Our annual Fund Administration Strategy Summit is supposed to be, well, annual. Then Covid-19 got in the way. So after an enforced three-year hiatus, it was with real pleasure—and not a little relief—that the event finally made it back to Dublin in May.
After such a long break, it was wonderful to reconnect with so many of our fund administration clients. And given the packed attendance, it seems everyone was as pleased as us to be back engaging face-to-face.
These events have a dual purpose. They are an opportunity for us to share the latest improvements in SS&C Advent’s technology and services, and for clients in turn to share their business priorities with us to better inform our development roadmap. As important are the peer-to-peer roundtable sessions, where attendees have an opportunity to come together to discuss current trends in the investment management arena and network with industry colleagues.
Key product updates
Despite the working restrictions imposed by the pandemic, we have kept busy enhancing the SS&C Advent fund administration solution suite. Being back in a room together allowed us to share some of the highlights of what we’ve been working on. Thankfully, the presentations on our recently released and upcoming features were well received.
The new Advent Geneva user interface attracted particular client interest. As did the functions that allow business users to access and manipulate data more easily, and unlock the power of the data and information held within the Geneva system to help reduce costs and reliance on custom reporting. The new enquiry and workspace functions address many of the issues clients have been requesting.
Our innovative exception management and data governance workflow tool, also drew a buzz. It successfully streamlines the data management process from acquisition to reporting. It allows users to monitor data quality across key business areas, while maximizing workflow efficiency through the detection, prioritization and resolution of data exceptions. The result is greater efficiency, oversight and governance—benefits made all the more important at a time when margins are under pressure and many firms are pursuing more active management strategies in the hunt for alpha.
Along with the new functionality rollouts, attendees at the event were keen to learn about our ongoing technology updates. Here we continue to invest in improving the system’s performance, flexibility and security. In addition, we previewed upcoming changes to Geneva’s accounting and investor accounting capabilities.
Future focus
One area where we are seeing real growth and opportunity ahead is in the private equity, private credit and closed-end funds markets. The audience echoed our views, and we were pleased to hear that they see Geneva as a leading solution in this space.
Clients expressed great interest in our plans to enhance and extend Geneva’s already strong loans functionality as well. Our focus is on delivering a more automated and digital solution, using embedded machine learning tools at the front end.
Cryptocurrency came up a lot too. The event produced some interesting conversations around the differing needs and challenges crypto assets create for different clients, providing us with valuable input.
Client-driven development
The roundtable discussions always throw up a range of talking points and insights, and this year was no exception. Getting clients’ input and feedback has been critical to Geneva’s success to date, and will continue to be a key driver in our plans for the solution moving forward.
Geneva has undergone significant transformation, to ensure the widely-acknowledged power of the application is matched by an intuitive, more user-friendly interface that gives business users enhanced access and the independence to self-serve as needed. Being able to demonstrate the wide array of new features and functions we have introduced, and observe them being received with such warmth by our clients, was both rewarding and encouraging. And by increasing investment in our product and development teams, aided by our highly-engaged and insightful client base, we will maintain Geneva’s position as the industry gold standard.
