Hedge IT Blog

It is becoming cliché to say, but the investor due diligence process has truly evolved from a ‘check the box’ activity to a detailed and analytical process.  Today, hedge fund investors want to see a tested investment strategy coupled with institutional-grade business processes.
 
Here at Eze Castle Integration, each year we help more and more hedge fund clients complete the Technology portion of investor due diligence questionnaires (DDQ).  So we thought it would be helpful to share some of the more common technology related questions we are seeing.  Not surprisingly you’ll see security and disaster recovery questions on the list.
 
As you consider your responses to these questions, keep in mind that in some cases investors are more concerned with your decision process as opposed to seeing the “right” answer.  The reality is that often the “right” answer varies from firm to firm and depends on a number of factors, including investment strategy.

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Last week, we hosted a webinar with eSentire on best practices for managing security risks. eSentire is the leading managed security service vendor protecting 25% of the global hedge fund market by AuM. During the webinar, the company's director of marketing, Mark Sangster, and our own vice president of client technology, Steve Schoener, explored topics including the scope of cyber threats, the anatomy of a cyber attack, continuous security monitoring and security policies and procedures for hedge funds to consider. Read on for a full recap of the information covered during the event.

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Today, we're excited be hosting the 2013 London Hedge Fund Cloud Summit at the Prince Philip House in London. The event features a variety of industry experts participating in thought-provoking panel disccussions focused on the cloud adoption trends shaping the investment industry. Conversations will touch on everything from the differences between public and private clouds to cloud security and application hosting.

In honor of this event and to provide a visual to help encapsulate the many benefits that come from leveraging a private cloud, we have published a new infographic entitled “You Might be a Private Cloud User If…” Check it out to see the top 10 signs that you are likely a private cloud user. For more information and details on the 2013 London Hedge Fund Cloud Summit please visit the event page. Also, be sure to look out for a recap of the event here on the Hedge IT blog next week!

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Yesterday our VP of client technology, Steve Schoener, presented on a California Hedge Fund Association webinar about building an institutional infrastructure at today’s hedge funds. A lofty topic (so consider this a basic primer), Steve focused on four key discussion areas, which we’ll recap here. They were:

• Investor Expectations of IT

• On-premise & Cloud solutions: Which is right?

• Security Risks & Best Practices

• Disaster Recovery How-Tos

You can watch the 30-minute webinar now or keep reading below.

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Last week, we hosted a webinar covering AIFMD’s impact on US based hedge funds. The event featured Bill Prew, Founder of INDOS Financial Limited, and provided a high level overview of the changes that AIFMD will potentially bring to the alternative investment industry. Prew specifically focused on how US based managers will be impacted by this legislation. Read on for a summary of the main topics covered during the event, including an overview of AIFMD and the considerations and upcoming changes for US managers.  

About the Expert
Bill Prew is the founder of INDOS Financial Limited. Before founding INDOS, he was the chief operating officer at James Caird Asset Management, a hedge fund with offices in London and New York. He has also served in various senior roles at Barclays Global Investors and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Following a summary of the information presented by Mr. Prew during our recent webinar.

 

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Last week, we hosted a webinar on the Hedge Fund Industry Outlook for 2013 with speakers Deborah Prutzman, CEO of the Regulatory Fundamentals Group, and Mary Beth Hamilton of Eze Castle Integration.  Following is a recap of the key topics discussed around operational due diligence, regulations and technology trends.

Insights from Deborah Prutzman, Regulatory Fundamentals Group
2012 was a year marked with significant regulatory changes in the world of investment management. So far, we’re expecting to see more of the same in 2013. This time, the direction and manner of change will likely be more predictable.  Some important themes we expect will permeate throughout the year include:

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The latest HFR Global Hedge Fund Industry Report found that hedge fund assets increased by $60 billion in the fourth quarter of 2012, bringing total industry capital to a record $2.25 trillion.  With hedge funds posting performance gains and the new year upon us, we expect to see new hedge fund launches take off. 

Technology is just one of the many areas to consider when starting a hedge fund.  To help jump start the process, below is a list of some commonly asked questions we receive.

Where do I start in creating a technology budget for my hedge fund?

It is important to note that whether a firm selects to go with an in-house IT solution or cloud computing there will be implications on technology budgeting.  Once in-house versus cloud is evaluated, it is important to think about the workflows and systems you use to complete your work – be it email, reports, phones, market vendor applications, and/or risk systems.  You can find a technology budgeting worksheet here to help with your planning.

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Happy New Year everyone!
 
2013 is off and running, and the time has come to look ahead and set goals for your investment firm to ensure a successful and prosperous year. Many of the resolutions we recommended last year still hold true, including testing your disaster recovery system, reviewing and evaluating all telcom contracts, ensuring your business continuity plan is SEC-compliant and performing a comprehensive IT systems audit.

This year, it’s time to take those resolutions to the next level. We asked some of our internal experts here at Eze Castle to share some important resolutions hedge funds could consider making for 2013. Here’s what they had to say:

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Here we are again – at the end of another year and recapping some of the best and most popular posts from the Hedge IT Blog in 2012. This year, we spent a lot of time talking about cloud computing, security, and disaster recovery, among other topics.
 
As always, we welcome your feedback and would love to hear your suggestions for future articles on Hedge IT. In the meantime, we’ll continue to bring you new and interesting posts related to all of your favorite hedge fund technology topics.
 
At last, here is a recap of our most popular blog articles of 2012:

Cloud Adoption Survey Results Revealed: Part 1

This year, we undertook a research study surveying 130 hedge funds and alternative investment firms in regards to their adoption of cloud technology. The results revealed that more than eight out of ten investment firms are either currently using or planning to use cloud computing services in the near future. This shift towards the cloud signifies a major trend in the financial services space as firms look to move away from costly on-premise technology infrastructures. You can download the complete survey report here.

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Last month our friends at eSentire published a Cloud Security Checklist to provide hedge funds and alternative investment firms a guide when evaluating a cloud provider such as Eze Castle Integration.  The Checklist asked the question, “How can you know if your Cloud Service Provider has your best risk management interests in mind?”

Since here at Eze Castle Integration we are big proponents of secure cloud computing, we thought we’d be the first cloud service provider (that we know of!) to complete eSentire’s checklist.

Here goes!

1.0 Physical Security: Does the cloud provider have a rigorous physical access protocol?
Yes, yes and yes.  Eze Castle has detailed Access Control and Premise Access policies that extend from physical to virtual environments.  Following are some of the key physical access control protocols we have in place:

• 24x7x365 manned lobby with visual verification of identity
• Two-phase authentication of visitors (card and biometric)
• Secured access at all entry points, including doors and elevator banks
• Monitored security cameras as well as door, motion and camera sensors
• Visitor logs closely monitored and escorts required at all times
• Key-locked cages and cabinets at all data center facilities

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