T he benefits to investment funds of outsourced fund operations, including fund accounting, administration, tax services, sales reporting, investor phone support, web portal solutions, printing, fulfillment and compliance support, are many and varied. But here are 10 ways that third-party back office outsourcing simply benefits the bottom line:
- Payroll savings.
The costs and complications of maintaining an in-house staff for fund operations only magnifies as your fund succeeds and grows. Sick time, vacations, employee benefits, training, etc. are an unnecessary headache and considerable expense to a successful and expanding office. Hiring and firing, overstaffing and understaffing, training and retraining are ongoing challenges. Quality third-party fund operations gets all the back-office tasks done without human resources issues. - Efficiency.
Specialized systems in the hands of trained and experienced operators speed up the completion of every back office function. Hours spent on new investment entry, resolution of errors and issues, reporting, changes, transfers, distributions and commission calculations are minimized. System controls that apply data uniformity, minimize errors, track activity and provide audit trails also enhance efficiency. - Integration of services.
Data processed by advanced administration and accounting systems and available in real time to integrated systems for capital calls, distributions, tas form production, compliance reporting and investor transparency via mail, email or web portal delivery optimizes data flow, maximizes data security and reduces the cost of every function. - Auditing.
Auditors price their services based on each client’s history of organization and timely preparedness for their audit. Prompt scheduled delivery of accurate and flexibly available data makes the auditing process more efficient, less disruptive and less expensive for fund management. - Specialization.
An appropriate division of labor has all parties focus on their core competencies. A fund operations provider performs administrative functions and keeps up with industry regulations, trends, requirements and best practices on the operations side so fund management can focus intensely on sales and investments. This minimizes operational risk and the costs associated with otherwise unforeseen issues. - Reputation.
Professional third-party fund operations make an impression. Investors, advisors, auditors, institutions and regulators notice when a) everyday activity is prompt and accurate, b) questions, requests and requirements are addressed swiftly and knowledgeably and c) deliverables are of high quality and professional appearance. Fund management acquires a reputation for stability and excellence when both investment return and operational responsiveness excel. Such a reputation encourages reinvestments and sales of new investments. - Opportunity.
By migrating fund operations to a third-party provider, in-house staff can be re-deployed to activities that contribute to enhanced returns. Additionally, an administrator able to provide sales reporting, financial reporting, web portal solutions, fulfillment services and investor/advisor phone support help empower these efforts – magnifying the benefit of reassigning the in-house staff. - Compliance.
Smooth effective fund operations avoid regulatory fines. Experienced fund administration firms can call fund management’s attention to potential red flags to avoid costly mistakes and violations. Advanced fund administrators establish procedures and policies that keep funds from avoidable mistakes, saving the time, cost and disruption of regulatory inquiries. - Gained industry knowledge.
The experience of a fund administration team allows client funds to skip steps and streamline functions. Since a seasoned fund operations provider has learned from the experience of many clients, funds can benefit from the experience of others rather than make avoidable mistakes themselves. - Economies of scale.
Fund administration allows funds to benefit from the centralized processing of one provider for many clients. The economy of scale not only concentrates experience and knowledge where it does the most good but eliminates the waste of salaried in-house operations employees with more paid time than tasks to perform.
From the inception of a fund or at any time thereafter, the decision to partner with an experienced reliable fund administration firm is a smart investment. It’s an investment in efficiency, management focus and smoother relationships with all parties, with a real benefit to the bottom line.
Phoenix American Financial Services provides full-service fund administration, accounting, transfer agent and investor services as well as sales and marketing reporting to fund companies in the alternative investment industry. The PAFS aircraft group provides administration and accounting services for securitizations specializing in the commercial aviation leasing industry. The company is a subsidiary of Phoenix American Incorporated along with Phoenix American SalesFocus Solutions, providers of the cloud-based MARS CRM, Sales and Marketing Reporting and Compliance Management solutions for banks, insurance companies, asset management firms and other financial service organizations. Phoenix American Incorporated was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in San Rafael, CA.
Media Contact:
David Fisher
(310) 621-7822
dfisher@phxa.com
