The COVID-19 crisis continues to challenge the operating models of hedge funds and the wider fund services industry. It has been a testing time for individuals, and it has also put many pre-crisis disaster recovery models to the test as well.
Some fund managers have, for example, discovered that Cloud-based operations were not Cloud-native as originally envisaged. Often legacy applications are merely Cloud-enabled. The conflicting issues that exist between overlapping and aged systems have been exacerbated now that COOs and their teams have been restricted to working from their homes.
If anything, the entire crisis has highlighted where limitations exist, whether it is the limit to which a service provider will assist with operational problems within a fund, or the limit of manual processes that exist within routine reporting procedures.
In a normal operating environment such concerns can be papered over, but this is not a normal environment.
At Truss Edge we are much more than just a technology company – we also work closely with our hedge fund clients to ensure they achieve the right internal operating environment to suit their requirements and deliver them efficient managed data.
Fund managers can be very risk averse when it comes to contemplating new technology – they are wary of hidden costs and disruption. Can managers improve operational efficiencies and reduce costs when their entire business is being managed remotely, and from multiple locations?
Leverage an experienced team of operational professionals
As we assist both old and new clients during the current crisis, working remotely, we have been leveraging the extensive operational experience of our existing team to help clients achieve a more seamless operating environment. This includes:
- Initial assessment of the fund manager’s existing software, data and reporting structure, plus a thorough understanding of any new requirements;
- Analysis of where cost savings can be achieved;
- Close liaison with the fund manager’s own team and service providers;
- Construction of any alternative systems including implementation of Truss Edge’s own Safari platform using a parallel platform (i.e. reducing disruption to an absolute minimum before implementation takes place);
- Final implementation only when all parties are happy, including service providers like fund administrators.
We are able to achieve considerable savings for the managers we work with by helping them to address systems bloat – the organic accrual of competing IT platforms within a hedge fund business as it grows. Some of this comes as a result of venturing into new markets, some from hiring new trading teams or taking on new clients. Whatever the source, it can lead to an unwieldy environment that is also costing the management operation too much to sustain.
Truss Edge is not wedded to selling an off the shelf technology system to our clients – we know it must exist homogenously within a sophisticated environment. We apply our own expertise, gained from working with literally hundreds of hedge funds on the operational side, to find solutions which will work for COOs and arrive inside budget.
The COVID-19 crisis is highlighting many of the operational stress fractures that exist both within and between organizations. Now is a good time to address some of these.