JP Fund Administration – Best Asian Hedge Fund Administrator
By James Williams From Hedgeweek
JP Fund Administration is part of the JP Funds Group with offices located in the Cayman Islands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Singapore and representation in Australia.
The Group describes itself as a boutique service provider offering fund establishment, middle office support and fund administration. The in-house legal team project manage fund establishment in cooperation with investment managers and external law firms to deliver the fund structure that the asset manager and key investors seek. Dominic Lawton-Smith, Director of JP Funds Group says, “For us it’s all about taking the time to understand an investment manager’s strategy, helping to guide the manager and other key people through the detail of their chosen fund structure and helping them to stay informed and in control of the process.”
The first point of contact is often JP Fund Services (UK and Switzerland) which handles the Group’s Sales and Marketing as well as offering hedging and a range of trade execution support with experienced multilingual staff.
JP Fund Administration has staff in the Cayman Islands, Edinburgh and Singapore and it carries out fund administration activities including NAV calculation, fund accounting, audit preparation and shareholder services, cash and liquidity management, AML/KYC compliance, transfer services and investor reporting. Reflecting on 2013, Phil Griffiths (pictured), CEO of JP Fund Administration in Singapore says 2013 would rank as a ‘seven out of ten’. “New managers were up by about 10 per cent but AUA was reasonably static due to some closures and redemptions. New managers are now beginning to grow their AUM so we are pleased that 2014 looks to be heading in the right direction with a strong near term pipeline from new fund launches,” says Griffiths.
Part of the continued expansion is via Asia, which the Group views as a key strategic market. Establishing a footprint in Singapore was client-driven on the back of JPFA bringing on board more Asia-based investment managers, and as Griffiths explains: “The 13-hour time difference from the Cayman Islands was not ideal and once we hit critical mass, combined with the strong appetite for our services and encouragement from other service providers, we established a physical presence in Singapore. Since our arrival our exposure to both Investment Managers and other fund service providers has helped our brand expand – we are keen to build further on that impact.”
Julian Stockley-Smith, Director, JP Funds Group, adds that Asia Pacific has significant growth potential and believes that near-term results “will proportionately reward our commitment to the region.
“In general we have found acceptance of Cayman structures which are part of the Group’s core offering, but it is also interesting that the demands for specific and multi-jurisdictional capability are markedly increasing. We aim to ensure that our capability is flexible enough to cover this from a fund establishment perspective as well as the other services we offer, including investment manager support and fund administration.”
Bringing a personal touch and being on the ground talking to clients, developing relationships are an integral part of the philosophy at JP Funds Group and part of its DNA. “We are constantly building on our experience and contacts. Each year we seem to attract more referrals and whilst we have what we believe is a good on-line presence, word of mouth is the best form of marketing,” says Griffiths.
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