Global network managers of custodian banks are redefining the word relationship when it comes to monitoring local agent banks that safekeep assets of underlying clients in multiple countries. It is no longer enough to make a sporadic visit or have a phone call. Global network managers have become detectives sifting through mounts of data to […]
Reporting Securities Finance Deals: More is Less?
Say what, say who, say when? That’s the reaction of fund managers, custodians and market infrastructures to the European Securities and Market Authority’s request for feedback on a new regulation requiring reporting information on securities finance transactions to trade repositories. Market players complain that ESMA’s technical specifications for complying with the Securities Finance Transaction Regulation […]
US Swing Pricing: Getting the Process Right
The US mutual fund managers may soon be following in the footsteps of their European peers in adopting swing pricing, but how ready are they to overcome the operational and compliance challenges? If the tone of discussions at a recent standing-room-only event hosted in New York City by the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI) is any indication, the answer is […]
KYC Onboarding: Taking a Global Centralized Approach
Name, rank and serial number. That’s what national military organizations across the globe use to identify their members. Too bad the same simplicity can’t be used by financial firms when it comes to identifying their customers and counterparties, bemoan operations and compliance specialists. Instead financial firms must deal with a hodgepodge of regulatory requirements across […]
UCITS V: What Is a Three-Year-Old Bonus Worth?
Fund management firms wanting to benefit from the latest incarnation of decades-old UCITS legislation to easily market their investment funds across Europe will find themselves facing a new hurdle: they must adapt to new restrictions on how and when they compensate many of their top-ranked executives. The provisions on compensation are considered draconian by many fund experts who […]
FinOps Takes a Byte out of the News — 3/17/2015
A few news items that may be of interest to our readers… CalPERS Pioneering: US pension giant California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) has become the first pension plan to join a fully committed repo facility at Chicago-headquartered derivatives clearinghouse OCC. The repo facility provides contingency liquidity in the event of a member default or […]
Custody Network Management: The Rise of the Super Risk Manager
Second article of our two-part series on third-party risk management. For the first article, click here. Hands-on relationship manager. System Analyst. Recruiter. Negotiator. Risk Manager. Hatchet man. Whoa! Too many job descriptions requiring far different different personalities and skills. They couldn’t possibly all be handled effectively by any single individual. These are just a some of […]
UCITS V: Devil in the Compensation Details
UCITS V — the latest incarnation of the decades-old European legislation easing cross-border marketing of investment funds — has fund managers angry about what they see as far more rigid rules governing their bonuses. Just adopted by the European Parliament, the legislation not only massively reduces the short-term variable compensation of so-called “risk-taking” staff, but defers […]
Countdown to AIFMD: Addressing the New Risk Management Landscape
With the deadline for fund managers to apply for regulatory recognition as alternative investment fund managers (AIFMs) less than a week away, one would think they have already crossed their T’s and dotted their I’s when it comes to being prepared. But that’s not the case for many, according to industry research. Surprisingly, most small […]
AIFMD and UCITS V: Custodians Under the Gun to Monitor Subcustodians
Global custodians always claimed to be selective about who they did business with. After all, billions if not trillions of dollars worth of client assets are at stake. Well now they have to be even more cautious about who they have selected as their subcustodians or local agent banks across the globe, and many are […]