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Data Warehouse Implementation | Hedge Fund IT Solutions

Deloitte & Netik Conference – Asset Management: Managing and scaling your reference, market and portfolio data

This article is part of our guide to Hedge Fund Business & Technical Issues.

On October 29, 2009 I attended an event at San Francisco’s Omni Hotel put on by Deloitte and Netik.  The event featured a panel discussion with the following panelists:

  • Brian Lott – Executive Vice President, Operations, Netik
  • Michael Smith – Senior Manager, Deloitte & Touche LLP
  • Joseph Clark – Market Data Manager, MSCI Barra
  • James Wu – Product Manager, MSCI Barra
  • Moderated by Ray Iler – Northwest Pacific Hedge Fund Leader, Deloitte & Touche LLP

The discussion was quite interesting and was most appropriate for hedge fund managers who have a need for transparency into their positions and who also need the ability to quickly manipulate large amounts of data.  Coming into this discussion I was not aware of any of the issues involved with data warehouse implementation.  I am sure that much of this discussion went over my head, but I did the best I could to summarize the points made by the various panelists.  As always, any errors or confusion found below is likely attributable to me solely.  [HFLB note: I have not checked with any of the panelists regarding my summary of their comments.]

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Data Warehouse Hedge Fund Discussion

[Moderator questions in italics.]

Ray Iler started the panel discussion by stating that investors and regulators want more information, generally for risk management purposes.

Michael Smith – pending investment adviser registration will mean that managers need to make sure their data systems are ready to handle SEC requests for information, SEC audits and most importantly investor requests for data.  Data warehouses help asset managers to reconcile their various data inputs (especially with regard to multi-custodial relationships).

Brian Lott – regulation is going to drive what “transparency” means.  Old systems were not designed for the way that business is now done – data warehouses now allow managers to bring all information into a central repository and helps the manager to have a holistic view of their portfolios.  These data warehouses can also help ease the regulatory burden by speeding up the time it takes to search and categorize data.

James Wu – data warehouses give managers the ability to see and analyze portfolio and asset level risk characteristics.  These solutions allow managers to run robust reports and ad hoc queries fast.

Ray Iler asked how data warehouses can help managers such as fund of funds or hybrid funds.  [Or something to that effect.]

Brian Lott – legacy apps have not evolved quickly over time.  Data warehousing goes beyond position level down to the data below.  Prior to data warehouses there were systems which were modified to try to function like current data warehouses.  The current data warehouse system is equivalent to a hub and spoke system where the data warehouse is the hub and the various data inputs (information or fees) are the spokes.  The advantage of this hub and spoke system is the ability for managers to centralize data and then be able to analyze it.

Michael Smith – it is one thing for a manager to understand the economics of an investment at the beginning of the deal, then then understanding what is going on with that deal on an ongoing basis becomes harder.  Data warehouses allow managers with a common platform to understand their deal on a continuous basis.  One application for managers is that they could understand how their portfolio composition would change based on an investment.  Such information helps a manager to understand the investment on a continual basis.

Joseph (Joe) Clark – another thing about clients without a data warehouse is that they have a hard time trying to find the data.  A data warehouse makes finding certain data much easier.

James Wu – one of the great things about a data warehouse is that allows you to have more spokes – legacy systems which have been modified (shoehorned) to try to meet current demands often are not able to seemlessly integrate new feeds.

Michael Smith – [made a statement about Microsoft sharepoint and other solutions which make technology easier.]  Managers moving into new asset classes (say a private equity fund moving into real estate investments) should think about how cash flows and reporting are going to change from current systems.  How will this change the formatting?

Joe Clark – data from different vendors and from groups in different jurisidictions do present an issue for some managers.

Ray Iler – that is good point – what about licensing issues for the feeds into the data warehouse?

Joe Clark – It is an interesting issue that centers on the question of who owns the underlying data.  Questions arise as to how many deriviations of the data are needed before the feed provider no longer “owns” it.  It will really depend on each individual relationship.

Brian Lott – it is not standardized from vendor to vendor and the issue needs to be negotiated at each data provider.

Ray Iler – what are the costs and ROI by putting a data warehouse in place?

Brian Lott – the question becomes, how do I pitch this to the board?  It is often hard to quantify the return but recent market events have shown why it is so important for managers to understand total counterparty risk.  For instance, after the Lehman collapse a client had to go through 72 different relationships with Lehman to understand what the total exposure was – this took 3 months to complete.  Generally not until a catastropic event do you see the value at the most basic level like this.

Ray Iler – although we understand that each project is unique, are there some common implementation costs?

Brian Lott – on the data warehouse implementation, for a medium buy-side manager, you are looking at 3 months depending on complexity.  Costs will be all over the board and will depend on the licenses involved and the services requested.  It could be anywhere from $200,000 to $2 million.  On the data servicing side, it will really depend on the size and complexity of the services requested.  There is a big difference in costs with a firm with 2,000 positions versus a firm with 2 million positions.

Michael Smith – we have advised on system implementation for managers with a few hundered million to half a trillion.  Most of the time these can be straightforward implementations but sometimes they cannot and that will affect cost.  The point of the systems are to minimize trade failures, make sure accounting is properly completed, 13Fs and 13Gs are not filed incorrectly and that understanding the various risks of the business.  These factors (along with reputation risk if something goes wrong) are weighed against the cost of implementation – for each manager it will be different in terms of ROI.

James Wu – after Lehman and AIG groups don’t realize how much exposure they have to a counterparty that is failing or about to fail.  Having that information is crucial for managers.

Ray Iler – yes, investors want to see that managers have thought about these issues and right now, in this tough fundraising environment, managers have to do what investors want.  If investors want full transparency, managers need to provide it.  Now, what about in-house technology solutions versus outsourcing.  Can managers do both?

Brian Lott – it is not a one size fits all solution.  It will depend on the risk profile of the manager.  What will happen many times is a sort of hybrid between the in-house team and our outsourced solution.  While the whole data warehouse will be a good solution, the in-house compliance manager or risk manager will usually want to have some kind of final sign off and control over the system.  Accordingly, many firms have their in-house team working directly with the data warehouse in a number of ways.

Joe Clark – the hybrid system is part of the philosophy that the system should match a manager’s specific needs.

[Some thoughts from James Wu and Michael Smith which I did not catch.]

Brian Lott – because each solution is tailored to each manager it is very important that stystem integration firms and the managers understand the scope of the work to be performed.  To do this the manager really needs to understand what the end goal is.  From the end goal the provider will be able to provide dates, an implementation plan, a description of the scope of work to be performed as well as a timeline of the phases of the project implementation.  It is very important for the manager and the provider to define the exact scope of the project.

At this point the floor was opened to questions.

Question from audience

  • What are some of the general needs of some of these managers (such as insurance companies, pension funds and family office managers)?
  • In light of the recent Galleon hedge fund insider trading case, do data warehouse solutions work to help  compliance personnel search emails to detect possible illegal activity.

Networking After Discussion

After the event we had the opportunity to do some networking.  I had to run fairly quickly, but I did have a chance to talk briefly with the following people:

  • Maital S. Rasmussen who works with small and start up hedge fund managers on their marketing materials and presentations.  Specifically I talked with Maital about presentation coaching which is becoming more important for managers who are presenting in front of institutional investors.
  • Erin Brodie who is the Senior Business Development Manager of Global Accounts at Advent Software.
  • Mason Snyder of Catalina Partners, which providers business risk advisory for institutional investments.
  • Maria Hall of M.D. Hall & Company Inc., a hedge fund audit firm.

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Bart Mallon, Esq. of Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP runs Hedge Fund Law Blog and can be reached directly at 415-868-5345.

Hedge Fund Business & Technical Issues

Overview

In addition to providing startup and established managers with information on various hedge fund laws and regulations, we have also provided a number of articles on the general business issues that hedge fund managers need to address.  These articles cover a number of areas and many of the articles below are from service providers to hedge funds.  Please feel free to suggest other areas for us to explore in future articles.

Hedge Fund Technology, IT and Internet Issues

  • IT Issues for Hedge Fund Managers – this article, written by a technology solutions firm, details some of the IT solutions which are available to hedge fund managers who will need to register after the new hedge fund registration rules are adopted.  These issues also apply for currently registered (SEC or state) hedge fund managers as well.
  • Data Warehouse Implementation for Hedge Funds – a summary of a panel discussion on the reasons managers should think about implementing a data warehouse system.
  • Hedge Fund Hotels – hedge fund hotels offer managers a whole suite of hosted services for turnkey back office implementation.
  • Hedge Fund Domain Names – this article discusses domain names for hedge fund managers.
  • Hedge Fund Managers and Blogs – this article discusses whether hedge fund managers can run a blog.

Hedge Fund Tax Issues

  • Proposition Q and Hedge Funds – hedge fund managers located in San Francisco should be aware of Proposition Q (a special San Francisco payroll tax) and how it will affect them and their top earners.

General Business Issues

  • Hedge Fund Employment Law Issues – this article, forthcoming, will discuss the issues that managers need to consider when they bring on employees for the first time.  While each state will have different laws and regulations which the manager will need to follow, there are general items which a manager should be prepared for including establishing a structure to pay state and federal income taxes for employees.
  • IP Licensing Agreements – this article, forthcoming, will discuss the business and legal issues involved when managers license their intellectual property to a hedge fund.
  • Hedge Fund Management Company Insurance – this article discusses the costs of insurance for hedge fund management companies.
  • Hedge Funds and Rehypothication – this article discusses rehypothication as it relates to hedge funds.
  • Prime Brokers, Margin Lock-ups and Hedge Funds – this article discusses prime broker margin lock-ups and some of the issues which managers should understand.
  • Hedge Fund Operational Issues and Failures – this article discusses a press release about a white paper released from a hedge fund due diligence firm.  The firm examines the reason why many hedge fund managers fail.
  • Hedge Fund Operations During a Pandemic – examines the issues which face managers because of the H1N1 virus.
  • Agreed Upon Procedures – hedge fund managers sometimes will engage auditors to provide “agreed upon procedures” especially with regard to their Level III assets.  This article, written by a hedge fund due diligence firm, provides some thoughts on how investor may view these procedures in the future.  Managers should be aware of how investors (or potential investors) might view these types of engagements.
  • Women and Hedge Funds – this article explores the world and opportunities for women in the hedge fund industry.
  • Naming Your Hedge Fund – this article discusses common hedge fund naming conventions.
  • Hedge Fund Best Practices – discussion of the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets (PWG) report on hedge fund best practices.
  • SIPC Customer Asset Protection – statements by FINRA and the SEC on asset protection for customers.

Bart Mallon, Esq. of Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP runs Hedge Fund Law Blog and can be reached directly at 415-868-5345.

Hedge Fund Regulation IT Solutions

Technology Solutions for Registered Hedge Fund Managers

http://www.hedgefundlawblog.com

It is the final quarter of this year’s political season and it has become clear that the earlier clamor for hedge fund registration has been overshadowed by larger political issues – namely health care legislation and the cap and trade bill.  Recent events, however, have shown that the registration issue is not dead and the venture capital industry has been able to potentially secure an exemption from the registration provisions. Even though we don’t know where regulation will take us in the next 6 to 18 months, it is likely that many hedge fund managers will need to institute compliance and IT programs as a result of forthcoming laws and regulations.

The article below, submitted by Meyer Ben-Reuven, CEO of Chelsea Technologies, details some issues which managers will need to be ready to handle once legislation and regulations go into effect.  State registered investment advisors should take note as they may already be required (under state law) to maintain such compliance programs.

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How is President Obama’s New Hedge Fund Regulation Plan affecting you?
By Meyer Ben-Reuven, CEO Chelsea Technologies

The challenging question Hedge Fund Managers should ask themselves is what should they be doing to be compliant with President Obama’s Hedge Fund Regulation Plan?  There are many questions and many tasks to accomplish, but most important is to understand the main points of the plan, what needs to be done and what are the costs associated.  In this paper I present you with a summary of the President’s plan and what a Chief Compliance Officer needs to face in conjunction with the IT department to be compliant with regulations.  Costs are important, but I will keep them away from this paper.

Obama’s New Hedge Fund Regulation Plan

In June 2009, President Obama presented a proposal for new regulations that affect Hedge Funds and fund managers.  The most important part of this new regulation will be to require Hedge Fund, Private Equity, and VC Fund Managers to register with the SEC as investment advisors.

Although it is a proposal, all fund managers will have to start thinking about the re-registration and the process to keep the fund compliant.

The plan’s 5 main goals are:

  1. Promote robust supervision and regulation of financial firms.
  2. Establish comprehensive supervision and regulation of financial markets.
  3. Propose comprehensive regulation of all OTC derivatives.
  4. Protect customers and investors from financial abuse.
  5. Raise international regulatory standards and improve international cooperation.

The idea is to require advisers to report financial information on their fund and its management and thus have the ability to assess whether the fund poses a threat to the stability of the financial system and at the same time strengthen investor protection.

The specific goals regarding hedge funds are as follows:

  • Data collection
  • SEC should conduct regular, periodic examinations of hedge funds
  • Reporting AUM and other fund metrics to the SEC
  • SEC would have ability to assess whether the fund or fund family is so large, highly leveraged, or interconnected that it poses a threat to financial stability

How will IT Departments have to help keep the funds within regulation rules?

As of February 2006, Hedge Fund Advisors were obliged to comply with SEC Rule 203(b)(3)-2 requiring registration under the Investment Advisor Act.   Under these rules, the Hedge Funds were advised to retain all internal and external email and IM business communications.  In June 2006, the Goldstein ruling against the SEC pushed several funds to de-register.  With the failure of the financial system since the end of 2007, the new administration has been poised to regulate the industry more than ever.

What needs to be done?

  1. Take a look at all the ways communications are conducted in the fund
  2. What are the devices used to communicate
  3. Always be on the lookout for new technologies

Afterwards, insure you have control over the different communication methods.  As stated, all electronic communication in and out of the fund has to be retained for future review.  This means that if it cannot be controlled and retained, it must be prohibited.

All internal rules have to be specified in IT policies and procedures, otherwise no one can be held accountable.

The following is how data needs to be archived for SEC purpose audits:

  1. Incoming/Outgoing Data must be kept in its original form
  2. Data has to be easily retrievable and searchable
  3. Data has to have a date and time stamp
  4. Data has to be retained in the main office for first 2 years
  5. Data has to be retained for 5 years
  6. Data has to be put into tamper proof media (meaning non-rewritable and non-erasable)
  7. Data has to be stored in a secondary backup location (preferably away from the same grid)
  8. Be able to produce data promptly (within hours)
  9. Be able to provide data in its original format in either view or print form
  10. Implement annual review of the system

It is highly recommended that data be tested for integrity including testing retrieval and searching, as well as accuracy.  The test should be conducted on a yearly basis, but better if on a more frequent basis.
Although the IT department is in charge of conducting the process, it is ultimately the Chief Compliance Officer who is responsible for this area.  The Chief Compliance Officer needs to dictate the test frequency as well as to advise everyone in the firm about the policies and make sure everyone understands the consequences of failure to comply.

All these internal policies have to be in writing and any violations have to be documented and fixed.  The regular testing and reviews have to be documented and be ready for presentation in case of an audit.

NOTE: TAPE BACKUP IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR MESSAGE ARCHIVING

What are the different communication venues that exist and can be controlled and thus archived?

  1. Email and IM from Exchange
  2. Email and IM from Bloomberg and Reuters
  3. Blackberry archiving of Pin-to-Pin , SMS, Call Detail logs
  4. E-Faxes
  5. Blogs
  6. Chat Rooms
  7. Message Boards
  8. Twitter
  9. Facebook
  10. LinkedIn

Since all of the above require certain technologies and software for archiving and retaining, you have to make an effort to comply with the regulations or otherwise prohibit the usage of such technologies in the work place.

How do you implement compliance?

There are two schools of thought to achieve compliance:

  1. Build an in-house system
  2. Use a third party system

The in-house system is more complex and often requires a larger upfront investment to build and maintain.  Keep in mind you will have to have the following:

  1. Servers, storage, and software
  2. Backup Servers, storage, and software in a location out of the main location grid
  3. Replication system
  4. Maintain both the main and backup location

The responsibility and costs can escalate, but depending on the size of the firm, it might be the most cost efficient.

The third party systems, which have built an infrastructure that is scalable, keep on growing as more clients join their list.  The time to implement is a fraction of building an in-house system.  Depending on the third party provider, there are several ways of getting the data:

  1. Have the data arrive to the email server and from there delivered to the third party provider
  2. Have the data arrive to the third party provider and then to the email server

Both methods of delivery have issues of their own.  The first method requires you to be diligent about monitoring the email flow and ensure data is routed to the archiving provider – the responsibility is shifted completely to you.  The second method, where the provider requires the email to be routed through their system before it arrives to your server, usually poses a different challenge where emails might get delayed at the provider.

If you decide on any of the above systems, you should try to utilize an external anti-spam solution to keep your storage usage to a minimum as well as to make sure that non-account emails do not reach your email server.  These measures will keep all spam from being part of your retention data.

References and information used from the following sources: Global Relay, Zantaz, LiveOffice, NextPage, Hedge Fund Law Blog

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Bart Mallon, Esq. of Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP runs Hedge Fund Law Blog.  Mr. Mallon’s legal practice is devoted to helping emerging and start up hedge fund managers successfully launch a hedge fund.  If you are a hedge fund manager who is looking to start a hedge fund or if you are a current hedge fund manager with questions about ERISA, please contact us or call Mr. Mallon directly at 415-868-5345.  Other related hedge fund law articles include: