transparency from bodies like the SEC and CFTC, as well as the investors, technology is now a necessity for hedge fund compliance — regardless of the firm’s size.

According to Forbes, many hedge fund managers utilize technology for record-keeping requirements, as most solutions provide record retention features and electronic compliance certification features. Some also offer compliance calendars that automatically remind managers of compliance dates and regulatory deadlines.

While these solutions are primarily used for compliance management, here are other crucial and time-consuming areas that can be simplified through technology:

Database management and security. With an advanced data management platform, investors can easily transform details into meaningful insights for improved decision making.  Competitive tools now offer automated display and comparison of multiple and dynamic portfolios for faster data analysis. Additionally, with the help of technology, security of all confidential data is ensured through encryption, change privileges, audit trail and control access features.

Portfolio optimization. More than providing a dashboard that keeps all the big data, advanced tools now have the ability to evaluate and optimize multi-year plans and scenarios, perform business-case cash-flow analysis and even quantify project risks. These features further help streamline operations by computing and displaying an efficient frontier of portfolios and providing “sandbox analysis.”

Project management and resource management. As tools can now generate updated financial budget predictions though correlation of all data, technology is also utilized to ensure that assets are properly allocated to specific channels where they have great potential, and that investment strategies are executed at the right time.

Business continuity and disaster recovery. With the help of advanced portfolio management solutions, asset managers are considered more equipped when it comes to formulating disaster recovery plans, hence ensuring business continuity even during the most crucial times. In addition, corporate researchers Aberdeen Group found out that solutions help administrators to fix issues in an average of 2.1 hours, as compared to the traditional 8 hours.

In the end, hedge fund compliance is more than just about meeting regulatory requirements on time; it is a process that concerns the overall efficiency of an investment operation. Choosing a technology partner that can offer an efficient and complete solution can greatly help fund managers achieve thier clients’ goals, and attract even more investors.

Social Media Marketing: Tweeting 101

Nowadays, social media marketing through such platforms as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest has provided companies with a relatively cheaper way to market their product and service offerings.

Twitter in particular, has gathered millions of users across the globe, and remains a formidable platform and is often referred to as the ideal platform for interacting with one’s target market, potential business parters, and the public in general. Much of this can be attributed to its unique requirement: Brands should be able deliver their message in 140-characters.

The question is, how can a Twitter community manager post compelling content in this very little space available? Here are some tips.

Observe proper grammar and spelling. Social media has made a lot of things acceptable, as far as shortening and spelling words are concerned. But the smart community manager knows that not everything is to be toyed with. Don’t shorten proper names and compromise the spelling, for example. And there should still be proper syntax, and punctuation should still be used especially to facilitate reading (in fact, because of the brevity of each tweet, commas and hyphens have become all the more indispensable!).

Quote authoritative websites. The most read and shared tweets come from reputable news organizations. Know whom to retweet: Check out the most followed news accounts, and find a way to summarize their material and relate it with the company’s products. These links should be shortened (bit.ly is the most recommended), to keep the word count low, and make room for retweeting, mentions, and some comments. Some experts suggest leaving as many as 20 characters as “retweet space.”

Choose buzzwords. In the perfect tweet, there should be buzzwords – words that can be hashtagged to add to an ongoing conversation. These buzzwords should be based on trending topics of the day, or words that can be easily associated with the brand. But the content creator should limit hashtags to two per tweet, so that it will not be considered spam.

Put a call to action. Finally, include a call to action. After releasing the information, make the followers know exactly what to do with it. Encourage them to like, retweet, to share, or visit the company website through the tweet. Ask thought-provoking questions to promote engagement, and even tag some users in the post.

Partner with an expert in digital marketing to learn more about navigating Twitter and other social media marketing platforms.

Technology Features That Promote Hedge Fund Compliance Management

Across the globe, more and more hedge fund companies are investing in technologies to promote compliance management in their operations. This trend towards promoting hedge fund compliance through technology has been observed across small, mid-size, and large fund administrators: many are indeed willing to allocate the budget needed to enable their firms to comply with new regulations.

Triggering this development would be the increased reporting requirements set by SEC and CFTC, as well as the growing demands of investors who seek to know more about the performance of their funds. And these requirements are addressed by the following features of today’s set of compliance management platforms:

Portfolio management. Hedge fund managers benefit from advanced tools that allow for the monitoring limits, blocking trades that are prohibited by law, and recording of trade allocations. These allow for efficient management of trade portfolio and prompt and accurate reporting of positions in securities.

Reporting. The reporting requirements of authorities demand that hedge fund companies maintain infrastructure for the processing and storing large data, which can be a costly endeavor for smaller and mid-size businesses. This has encouraged many of them to purchase commercial hedge fund software, develop technology solutions in-house, or outsource to asset servicing firms.

Client relations management. Hedge funds management entails keeping track of a huge body of communications between investors and managers. Monitoring and storing this communication is not only important for compliance to regulatory demands; they are also necessary for the review of transaction histories and the conduct of post-mortem that clients may wish to embark in.

Recording of employee accounts. Recording, reviewing, and assessing personal account brokerage statements of employees is a tedious process that should nevertheless be encouraged to counter-check for suspicious or irresponsible trading practices. Through features that allow for surveillance and recording of individual accounts, hedge fund companies can ensure that they are after only the best execution of trade transactions.

Compliance management. Finally, new technologies have allowed hedge fund managers to more easily and conveniently adjust to the increased complexity of hedge fund compliance. These tools include compliance calendars with reminders for submission deadlines and registrations, automated recording, among other features.

With authorities in the securities sector here and abroad becoming stricter when it comes to the implementation of compliance regulations, hedge fund managers can truly benefit from forging relationships with asset servicing firms that can provide advanced hedge fund compliance management technology solutions.

Social Media Marketing: Tenets of Online Community Management

Most businesses today understand the importance of building and maintaining online communities on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, among other social media marketing platforms. However, not many understand what it truly takes to keep these communities alive.

Here are important principles of online community management:

Post regularly. A good social media manager is able to find good materials to share on a regular basis, so that page followers always have something to look forward to. This can be accomplished by setting aside at least 30 minutes a day to scour news websites, one’s Twitter feed, and the blogs of industry influencers to bookmark the promising articles or multimedia. Invest in the production of a varied set of content – text, photos, videos, infographic, etc. so that you have something for different kinds of people. And whatever you find or create, make it your own by integrating elements of your corporate identity, be it through the color palette, the captions, or the keywords you’ll use.

Keep the page clean. Monitor the page regularly to ensure that the page offers a pleasant experience for everyone. Promptly delete comments that are irrelevant and spammy. Ban users who have been reported to post messages of hate, discrimination, misogyny, or prejudice. If there are people expressing opposing thoughts about the topic, make sure the exchange is healthy, and that no one is using abusive language. In short, moderate your community well.

Maintain a consistent identity. Good social media management entails finding your voice as a brand and as an organization. This consistent voice will allow your followers to understand what you are about, and relate with your well-defined persona. Use language and other materials (logo, taglines, and introductory videos) that will reflect this identity. Stick to the same description of your company across all your social media communities. Partner with like-minded names in the industry.

Repurpose your content. Consider your social media content as legit assets. This mindset will encourage you to find ways to make the most of each material. Post it in all the platforms, but with some tweaking here and there to suit the particular platform: Shorten it for Twitter, find a good meme version for Instagram, or find a related link for Facebook. On each of these posts, place a link that directs them to your other social media pages. Be a good “recycler!”

Read up on social media marketing trends, or partner with experts in digital marketing, to learn more about navigating this emerging platform.

New Solutions For Streamlining Employee Shift Scheduling

If you are operating a business that has union employees then you know the problems that can arise from shift scheduling. Should someone call in sick and a replacement is needed it's just not that easy to find a replacement and be sure that your are in compliance with union regulations.

Shift Scheduling Problems

This is just one of the many reasons why more and more businesses both union and non union alike are relying on new shift scheduling software to keep their "trains running on time". For instance, even if your not a union operation, there is always the matter of overtime to factor in.

A Lot To Consider

Which employee can you call in as a replacement that you won't have to pay over time? Which employees have requested that they be used as fill ins when other employees call in sick. Which employees have the training or qualifications to even temporarily fill the position?

Real Solutions With the Click Of Your Mouse

All these factors can be accounted for automatically with new shift scheduling software. That means no more having to shuffle through records or documents and not having to make needless phone calls. Simply click the mouse on the computer and a whole list of viable replacements is instantly displayed.

More Time To Tend To Business

Shift scheduling software is just one version of software that now comprises a who genre of business management and human resources related software that is now freeing up managers and business owners to get to the business of actually running a business.

Increase Profits and Productivity

It's also allowing them to finally empty their cabinets and desks of cumbersome and inefficient paperwork and finally streamline their entire business operations to increase productivity and profits.

Debugging Source Code And Its Various Approaches For The Layman

Once errors are identified, it is necessary to first locate the precise program statements responsible for the errors and then fix them. Generally, the most difficult part of debugging is locating the invalid part of the source code. Once the error is found, correcting it is usually easy. Generally, debugging is a lengthy and tiresome task. The debugging skill of the programmer is probably the biggest factor in the ability to debug a problem.

There are several approaches for debugging. Programs known as debuggers exist to help programmers locate bugs. Debuggers enable the programmer to monitor the execution of a program, stop it, re-start it, set breakpoints, change values in memory and even, in some cases, go back in time. For debugging computer hardware and low-level software like device drivers, BIOS and firmware, instruments such as oscilloscopes, in-circuit emulators are frequently used.

Brute Force method is, though, the most common method of debugging, it is the least efficient method. In this approach, the program is loaded with print statements to print the intermediate values with the hope that some of the printed values will help to identify the statement in error. This approach becomes more systematic with the use of a symbolic debugger (also known as source code debugger), because the values of different variables can be easily checked and break points and watch points can be easily set to test the values of variables effortlessly.

Backtracking is also a fairly common approach. In this approach, beginning from the statement at which an error symptom is observed, the source code is traced backwards until the error is discovered. Unfortunately, as the number of source lines to be traced back increases, the number of potential backward paths increases and may become unmanageable large, thus limiting the use of this approach.

In Cause elimination method, a list of causes which could possibly have contributed to the error symptom is developed and tests are conducted to eliminate each cause. A related technique of identification of the error from the error symptom in the software fault tree analysis.

Program slicing is a technique which is similar to back tracking. However, the search space is reduced by defining slices. A slice of a program from a particular variable at a particular statement is the set of source lines preceding this statement that can influence the value of that variable.

Debugging is often carried out by programmers based on their ingenuity. Many a times, debugging requires a thorough understanding of the program design. Trying to debug based on a partial understanding of the system design and implementation may require an inordinate amount of effort to be put into debugging even for simple reasons. Debugging may sometimes even require full redesign of the system. In such cases, a common mistake that novice programmers often make is that they do not attempt to fix the error but only its symptoms. One must be beware of the possibility that any one error correction may introduce new errors. Therefore, after every round of error fixing, regression testing must be carried out.