How does an alternative manager benefit from shadow services? Shadow accounting is when a manager directs or performs in-house accounting books and records to reconcile or shadow the books and records maintained by a third-party administrator. A manager performs these tasks for a variety of reasons—they may be required to by fund documents, or they want control and fast access to investment results, or they believe that they have a higher level of expertise in the strategies behind their business than the record keepers.

Interest in investor SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications) processing is typically inclined towards mutual funds. The alternative assets and hedge fund space is often seen as more complex and harder to support with automated services and messaging templates are usually not standardized when dealing with transfer agents. In recent years, an increase in institutional investment funds and large custodian banks entering the hedge market has slowly nudged the industry towards realizing the benefit of standardization of SWIFT messaging, as it can be key to opening up distribution in newer global markets.

SS&C recently conducted a Superannuation Stealth Survey to measure members’ perceptions of digital tools and communication channels. Our research found that there is a huge opportunity for Australian superannuation funds to deliver more engaging communications and gain a competitive advantage in retention through new technology.

In the last decade, the popularity of open ended funds has grown. We have seen many of our real assets clients launch such funds in recent years. One of the attributes investors appreciate is the diversity of property types. However, in recent years, we’ve seen the Internet of Things have an impact on various property types. The transition to online shopping, for example, has had an obvious effect on the retail sector.