at Financial Technnology Year
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Features in Fund Accounting Systems
for Operations
Solutions calculating NAV (Net Asset Value) and managing other accounting functions for investment funds and managed accounts.
We ask vendors to mark their product against our feature list. It is not available for all products and in some cases we have derived data from publicly available sources. The list of features follows. Vendors can add a further 10 key features of their own.
Client & Stakeholder Communication
Tools enabling communication, distribution of results, and data to clients, auditors, and other stakeholders.
- Automated Email Distribution
- Automatically emails reports and updates to designated contacts.
- Client Portal
- Web-accessible portal for clients to view data and reports.
- Digital Signature Support
- Allows documents and approvals to be digitally signed and tracked.
- Document Management
- Central repository for client statements, confirmations, and legal documents.
Compliance & Audit
Built-in compliance checks, controls, and support for internal/external audits.
- Archiving & Retention Policies
- Helps ensure data is retained in accordance with regulations.
- Automated Alerts/Notifications
- Real-time alerts for breaches and compliance incidents.
- Configurable Compliance Rules Engine
- Users can implement custom compliance rules and checks.
- Exception Management
- Captures and manages exceptions or out-of-policy transactions.
- Regulatory Change Management Tools
- Built-in tracking and alerts for upcoming regulatory changes.
Core Accounting Functionality
Essential functions and modules required to process, book, and manage the fund’s financials in the brokerage environment.
- Automated NAV Calculation
- Automated computation of Net Asset Value for funds at scheduled intervals.
- Corporate Actions Processing
- Handles corporate actions like dividends, splits, and mergers, and posts them appropriately.
- Double-entry Bookkeeping
- Ensures accurate accounting through a double-entry ledger system.
- Historical Data Storage
- Stores historical fund and transaction data for audit and reference.
- Income and Expense Accruals
- Provides for the automatic accrual and recognition of income and expenses.
- Multi-currency Support
- Ability to process transactions and maintain records in multiple currencies.
- Real-time Position Keeping
- Maintains and updates fund positions in real-time as trades are processed.
- Reconciliation Tools
- Automated tools to reconcile internal records with external statements (brokers, custodians, banks).
- Tax Lot Accounting
- Manages cost basis at the lot level for tax compliance and reporting.
- Trade Matching and Settlement
- Supports matching of trades and manages settlement cycles.
Integration
Features supporting data exchange and workflow integration with other systems in the brokerage environment.
- API Availability
- Provides APIs for secure data integration with external systems.
- Batch Processing Speed
- Time taken to process large transaction or data batches.
- Data Import/Export Tools
- Bulk upload/download tools for transactions, prices, and reference data.
- FIX/Swift Support
- Ability to send/receive trades and settlement messages using FIX and SWIFT protocols.
- Reconciliation Feed Interfaces
- Interfaces to import statements from banks, custodians, or brokers.
- Reference Data Integration
- Connects and synchronizes with external security reference and pricing data feeds.
- Straight Through Processing (STP)
- Supports automated data flow from trade capture through settlement.
Performance & Scalability
Features ensuring the solution can scale and perform well as volumes or complexity increase.
- Concurrent User Support
- Maximum number of simultaneous users supported reliably.
- Data Processing Capacity
- Handles large datasets and high-frequency transaction environments.
- Latency
- Average response time for user and batch operations.
- System Uptime SLA
- Guaranteed system uptime.
Product Coverage
Range and depth of investment products and financial instruments supported by the fund accounting system.
- Derivatives Support
- Manages derivatives, including futures, options, and swaps.
- Equity Support
- Ability to account for listed and OTC equities.
- Fixed Income Support
- Handles bonds, notes, and other fixed income instruments.
- Forex Instruments
- Processes and accounts for spot and forward FX transactions.
- Mutual Funds & ETFs
- Handles holdings and transactions in open- and closed-end funds and exchange-traded funds.
- Private Equity & Alternatives
- Supports accounting for alternative asset classes such as private equity, hedge funds, and real estate.
- Structured Products Support
- Ability to account for investment in structured notes or products.
Reporting & Analytics
Features that enable transparency, regulatory compliance, and client reporting.
- Audit Trails
- Maintains comprehensive logs and audit trails of system activity and transactions.
- Benchmark Comparison Tools
- Provides comparative analysis of portfolio performance versus benchmarks.
- Custom Report Generation
- Allows creation of custom financial and portfolio reports.
- Dashboard Visualization
- Graphical dashboards for at-a-glance summaries of key data.
- Drill-down Data Analysis
- Enables users to drill into data at transaction and portfolio levels.
- Export Options
- Exportable outputs to common formats such as CSV, Excel, PDF, and XML.
- Regulatory Reporting Support
- Pre-built templates and export tools for regulatory filings (e.g., Form N-PORT, AIFMD, Solvency II).
- Scheduled Report Delivery
- Automated scheduling and emailing of reports to stakeholders.
Support & Maintenance
Capabilities and characteristics ensuring continual operational availability and improvement.
- 24/7 Technical Support
- Access to technical support around the clock.
- Disaster Recovery & Backup
- Automated and tested disaster recovery and backup protocols.
- Implementation Time
- Time required to fully deploy the system from contract to go-live.
- Multi-Language Support
- System can be used in multiple language environments.
- Regular Updates & Upgrades
- Routine enhancements and patches delivered by the vendor.
- User Training Resources
- Online or onsite user guides, tutorials, and support.
User Access & Security
Features ensuring control, monitoring, and restriction of user access and activities.
- Activity Logging
- Detailed user activity logs for audits and investigations.
- Field Level Permissioning
- Allows restricting or granting access to individual data fields.
- Multi-Factor Authentication
- Supports two-factor or multi-factor authentication for system access.
- Role-Based Access Control
- Enables different permissions and data access based on user roles.
- Single Sign-On
- Allows users to authenticate via SSO solutions (e.g., LDAP, SAML, OAuth).
Workflow Automation
Support for automating multi-step or routine processes to reduce manual intervention.
- Approval Workflows
- Automates transaction and posting approvals based on defined rules.
- Automated Journal Entries
- Supports scheduled or triggered postings of accounting entries.
- Batch Processing
- Automation for bulk processing of routine operations (e.g. posting, pricing).
- Exception Routing
- Identifies, escalates, and routes exceptions for resolution.
- Task Assignment & Tracking
- Assigns and tracks tasks to individual users or teams.