Fundamentals of Fund Administration

This book fills a gap in the lack of books that cover the administration and operations functions related to funds. With the growth of hedge funds globally there is more and more requirement for fund administration services, and the success of the fund administration is crucial to the success of the funds themselves in a highly competitive market. As the focus on operational risk, cost effective support and administration of trading and investment and the ability to design, develop and deliver added-value services for clients grows there is a need for a comprehensive analysis of what happens from trade to settlement and beyond and the exact role that the fund administrator may be required to provide. The book helps those responsible for managing and supervising fund administration services by examining the decisions, actions and problems at the various stages as well as explaining the products and infrastructure that services support. The book first explains the background to the development of investment funds and the growth of hedge funds, how they have developed and their importance today. Having established the reason for the development of the mutual and hedge funds market the book then looks at how and why the services are needed and used and how the industry is structured looking at both the main stream investment business and hedge funds, who they have relationships with and the role of the various other parties like prime brokers, clearing houses etc. The role of the various parties is explained and the interaction between securities, commodities and derivatives administration is explored. It does this by providing not only text but also a CD Rom Operations ClearingSettlement and Custody that is included in the price and can be requested by purchasers of the book. It is strongly suggested that any reader new to the subject and even those wanting to refresh their memories of the basics of the settlement of transactions of investments that are