Are mounting pressures from back-office operations detracting your attention away from sourcing deals and managing your portfolio? The support structure surrounding fund management can be complicated, time-consuming, and costly. If operational demands and investor and accounting regulatory requirements keep you from adding value, then it might be time to partner with a third-party fund administrator.

A fund administrator supports operations, absorbs risks, and acts as an extension of your internal team. Finding a provider that can help develop your business as it grows and faces market changes is paramount. If you want to know what makes a great fund admin partner, here are the top five qualities to consider.

1. Proven Experience and Expertise 

You’ve worked hard to earn your reputation, so choose a firm that reflects your values and has long-standing expertise in the field. When you hire a fund administration firm, you gain more than a service provider. You enter into a partnership.

Whether you’re just beginning or looking for a change, aligning with a reputable firm can add credibility to your business. Things to look for in a fund admin is expertise in the following areas:

  • Fund accounting
  • Advisory services
  • Investor Reporting
  • Audit and Tax Supporting
  • Regulation and oversight

Your administrator should have support teams with decades of combined experience that are willing to work closely with you and your team. Ideally, they will have a single point of contact or a dedicated team to service your funds on an ongoing basis.

2. Established Compliance and Oversight

Finding success as a fund manager relies heavily on your ability to handle risk. Another benefit of outsourcing is that fund administrators absorb many of the operational risks for you. Providers should offer a comprehensive range of fund services you can rely on for compliance and operational success.

Ask if the administrator provides multi-level reviews and these processes:

  • Regulatory: Perform due diligence practices, including appropriate compliance documentation.
  • Investor records: Maintain accurate account detail for each investor, including capital contributions and distributions. Circulate financial reports to shareholders.
  • Facilitation: Coordinate relationships with various service professionals, including attorneys, independent accountants, commercial bankers, auditors, and tax preparers.
  • Protocols: Anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC) are protocols that give businesses a transparent view of their clients.

The duties performed by a fund administrator allow you to concentrate on high-value areas, like investment strategies that grow your portfolio.

3. Industry-leading Technology Solutions

Administrators with a robust technology infrastructure can provide you with efficient and reliable services. Accuracy is the crucial component when processing material. Secure data centers provide automation that reduces accounting and reporting errors and saves time.

Access is another critical criterion to consider. Ask potential providers if they have an integrated system that gives you access to real-time data around the clock and allows investors to access a secure portal where they can accept, manage, and transfer their distributions.
Specialized platforms usually allow you to track data at every point of a fund structure, from the investor fund-level data to the entire investment portfolio. Often these systems involve an expensive and time-consuming process of executing and maintaining the technology, which you can avoid by partnering with a fund administrator.

4. Sound Ownership Structure

Cultivating a trusted partner can be a daunting process. The last thing you want to happen is for the fund administration firm you worked so hard to find, to sellout. When organizations change ownership, there’s usually a period of unrest. Employees change, structures shift, and in the end, you could end up with a partner who can’t support your needs. An ideal provider is well established, financially sound, and growing in a measured manageable fashion.

5. Cost-effective Service Procedures

Outsourcing your administrative functions is cost-effective and process-effective. Rather than building an infrastructure from scratch, partnering with a fund administrator reduces your overhead and increases your ability to manage funds by giving you something you can’t buy more of—Time.

Two things to consider when choosing a fund admin firm include:

1. Costs: Assess the provider’s costs but don’t select a fund administrator based on fees alone. While a good fund administrator may charge a premium, they’ll lower your operational costs and increase your ability to attract investors.

2. Procedures: Examine the fund administrator’s delivery processes carefully. Check to see if they align with your service level agreement.  Consider holding monthly or bi-monthly status calls or meetings.

A Complete Outsourcing Solution

If you’re still asking yourself, “What makes a great fund admin partner?” The answer is simple. One that offers you comprehensive solutions to a broad spectrum of needs, including expert services for fund administration, accounting, and investor reporting.

Combine all of your fund administrative procedures into a single structure by partnering with a full-service firm that enhances your reputation, reduces your risk, and adds value to your operation.

Explore what a dedicated fund admin firm can do for your business by exploring or contacting Reliant Fund Services.

Are mounting pressures from back-office operations detracting your attention away from sourcing deals and managing your portfolio? The support structure surrounding fund management can be complicated, time-consuming, and costly. If operational demands and investor and accounting regulatory requirements keep you from adding value, then it might be time to partner with a third-party fund administrator.

A fund administrator supports operations, absorbs risks, and acts as an extension of your internal team. Finding a provider that can help develop your business as it grows and faces market changes is paramount. If you want to know what makes a great fund admin partner, here are the top five qualities to consider.

1. Proven Experience and Expertise 

You’ve worked hard to earn your reputation, so choose a firm that reflects your values and has long-standing expertise in the field. When you hire a fund administration firm, you gain more than a service provider. You enter into a partnership.

Whether you’re just beginning or looking for a change, aligning with a reputable firm can add credibility to your business. Things to look for in a fund admin is expertise in the following areas:

  • Fund accounting
  • Advisory services
  • Investor Reporting
  • Audit and Tax Supporting
  • Regulation and oversight

Your administrator should have support teams with decades of combined experience that are willing to work closely with you and your team. Ideally, they will have a single point of contact or a dedicated team to service your funds on an ongoing basis.

2. Established Compliance and Oversight

Finding success as a fund manager relies heavily on your ability to handle risk. Another benefit of outsourcing is that fund administrators absorb many of the operational risks for you. Providers should offer a comprehensive range of fund services you can rely on for compliance and operational success.

Ask if the administrator provides multi-level reviews and these processes:

  • Regulatory: Perform due diligence practices, including appropriate compliance documentation.
  • Investor records: Maintain accurate account detail for each investor, including capital contributions and distributions. Circulate financial reports to shareholders.
  • Facilitation: Coordinate relationships with various service professionals, including attorneys, independent accountants, commercial bankers, auditors, and tax preparers.
  • Protocols: Anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC) are protocols that give businesses a transparent view of their clients.

The duties performed by a fund administrator allow you to concentrate on high-value areas, like investment strategies that grow your portfolio.

3. Industry-leading Technology Solutions

Administrators with a robust technology infrastructure can provide you with efficient and reliable services. Accuracy is the crucial component when processing material. Secure data centers provide automation that reduces accounting and reporting errors and saves time.

Access is another critical criterion to consider. Ask potential providers if they have an integrated system that gives you access to real-time data around the clock and allows investors to access a secure portal where they can accept, manage, and transfer their distributions.
Specialized platforms usually allow you to track data at every point of a fund structure, from the investor fund-level data to the entire investment portfolio. Often these systems involve an expensive and time-consuming process of executing and maintaining the technology, which you can avoid by partnering with a fund administrator.

4. Sound Ownership Structure

Cultivating a trusted partner can be a daunting process. The last thing you want to happen is for the fund administration firm you worked so hard to find, to sellout. When organizations change ownership, there’s usually a period of unrest. Employees change, structures shift, and in the end, you could end up with a partner who can’t support your needs. An ideal provider is well established, financially sound, and growing in a measured manageable fashion.

5. Cost-effective Service Procedures

Outsourcing your administrative functions is cost-effective and process-effective. Rather than building an infrastructure from scratch, partnering with a fund administrator reduces your overhead and increases your ability to manage funds by giving you something you can’t buy more of—Time.

Two things to consider when choosing a fund admin firm include:

1. Costs: Assess the provider’s costs but don’t select a fund administrator based on fees alone. While a good fund administrator may charge a premium, they’ll lower your operational costs and increase your ability to attract investors.

2. Procedures: Examine the fund administrator’s delivery processes carefully. Check to see if they align with your service level agreement.  Consider holding monthly or bi-monthly status calls or meetings.

A Complete Outsourcing Solution

If you’re still asking yourself, “What makes a great fund admin partner?” The answer is simple. One that offers you comprehensive solutions to a broad spectrum of needs, including expert services for fund administration, accounting, and investor reporting.

Combine all of your fund administrative procedures into a single structure by partnering with a full-service firm that enhances your reputation, reduces your risk, and adds value to your operation.

Explore what a dedicated fund admin firm can do for your business by exploring or contacting Reliant Fund Services.

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