Sponsored by Tourmaline Partners Save the Date: Thursday, October 15, 2020 Time: 10AM EST Go to www.tourmalinepartnersllc.com/finops-report-webinar to register for the free dial-in details Join Tourmaline Partners and FinOps Report for a free webinar on how the buy-side is benefitting from outsourced and supplemental trading. Access to liquidity, cost rationalization, operational efficiency, regulatory compliance, and […]
SEC’s Fair Value Rule: Don’t Drop Old Guidance, Say Critics
The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s new proposed rule for fund managers to fair value some of their assets has prompted a vocal minority of legal and valuation experts to question whether the regulatory agency should entirely scrap older guidance in favor of new accounting rules as the barometer for valuation. Fair value isn’t a […]
Fair or Not: Fund Managers Face SEC’s New Valuation Rule
Registered investment advisers might find it operationally a lot harder and a lot more expensive to value hard-to-price assets held by mutual funds if the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed modernization of fund valuation practices is adopted. Appointing a chief valuation officer could become necessary to handle the laundry list of new requirements. The […]
Coronavirus: Survival Tips for Middle Office Fund Ops
The coronavirus pandemic is frazzling even the best trained middle-office operations managers of US fund management shops who are working in the trenches of a battlezone. The war isn’t about setting up remote access to IT systems for employees having to work from home or deciding who should do which task and when. Following a […]
Hedge Funds: Proactive Operational Risk, Finally
Failed trade settlements, bad valuations, bad reconciliations, shoddy vendor management and simple forgetfulness. These glitches aren’t new for hedge fund managers. What is new is that they are turning to management and technology consultants for help. As regulators, such as the US Securities and Exchange Commission, look under the hood during exams and investors become […]
Swing Pricing for US Funds: Has the SEC Gone Far Enough?
Like it or not, fund managers will have to make peace with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s new investment company reporting modernization program and liquidity management guidelines. They’re going to have to accept doing more to curb their liquidity risk and disclose more about their investment composition. Oddly, it’s a voluntary aspect of the new SEC […]
T. Rowe Price Investor Payback: The Unpushed Button
For fund managers, proxy voting isn’t a minor housekeeping matter. Depending on just how financially controversial the corporate agenda is, the vote can be as crucial to the health of investor portfolios as any trading decision. There is plenty of regulatory rulemaking to keep everyone’s eye on the ball so when something goes awry, it’s big […]
New Alternative Fund Messages: Second Time the Charm?
The alternative investment funds market is undergoing an eight year itch. That long ago in 2007, a group of securities depositories, fund administrators and custodians launched a project to create ISO 20022-compliant message types for orders and redemptions of units of alternative investment funds. The level of adoption of the new messaging was disappointing, and it […]
US T+2 Settlement: The Long Journey Officially Begins
What a difference a day makes. Until September 16, the US financial industry had only been talking about a two-day settlement cycle. Only a preliminary roadmap of the stepping stones to T+2 had been completed, indicating that at least 30 operational workflows will be affected, requiring rule, behavioral and technology changes. On that day Securities and Exchange Commission […]
AML Transaction Monitoring: Five Steps to Getting it Right
If you think your anti-money laundering transaction monitoring software isn’t working correctly, what should you do? a) blame your vendor and replace the software b) blame your analysts and tell them to work harder c) review your data feeds and inputs d) throw your hands up and think you can’t do anything e) doubt your […]