Unlike nearly all other securities services industries, hedge fund administration continues to fragment. As larger administrators look to win larger clients, the opportunity has arisen for smaller fund administrators to service more boutique clients. Charter Group Fund Administration (CGFA), a boutique fund administrator headquartered in London, has recently launched targeting start-ups to mid-sized firms.
The group will be led by Brian Taitz, a fund administration veteran who previously joined forces with the Kingsway Group to launch Sydney-based Kingsway Taitz Fund Administration in 2006.
Taitz left Kingsway Taitz Fund Administration in early 2010 after its acquisition by TMF Group in August 2009, and has now teamed up with Charter Group, an offshore investment firm, to launch CGFA.
Speaking to GlobalCustodian.com, Taitz says We are trying to offer a very personal, high quality service. There is a gap in the marketplace because a lot of the bigger firms have minimum criteria for new funds. Even if clients that do fit the criteria, they become one of many.
CFGA launched last week and is looking to win its first mandates over the coming months.
CGFA will offer end-to-end fund administration, including compliance, fund accounting, fee calculations, NAV calculation, financial statement preparation, and reporting for investors. CGFA will also offer services to boutique long only funds. There are still a number of boutiques out there that may not fit the definition of hedge fund but still see themselves as boutiques, says Taitz.
According to a press release issued by CGFA concerning the choice of London as a base for business, Taitz says that the UK market is fragmented with larger administrators turning away smaller funds and relying more on their size than their service levels to win clients.
It is re-assuring for a fund manager to know that they can deal directly with the principals of the business whose office is around the corner, he says.
Giles TurnerNews Editor