For you, what were the contributing factors behind the successful year that led to this award?
We embraced private credit in ways that make a practical difference for private investment managers. For example, UMB launched a new line of business that complements our fund administration business: CLO Trustee and Loan Administration, within UMB’s Corporate Trust division.
This team specialises in administering loan collateral, so collaboration with our fund administration team means we can provide private-credit managers with one-stop-shop services. We also made significant technology investments this year, enabling us to readily handle whatever product nuances our clients bring us – whether in registered or unregistered funds.
Could you outline some of the main achievements and milestones from the year?
We eliminated manual processes and dozens of workarounds when we implemented a new, modern investment record keeping platform that enables us to handle complex products. Similarly, we eliminated manual tracking of complex private instruments with a new system. We’re more efficient in serving our customers and can readily provide loan-portfolio reporting that integrates with our clients’ own systems. We also freed up internal resources to work on client needs by migrating certain software to cloud versions.
How do you plan to build on this success going into the rest of the year and beyond?
First and foremost, we’ll continue meeting our clients’ need for efficient handling of complex products. We will also apply our consultative approach as our clients launch new products. We’re honoured to be the leader in unlisted closed-end fund administration (such as interval funds). We are building on this strength through our investments in technology platforms and in outstanding people.