Fundamentals of Fund Administration

 Name: Fundamentals of Fund Administration

 Components: 3 Seminar Presentations

 Duration: 21 hours

In recent years, Cyprus has made an enormous effort towards the enhancement and completion of the national legal framework concerning investment funds. These legislations have been put in place in order to promote Cyprus as in international fund jurisdiction. The Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency has helped in establishing the Cyprus Investment Funds Association in order to help promote and build a profitable sector.

It is of great importance for the sector to be equipped with qualified professionals. This programme will give the tools to professionals that work in the sector to better understand the processes relating to fund administration.

Goal:

By attending this course participants will gain:

• A clear understanding of the role and responsibilities of fund administration
• The confidence to liaise with investment managers, fund sponsors, custodians, selling agents and investors
• The latest developments in managing and controlling fund administration processes and procedures
• The knowledge of how to value and price investment funds accurately
• The expertise to identify and manage sources of risk in fund servicing
• The ability to maintain the fund’s compliance with regulatory and tax rules
• Explore some of the recent changes in the investment environment and assess the way in
• which these have impacted on the investment process, the different styles of fund management,
• and the fund administrator.
• Acquire the necessary skills to comply with the ever increasing demands of regulators.
• Become familiar with the offering documents, reporting requirements and the problems faced

by fund administrators.

OUTLINE:

Section 1:

Investment Objectives

• recent changes to the investment environment
• investment process, including some of the challenges faced by investment managers
• different styles of fund management
• processes of asset allocation and portfolio creation
• different types of funds available, their key characteristics

and attributes

• tax implications of funds

Section 2:

Regulatory Objectives

• how regulation  impacts  on the  investment  process  and  its key participants
• main areas of regulation
• different  regulatory  frameworks,  using Cyprus,  Guernsey,  Malta  and Luxembourg as examples

Section 3:

Role of Fund Operations

• Road Map of the Valuation and Pricing of Investment Funds

Registrar and Transfer Agency Services

Section 4:

Fund structures  

• open‐ended and closed fund structures
• explore the use of a unit trust as an investment vehicle and the role ofthe trustee and fund manager in a unit trust
• how investment companies operate
• limited liability partnerships as a fund structure
• the role of the general and limited partners, depositary and trustee

Section 5:

The key players in investment

• the role of prime broker and custodian
• the role and responsibilities of the fund administrator
• the role of the fund manager in the investment process
• the  function  and  purpose  of  a  company  secretary  and  the  secretarial services provided

Section 6:

Fund operations

• fund operation process
• reconciliation process
• impact  of  margin  and  collateral  and  corporate  actions on portfolio administration
• fund accounting and procedures
• review risk profiles
• review the stages in the valuation process, the purpose and the

structure of a pricing policy

Section 7:

Transfer agency

• the role of the transfer agency
• consider the records that need to be maintained by the transfer agency
• explore some of the common problems faced by transfer agents

Section 8:

Fund and fund administration compliance

• explore the compliance and risk issues faced by the fund and the fund administrator
• compliance checks and regulation checks that need to be carried out
• explore the operational risks faced by the fund and the fund

administrator

• identify the typical risks that funds face and how these may be

addressed

Case study exercise Risk Relationships: Client/Counterparty/Bank

Section 9:

Offering documents, reporting requirements and problems faced by fund administrators

• Consider the offering documents of a fund
• Explore the reports and information provided to investors
• Identify problems that can occur in fund administration
• Consider service level agreements (SLA)

Section 10:

The future development of fund administration services

• Explore how the investment environment will change in the future
• Consider  the  impact  that  the  changes  will  have  on  the  role  and

responsibilities of the fund administrator

Section 11:

Exercise: Fund Set Up, Launch and Admin

Preparing a detailed overview of what a fund sponsor needs to know about the setting up, launch and operation of a new fund