As millions of children worldwide awaited their presents on Christmas Eve 2016, regulators dropped a gift down the chimneys of securitised lenders. Under a Dodd-Frank Act rule which took effect on 24 December 2016, these issuers are now required to retain, for their own books, a portion of the securities they issue.

Against this backdrop, Citco Fund Services and HFM Global have undertaken an extensive survey of 223 global hedge fund managers to get a sense of the challenges and opportunities investment management firms see in the current climate. 

What a tumultuous year 2016 was. Who could ever have predicted it? A new US President elected with approximately 5% fewer votes than his opponent, a Dow Jones approaching the heady heights of 20,000 and practically every article about the alternatives industry having some negative connotation. How scary is that for all of us in the industry? 

Private equity firms have a growing need for technology that is driving many to outsource administration either entirely or partly. The regulators’ greater scrutiny of the industry, investors’ wishes for greater transparency and a general drive to improve the efficiency of administration are all playing a part.