Advent Software (NASDAQ: ADVS), a leading provider of software and services for the global investment management industry, today announced a collaboration with Data Agent, LLC to provide tools to help hedge funds and hedge fund administrators meet Form PF reporting requirements.
The tools offer a flexible and affordable platform designed to address highly specialized Form PF filing requirements. By working together, Advent and Data Agent bring together high quality and reliable data, modern dashboards and easy-to-use management and sharing functionality to help reduce complexity, cost and the time required to meet new regulatory mandates.
The Dodd-Frank Act requires the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") to gather information on investment managers' private funds. In response, the SEC created Form PF for Registered Investment Advisers. The first Form PF quarterly filing deadline is August 29, 2012 for Registered Investment Advisors with regulatory assets under management over $5 billion, while the majority of hedge funds face an initial filing deadline in 2013.
In preparation for this demanding reporting process, Butterfield Fulcrum, a leading independent fund services provider, has installed the Data Agent Form PF reporting tool which seamlessly extracts data from their Geneva® platform, significantly reducing client preparation and filing time.
"To accurately complete Form PF, firms must not only gather significant amounts of data from multiple systems and make numerous calculations, but also aggregate specific data and transform it into an XML format for submission to FINRA, all within tight reporting deadlines. Without the proper software tools, this already complicated project could consume an enormous amount of time and effort," said Chris Mulhern, Chief Operating Officer and President, Butterfield Fulcrum. "We've been using Advent's Geneva® for many years and are impressed with their commitment to addressing Form PF. The combination of Data Agent's financial technology software and Advent's market leading general ledger software has resulted in an institutional quality Form PF software solution that is superior to others in the market."
The Data Agent integrated Form PF reporting tools can be implemented as standalone products via a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, or as a module deployed onsite. The Form PF SaaS option eliminates the need for new hardware and software licensing, offering clients a cost-effective option to help meet the Form PF filing requirements. The tools offer a wide range of features, such as data aggregation, workflow management and collaboration to help clients more easily verify information within an organization, access important data and reduce time and resources necessary to meet new and changing regulatory reporting demands. The web-based interface also makes it possible for clients to securely view, track, manage, approve and file Form PF, further reducing the resources necessary to support the regulatory mandate while offering clients the control and transparency they seek.
"Geneva® is the most important application running in most of our clients' environments. We are proud to be recognized by Advent as the premier supplier of Form PF data management and reporting services. The technical expertise and support we are receiving from the relationship with Advent allows Geneva® clients to seamlessly integrate with our Form PF service resulting in lower cost and quicker implementation of Form PF," said Kelli Brown, Director of Private Funds for Data Agent.
"Advent is committed to delivering advanced solutions to help our clients offer superior client service, support the growth of their businesses and get their jobs done faster, smarter and with ease," said Chris Momsen, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Global Accounts and Tamale, Advent Software. "The financial services industry is dynamic, and we have a clear perspective on how technology can help address some of the challenges related to changes and trends. These tools for Form PF compliance are an example of how we are using new, cloud-based technology and working with other industry leaders to support our clients' ability to meet the demands of regulatory reporting requirements while controlling costs."