Effective 31 May 2011, Stone House Consulting is closing its doors. Please click here to read a copy of the letter we sent to clients with additional information.
Filed under: Uncategorized
5 April 2011 • 8:30 am 1
Trade Matching in the Traditional and Alternative Markets
Pressures from investors and regulators are accelerating the pace of convergence in traditional and alternative asset management organizations and improving standards of practice. At present, in the traditional asset management arena, managers’ and brokers’ records are generally compared on a trade-by-trade basis and custodians are authorized by the managers to settle matched transactions. In the hedge fund world, prime brokers, often serving as both trading counterparty and custodian, either settle trades without any affirmation or issue the affirmation on behalf of the manager. After tracing the historical development of these two de facto industry standards, Stone House Consulting partner Holly Miller comments on the role of the administrator, illustrates how the absence of trade matching increases hedge fund managers’ costs, explores why the hedge fund industry has accepted an error-prone process, and outlines a resolution. Read the full article published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Securities Operations & Custody here.
Filed under: Hedge Fund / Alternative Investment Management, Operational Risk, Published Article, Trading and Order Management, Traditional Investment Management, buy-side, errors, hedge fund, investment management, operational risk, operations, press, prime broker, recordkeeping, risk, separate accounts, trade ticket, workflow
5 April 2011 • 7:45 am 0
Verifying the Verifier
How does one go about selecting a firm to verify their claim of compliance with the Global Investment Performance Standards? Stone House Consulting partners Philip Lawton and Holly Miller discussed this topic during a recent webinar hosted by FTF News held on March 16th. Highlights from the webinar were covered in an article by Securities Technology Monitor. A recorded version of the webinar is still available. Click here for more information.
Filed under: Performance Measurement, Press Coverage, Webcast or Podcast, buy-side, GIPS, investment management, performance, performance measurement, press
4 March 2011 • 12:46 pm 0
Overview of the Global Investment Performance Standards
CFA Institute has made this copyrighted paper, used in the 2011 CFA™ and CIPM® curricula, available gratis to all. Written by Stone House Consulting partner, Philip Lawton, the reading presents the requirements and recommendations of the 2010 version of the GIPS® standards and explains the rationale and application of specific provisions, with particular attention to implementation issues.
Filed under: Hedge Fund / Alternative Investment Management, Performance Measurement, Traditional Investment Management, buy-side, GIPS, hedge fund, investment management, performance, performance measurement
3 March 2011 • 10:13 am 0
IT/Ops Cooperation, Investor Communication and Social Media
In part two of FTF News’ Q&A with Holly Miller, Stone House Consulting’s founding partner, discusses how to get IT and operations to work together effectively, the survey on investor communication and operational risk that Stone House is conducting with Infonic AG and innovative ways buy-side firms can leverage social media. Part one of the Q&A is here.
Filed under: Benchmarking / Surveys, Managing the Business, Operations, Press Coverage, Technology, buy-side, operational risk, operations, social media, survey, technology
2 March 2011 • 11:15 am 0
Managing the Increased Risks Associated with Outsourcing
Stone House Consulting provides 15 practical suggestions for managing the increased risks that may be introduced by outsourcing. This slideshow was presented on Wednesday, 2 March 2011 at the 5th Annual OpRisk Conference in New York by Holly Miller, founding partner of Stone House Consulting.
Filed under: Hedge Fund / Alternative Investment Management, Operational Risk, Operations, Outsourcing, Traditional Investment Management, buy-side, Due diligence, hedge fund, investment management, metrics, operational risk, operations, service level agreements, technology, training, workflow
2 March 2011 • 9:15 am 0
Corporate Governance and Operational Risk
In her opening remarks as chair of the 5th Annual OpRisk Conference in NYC today, Stone House Consulting founding partner, Holly Miller, discusses the link between corporate governance and operational risk.
Filed under: Governance, Managing the Business, Operational Risk, Presentations, Proxy Voting, Traditional Investment Management, board of directors, buy-side, corporate governance, investment management, operational risk, proxy voting, risk, shareholders, TARP
1 March 2011 • 10:54 am 0
Investors’ IT Savvy, STP and the Cloud
In advance of chairing tomorrow’s 5th Annual OpRisk Conference in New York, Stone House Consulting’s founding partner, Holly Miller, is interviewed by Eugene Grygo of FTF News in a two-part series. Read what she has to say in this first conversation about the role IT plays during investor due diligence, hidden risks in straight-through processing (STP) and how managers can use cloud computing to reduce operational risk. Read the article.
Filed under: Operational Risk, Operations, Press Coverage, Technology, buy-side, disaster recovery, Due diligence, errors, FTF News, operational risk, press, risk, technology
20 December 2010 • 10:01 am 0
10 Operational Risks to Watch For
Securities Technology Monitor features a terrific slide show on Stone House Consulting’s new book, The Top Ten Operational Risks: A Survival Guide for Investment Managers and Hedge Funds.
Filed under: Operational Risk, Press Coverage, hedge fund, investment management, operational risk, press
13 December 2010 • 6:32 pm 0
Stone House Consulting Releases its First Book–THE TOP TEN OPERATIONAL RISKS: A SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT FIRMS AND HEDGE FUNDS
Press Contacts:
Deborah Eisenberg / Matthew Chisum
Cognito
+1.415.946.8820
- Advanced Praise Offered by Leading Industry Executives including Bruce J. Feibel, CFA, Managing Director, BNY Mellon and Bill Bogle, Partner and Chief Compliance Officer, NEPC LLC
- Available Now in Paperback and Electronically via Amazon Kindle
Thornton, Penn. – December 13, 2010 – Stone House Consulting, LLC, today announced the release of its first book entitled THE TOP TEN OPERATIONAL RISKS: A SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT FIRMS AND HEDGE FUNDS. Written by the firm’s founding partner, Holly Miller, and partner Philip Lawton, the work is a collection of essays that draws upon extensive practical experience to offer clear and compelling advice to recognize and decrease the risk of loss due to inadequate internal processes, people and systems or external events.
“In the wake of the global financial crisis, asset management firms are paying more attention, not only to investment risk management, but also to oversight of the operational risks that come with day-to-day activities like portfolio valuation. Stone House Consulting’s book contains timely and thought-provoking essays of current interest to operations and technology managers,” said Bruce J. Feibel, CFA, Managing Director, BNY Mellon.
Starting with complacency on the part of senior management, each of this book’s central chapters addresses one of the ways in which investment management firms may be exposed to unwelcome surprises. Other chapters focus on technology, workflows and aspects of the segregation of duties that are especially significant in the investment management industry, such as observing the distinction between the firm and the funds it manages.
The authors additionally bring their experience to bear on reconciliation gaps, the importance of knowing the firm’s counterparties and the regulatory regimes to which they are answerable, and the challenges of effective strategic planning in a rapidly changing marketplace.
“In worst-case scenarios, an investment firm’s failure to identify and mitigate operational risk can result in significant direct costs and a devastating loss of Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: Hedge Fund / Alternative Investment Management, Operational Risk, Operations, Press Release, Published Article, Technology, Traditional Investment Management, book, business continuity, buy-side, Due diligence, hedge fund, investment management, Jennison no-action letter, operational excellence, operational risk, operations, press, recordkeeping, risk, SEC, separate accounts, technology, The Top Ten Operational Risks, Top 10, workflow
24 November 2010 • 9:09 am 0
For Whom Should We Give Thanks?
See our guest blog entry at The Bull Run: Where FinTech Talks. And have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Filed under: Benchmarking / Surveys, Hedge Fund / Alternative Investment Management, Published Article, Traditional Investment Management
18 October 2010 • 6:41 pm 3
Operational Risk #10: Reading the Fine Print—Know Thy Legal Entities
We’re sorry—the article you are looking for is no longer available on our website. However, it is included in our book, The Top Ten Operational Risks: A Survival Guide for Investment Management Firms and Hedge Funds. Purchase your paperback copy or Kindle version!
Filed under: Hedge Fund / Alternative Investment Management, Operational Risk, Traditional Investment Management, agreements, Bear Stearns, counterparty risk, documentation, Due diligence, hedge fund, investment management, legal, Lehman, operations, SAS 70
16 October 2010 • 9:34 am 0
Survey on Operational Risk, Investor Communication and Requirements
Investors’ demands for transparency and concerns about operational risk have risen over the last several years. Is the post-meltdown focus on due diligence in selecting managers and greater demand for specific information a lasting change or just a temporary phenomenon?
Stone House Consulting, in conjunction with Infonic AG (the makers of HedgeSphere), is conducting a survey focused on operational risk and investors’ requests for more and clearer information about their managers’ investment strategies, controls, and results. The survey is designed to address questions like: Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: Benchmarking / Surveys, Hedge Fund / Alternative Investment Management, Operational Risk, Traditional Investment Management, buy-side, hedge fund, Infonic, investment management, operational risk, survey, transparency
16 October 2010 • 9:33 am 1
Mitigating Lottery Risk
Guarding against the loss of key staff is imperative, says Philip Lawton, and here he offers sound advice on how to mitigate the potential disaster with proper processes and procedures.
This article first appeared in Performance Measurement and Client Reporting Review, Vol. 3.1, Autumn 2010. It is reprinted with the kind permission of Osney Media.
Filed under: Hedge Fund / Alternative Investment Management, Operational Risk, Published Article, Traditional Investment Management, buy-side, operational risk, press
11 October 2010 • 12:20 pm 1
Operational Risk #9: Poor Planning and Slow Response Times—Changes in the Firm, the Marketplace and the Regulatory Environment
We’re sorry—the article you are looking for is no longer available on our website. However, it is included in our book, The Top Ten Operational Risks: A Survival Guide for Investment Management Firms and Hedge Funds. Purchase your paperback copy or Kindle version!
Filed under: Benchmarking / Surveys, Hedge Fund / Alternative Investment Management, Managing the Business, Operational Risk, Outsourcing, Technology, Traditional Investment Management, business continuity, buy-side, CFA Institute, disaster recovery, Dodd-Frank, Due diligence, errors, hedge fund, investment management, operational excellence, operational risk, transparency
11 October 2010 • 12:05 pm 0
Dodd-Frank Act
Holly Miller, founding partner of Stone House Consulting, discusses implications for the investment management industry rising from regulatory reform and the Dodd-Frank Act. Read about the latest “Women on the Buy-Side” event at theglasshammer.com.
Filed under: Press Coverage, Dodd-Frank, The Glass Hammer
4 October 2010 • 4:06 pm 4
Operational Risk #8: Reconciliation Gaps—A False Sense of Security
We’re sorry—the article you are looking for is no longer available on our website. However, it is included in our book, The Top Ten Operational Risks: A Survival Guide for Investment Management Firms and Hedge Funds. Purchase your paperback copy or Kindle version!
Filed under: Hedge Fund / Alternative Investment Management, Operational Risk, Operations, Traditional Investment Management, buy-side, hedge fund, investment management, matching, multiple prime brokers, operational risk, operations, performance measurement, prime broker, reconciliation, recordkeeping, separate accounts
27 September 2010 • 3:10 pm 0
Operational Risk #7: Amalgamated Assignments—Segregation of Duties
We’re sorry—the article you are looking for is no longer available on our website. However, it is included in our book, The Top Ten Operational Risks: A Survival Guide for Investment Management Firms and Hedge Funds. Purchase your paperback copy or Kindle version!
Filed under: Hedge Fund / Alternative Investment Management, Managing the Business, Operational Risk, Outsourcing, Performance Measurement, Traditional Investment Management, buy-side, Due diligence, hedge fund, investment management, operational risk, outsourcing, performance, performance measurement, prime broker, recordkeeping, segregation of duties, separate accounts, wire transfers
21 September 2010 • 4:06 pm 0
Operational Risk: A Photo Really Does Speak 1,000 Words
An ‘alert reader’ sent us this link to a photo of JPMorgan’s London trading floor, which last week suffered from a plumbing problem–presumably from the floor above. We recommend anyone interested in operational risk click to see the photo and then envision your own trading desk or client files. We suspect JPMorgan may appreciate the witty comments on the posting, but would have preferred news coverage of a different sort.
If you read #1 Operational Risk: Complacency–Trivializing and Disregarding Risks and thought your organization suffered from such complacency, perhaps sharing the photo will drive the point home.
Meanwhile, can you imagine paper tickets in this mess?
Filed under: Managing the Business, Operational Risk, business continuity, buy-side, disaster recovery, hedge fund, investment management, operational risk, risk, technology, trading
20 September 2010 • 3:10 pm 4
Operational Risk #6: Playbooks—Workflow Documentation
We’re sorry—the article you are looking for is no longer available on our website. However, it is included in our book, The Top Ten Operational Risks: A Survival Guide for Investment Management Firms and Hedge Funds. Purchase your paperback copy or Kindle version!
Filed under: Hedge Fund / Alternative Investment Management, Operational Risk, Operations, Traditional Investment Management, business continuity, buy-side, disaster recovery, Due diligence, error logs, hedge fund, investment management, operational risk, training, workflow
13 September 2010 • 7:10 pm 2
Operational Risk #5: Naïve Reliance on Technology—The Downside of Automation
Click to Read Typed Note
We’re sorry—the article you are looking for is no longer available on our website. However, it is included in our book, The Top Ten Operational Risks: A Survival Guide for Investment Management Firms and Hedge Funds. Purchase your paperback copy or Kindle version!
Filed under: Hedge Fund / Alternative Investment Management, Operational Risk, Operations, Technology, Trading and Order Management, Traditional Investment Management, business continuity, buy-side, CFA Institute, compliance, disaster recovery, errors, hedge fund, investment management, operational risk, risk, technology, trading, workflow
6 September 2010 • 7:00 pm 1
Operational Risk #4: Dropped Batons—Hand-offs
We’re sorry—the article you are looking for is no longer available on our website. However, it is included in our book, The Top Ten Operational Risks: A Survival Guide for Investment Management Firms and Hedge Funds. Purchase your paperback copy or Kindle version!
Filed under: Hedge Fund / Alternative Investment Management, Operational Risk, Operations, buy-side, hedge fund, investment management, operational excellence, operational risk, operations, risk, trade ticket, workflow
30 August 2010 • 7:10 pm 5
Operational Risk #3: Novices, Apprentices and Soloists—Inadequate Training or Cross-Training
We’re sorry—the article you are looking for is no longer available on our website. However, it is included in our book, The Top Ten Operational Risks: A Survival Guide for Investment Management Firms and Hedge Funds. Purchase your paperback copy or Kindle version!
Filed under: Hedge Fund / Alternative Investment Management, Operational Risk, Traditional Investment Management, Training, business continuity, buy-side, CIPM, hedge fund, investment management, operational risk, operations, performance, training
23 August 2010 • 7:10 pm 7
Operational Risk #2: The Blind Leading the Blind—Overextended and Underqualified Managers
We’re sorry—the article you are looking for is no longer available on our website. However, it is included in our book, The Top Ten Operational Risks: A Survival Guide for Investment Management Firms and Hedge Funds. Purchase your paperback copy or Kindle version!
Filed under: Hedge Fund / Alternative Investment Management, Managing the Business, Operational Risk, Traditional Investment Management, Casey Quirk, compliance, hedge fund, investment management, multi-prime, multiple prime brokers, operational excellence, operational risk, operations, risk, technology, workflow
17 August 2010 • 3:10 am 11
#1 Operational Risk: Complacency—Trivializing and Disregarding Risks
We’re sorry—the article you are looking for is no longer available on our website. However, it is included in our book, The Top Ten Operational Risks: A Survival Guide for Investment Management Firms and Hedge Funds. Purchase your paperback copy or Kindle version!
Filed under: Hedge Fund / Alternative Investment Management, Operational Risk, Traditional Investment Management, business continuity, buy-side, disaster recovery, embezzlement, error logs, errors, fraud, hedge fund, investment management, Jennison no-action letter, operational risk, SEC, staffing, training
13 August 2010 • 7:03 pm 0
Fixes for Algo Trading Glitches Come from Within
Stone House partner Holly Miller discusses improved controls that can help prevent trading algorithm problems like the one that Deutsche Bank experienced on the Osaka Stock Exchange in June, for which the bank’s wrists were slapped this week. See the article in WatersTechnology’s Sell Side Technology magazine.
Filed under: Operational Risk, Press Coverage, Trading and Order Management, algo, algorithmic trading, Deutsche, Osaka Stock Exchange, trading, Waters, WatersTechnology
10 August 2010 • 9:10 am 14
Top 10 Areas of Operational Risk for the Buy Side
We’re sorry—the article you are looking for is no longer available on our website. However, it is included in our book, The Top Ten Operational Risks: A Survival Guide for Investment Management Firms and Hedge Funds. Purchase your paperback copy or Kindle version!
Filed under: Hedge Fund / Alternative Investment Management, Operational Risk, Operations, Traditional Investment Management, buy-side, hedge fund, investment management, operational excellence, operational risk, risk
20 July 2010 • 7:00 am 1
Philip Lawton, Leading Performance Expert, Joins Stone House Consulting
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TUESDAY, 20 JULY 2010 – THORNTON, PA
Stone House Consulting, LLC announced that Philip Lawton, formerly head of the Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement (CIPM®) program at CFA Institute, has joined the firm as a partner.
Holly Miller, founding partner of Stone House Consulting, said, “Investment managers and hedge funds that excel in analyzing and communicating results have a competitive edge in gathering and retaining assets. Philip’s expertise and thought leadership strengthen our ability to guide firms toward best practices in performance and risk evaluation and client reporting.” Miller also said that Lawton’s knowledge of investment operations and his background in managerial accounting are a great fit with Stone House’s emphasis on improving manager profitability through benchmarking and service-based cost analyses.
Filed under: Performance Measurement, Press Release, CFA Institute, hedge fund, performance, performance measurement
8 July 2010 • 11:50 am 0
Are You Making the Most of Your Technology?
Proper systems implementations always require a complete review of the relevant operational workflows. Likewise, effective systems training will focus on those same workflows. Yet all too often, investment management firms pay inadequate attention to designing and optimizing their operational flows and fail to harness the full capabilities of expensive, best-in-class applications.
These days, when it is critical to squeeze every last drop of value out of limited resources, firms cannot afford to ignore their processing efficiency any longer. And with all the heightened attention to operational risk, firms that fail to take a fresh look at workflows do so at their own peril. The good news is that re-examination of an organization’s operational efficiency usually has a very short payback period.
Filed under: Hedge Fund / Alternative Investment Management, Operations, Traditional Investment Management, technology, workflow
1 June 2010 • 8:00 am 0
Stone House Consulting and Investit Partner to Offer Strategic Benchmarking and Consulting Services to Traditional and Alternative Investment Managers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TUESDAY, 1 JUNE 2010 – NEW YORK AND LONDON
Stone House Consulting, LLC and Investit Ltd today announced a strategic partnership to provide traditional and alternative investment managers with a suite of consultancy services, industry research, best-practice benchmarking and self-assessment tools. These products and services are designed to help managers gather assets and successfully execute their high-level business plans.
“Heightened operational awareness and due diligence, increased transparency and additional regulatory demands are focusing greater attention on operations, IT and business processes than ever before,” according to Peter Ellis, managing director of Investit. He added, “This partnership will allow us to share ideas, glean local market insight and deliver enhanced services to clients closer to home, while at the same time extending our global reach. Our clients are as excited about this partnership as we are.”
Filed under: Press Release, buy-side, margins, operational risk, operations, press, regulation, separate accounts, survey, technology
14 May 2010 • 12:36 pm 0
Signs of Maturity
During her opening remarks as chairperson of FTF News’ 3rd Annual Hedge Fund Operations and Technology Conference in New York, Holly Miller, partner at Stone House Consulting, discussed critical signs of maturity that hedge fund managers will need to demonstrate to regulators. Wall Street & Technology highlighted them in their May 2010 cover story. Please click here to download their free digital issue and look on page 9.
Filed under: Current, Hedge Fund / Alternative Investment Management, Managing the Business, Press Coverage, hedge fund, investment management, operational risk, press, regulation, Wall Street & Technology
11 March 2010 • 12:01 pm 0
Debating Transparency and Valuation
Yesterday, theglasshammer.com hosted its second Women on the Buy-Side networking breakfast and panel discussion. Nicki Gilmour, founder and CEO of theglasshammer.com, began the event by explaining that the purpose of the gathering was to draw together top women in the investment management industry to discuss the topic of risk and its implications on performance for 2010.
Gilmour later explained that by getting top women together, we can continue to create a critical mass of female leaders in the industry and “change the perception of what a leader looks like.” For the women themselves, this was an event where “they are not the only woman in the room.”
Holly H. Miller, founding partner of Stone House Consulting, LLC, moderated the panel on the “massively broad topic called transparency,” today’s new “buzz word.” Panelists included Michelle McCarthy, Chief Risk Officer at Russell Investments, Virginia Volpe, CFA, Director of Hedge Funds, Global Transaction Services at Citi, Diane Garnick, Investment Strategist at Invesco, and Mara Topping, Partner, Investment Funds Group, D.C. Office of White & Case.
Read on at theglasshammer.com
Filed under: Hedge Fund / Alternative Investment Management, Press Coverage, Traditional Investment Management, hedge fund, investment management, The Glass Hammer, transparency
18 February 2010 • 11:54 am 0
Hedge Fund Transparency: The Long-Term Implications of Separate Account Management
Hedge fund managers and investors alike have embraced separate account management as a panacea to their operational risk concerns and a quick win in the quest for greater transparency. But they should think again. In their rush to solve one set of problems, investors may be introducing even greater risks to their portfolios and hedge fund managers may be setting the stage for significant business challenges over the long term.
The Long-Term Implications of Separate Account Management
Read the attached excerpt from the February 2010 edition of the CFA Institute’s Investment Performance Measurement Newsletter.
Filed under: Hedge Fund / Alternative Investment Management, Managing the Business, Operations, Performance Measurement, Published Article, CFA Institute, composites, GIPS, hedge fund, investment management, margins, operational risk, operations, performance, performance measurement, separate accounts
5 January 2010 • 11:35 am 1
Critical Recordkeeping: Trade Tickets and Order Memoranda
It is remarkable the number of buy-side firms that have overlooked the importance of maintaining proper trade tickets and order memoranda in a timely fashion. Three weeks ago, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged New York-based Ark Asset Management Co., Inc. with fraudulent trade allocation as well as disclosure and books-and-records violations. This latter charge involved violations of Section 204 of the Advisers Act and Rule 204-2(a)(3) which requires registered investment advisers to make and keep true, accurate and current order memoranda for the purchase and sale of any security on behalf of a client.
Today many investment managers and hedge funds utilize electronic order management systems to track order creation, modification and deletion as well as trade execution details. These same systems typically will calculate order size, allocate block orders across multiple accounts and track trade execution details. Some more sophisticated systems will further perform pre- or post-trade compliance checks to ensure portfolios remain in compliance with client- or firm-imposed guidelines and restrictions, such as concentration limits or list restrictions (e.g., ‘no tobacco’).
Automated systems, however, can obfuscate for some just what is happening and the information required to ensure a firm remains in compliance with the recordkeeping requirement. Likewise, Rule 204-2(a)(3) is clear as mud for many. So we shall try to shed a little light on best practice for this aspect of maintaining books and records.
Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: Hedge Fund / Alternative Investment Management, Operations, Trading and Order Management, Traditional Investment Management, buy-side, compliance, hedge fund, investment management, operational risk, operations, recordkeeping, trade ticket, trading
11 November 2009 • 10:57 am 0
Hedge Fund Fees
Holly Miller, Partner at Stone House Consulting, is quoted by Hedge Funds Review.
Filed under: Hedge Fund / Alternative Investment Management, Managing the Business, fees, investment management, press
3 November 2009 • 3:22 pm 0
Survey of Buy-Side Industry Trends
Margins in the investment management industry are under siege, facing threats from both directions – lower fees and rising costs. The Glass Hammer / Stone House Consulting Survey of Buy-Side Industry Trends indicates that while regulators are contributing to the cost pressures, the industry’s own client base, together with the investment consulting firms that advise those clients, are a key factor in the equation. Not only are investors demanding greater due diligence, improved risk monitoring and controls, but they are calling for lower fees without any concession on the performance expectations, high levels of customization and quality client service they have always required.
Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: Benchmarking / Surveys, Hedge Fund / Alternative Investment Management, Traditional Investment Management, buy-side, hedge fund, investment management, margins, survey, The Glass Hammer
10 October 2009 • 3:18 pm 0
Leaders of the Pack
Video of The Glass Hammer Network’s breakfast networking event on Sep 29 in New York City.
Hosted by Nicki Gilmour, CEO, theglasshammer.com. Panelists include Cynthia Steer, Head of Research Strategy, Rogerscasey; Marianne Brown, CEO, Omgeo; Liz Philipp, Head of the New York Office, PIMCO; and Annie Morris, Head of North America, Linedata Services. Moderated by Holly H. Miller, Partner, Stone House Consulting.
Filed under: Hedge Fund / Alternative Investment Management, Managing the Business, Press Coverage, Traditional Investment Management, Webcast or Podcast, hedge fund, investment management, Linedata, Omgeo, operational risk, PIMCO, Rogerscasey, The Glass Hammer
10 October 2009 • 3:15 pm 0
Where Does Performance Fit?
CFA Institute free podcast from the 2009 Annual GIPS Conference on Sep 23 in Boston.
Panelists include Stephen Campisi, CFA, institutional portfolio manager and principal, Intuitive Performance Solutions; James Edmonds, CFA, global head of performance measurement and client reporting, AllianceBernstein; and Holly Miller, partner, Stone House Consulting. Moderated by Beth Kaiser, CFA, CIPM, director of investment performance standards, CFA Institute.
Filed under: Hedge Fund / Alternative Investment Management, Managing the Business, Performance Measurement, Traditional Investment Management, Webcast or Podcast, CFA Institute, investment management, performance, performance measurement
21 July 2009 • 3:11 pm 0
Managing the Business of Asset Management
In the wake of plummeting revenue streams, particularly with client concerns over operational risk and managers’ needs to control costs, the lines between traditional investment managers and hedge funds have blurred and will continue to do so. Traditional investment managers and hedge funds alike need to focus on the business of managing money as well as the management of the assets. Though the industry’s historically high margins have allowed managers to pay scant attention to the decidedly unglamorous and hugely complex expense side of the business, they must do so now. The winners will be those who manage their firms as well as they manage their clients’ portfolios.
While buy-side revenues are driven by assets under management, costs and, ultimately, profit are driven primarily by the number of accounts and secondarily by the number of products or strategies the firm offers. Even with automation, more…
Read on at The Glass Hammer.
Filed under: Hedge Fund / Alternative Investment Management, Managing the Business, Published Article, Traditional Investment Management, hedge fund, investment management, margins
3 July 2009 • 3:08 pm 0
Forgotten Risk: Free Delivery of Securities
While most operational due diligence reviews focus significant attention on the procedures involving wire transfers, they often overlook those surrounding the free delivery of securities. Yet both activities involve the transfer of assets out of a fund or portfolio with nothing received in exchange.
Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: Hedge Fund / Alternative Investment Management, Operations, Traditional Investment Management, deliver free, Due diligence, free delivery, hedge fund, investment management, operations
27 June 2009 • 2:57 pm 0
Top 10 List for Mastering Operational Due Diligence
This is from a presentation at Financial Technologies Forum’s 2nd Annual Hedge Fund and Operations Conference on 21 April 2009. While it is just a list of bullets, it is included here for the convenience of our readers.
Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: Hedge Fund / Alternative Investment Management, Operations, Traditional Investment Management, Due diligence, hedge fund, investment management, operational risk, operations
7 June 2009 • 2:45 pm 0
Migrating Toward Multi-Prime: Did Your Manager Decrease or Increase Operational Risk?
In the wake of the Bear Stearns and Lehman difficulties, many hedge fund managers have migrated toward a ‘multi-prime’ environment, in which more than one prime broker is utilized by the fund. On closer examination, a number of hedge funds have not only failed in their dual objectives of setting up a true multi-prime relationship and reducing their overall operational risk. Indeed, quite a few hedge fund firms have increased their operational risk without even realizing it. This article examines steps that hedge fund managers can take to achieve their objectives and enhance their operational risk profile.
Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: Hedge Fund / Alternative Investment Management, Operations, hedge fund, investment management, multi-prime, multiple prime brokers, operational risk, prime broker
