Private market AUM in Australia has seen phenomenal growth in the last two years. Reports from the Australian Investment Council and Prequin, a data provider, have noted the previous record AUM of over $90 billion in 2022 has been superseded to $118 billion in 2023. With success comes challenges, and we are seeing many managers encountering constraints within operational processes. These operational constraints impact their ability to fully capitalize on opportunities. Concurrently, regulation is putting pressure on managers to elevate their operational standards to improve the quality of their reporting and increase transparency. On the hedge fund side, we are also seeing a renewed interest in these types of investments—albeit with a distinct new flavor on the operational model.
Alongside this growth, the lack of alternative providers is a challenge for the industry. They seem to be faced with the extremes of the cheap providers, which come with service issues or prohibitive expenses. The talent pool is also a challenge, with a distinct lack of qualified and experienced staff. Managers appreciate working with individuals who are experts in their field. The funds themselves, in the pursuit of returns, are becoming more complex, and this requires an administrator that has a deep talent pool and excellent retention.
A global fund administrator can help address these challenges. Technology is paramount, but it is the combination of global software solutions with local staff that makes for a great solution. From Super Funds to private markets, and family offices to wealth managers, clients are looking for a provider that is able to confidently manage the full spectrum of the fund administration value chain from the investor to the regulator.
In response to these trends in the Asia-Pacific region, SS&C is looking to build on the existing scale of our APAC Fund Administration Services, targeting the growing local market as well as supporting our European and US clients that invest heavily in the region. Having expertise in the nuances of Trustee relationships, local tax and regulatory reporting is essential to this goal.
To expand our expertise in those areas, SS&C has brought on an experienced leader to grow SS&C GlobeOp in Australia and New Zealand. Enrique Gonzalez has joined the SS&C team to help manage the expected high growth phase in the region. Alternative Investment Managers all have subtle but distinct differences that need to be serviced by a qualified and experienced team. There is no standard and each client requires specific tailoring.
Enrique is an industry heavyweight with more than 30 years of experience in the Fund Services and Administration business. He has worked for many of industry leaders including JPMorgan, Citi, BNP Paribas and most recently Macquarie. In that time, he has managed large multi-jurisdiction operations, transformed existing operations for growth and worked on a start-up. He spent 15 years overseas and spent many years in Luxembourg, London and Paris. He is now permanently based in Sydney.
To learn more about SS&C’s fund administration services, download our Private Markets brochure or our Hedge Fund Solutions brochure.
