About Us

November 14, 2015

CORNERSTONE VALUES

Independence

Your investors can take comfort in the fact that we are independent of auditors, fund managers or promoters, prime brokers, custodians and compliance consultants. We focus on our core function of fund administration without any undue influence.

Integrity

Ethics and integrity are vital to us. We recognise that the responsibilities of an administrator demand a high level of trust and confidence. In addition to having a sound control environment, Charter Group Fund Administration Ltd and its employees adhere to a strict code of ethics.

Service excellence

We maintain high service levels by applying best practices, having high calibre degree qualified staff, having a sound control environment as well as a qualitative approach to our services, and ensuring that our clients’ and their investors’ requirements are at the forefront of what we do.

We pride ourselves in providing an efficient, timely and relevant service for both investors and the manager.


 

ENVIRONMENT

Charter Group sets out to be different in many ways. We have a clear sense of social  responsibility, as well as an ethical approach to business.


Being Green

We reduce our environmental impact by various measures including minimising use of electricity, selecting energy intelligent suppliers, recycling, encouraging staff to use public transport where possible, allowing for remote working and reducing waste. Our computers and servers are powered by renewable sources of electricity, where possible. We also utilise intelligent printing solutions.

Office Location

Being based in the City of London is beneficial due to the low impact of the urban lifestyle. None of our employees drive to work, opting rather for train, tube, bus, bike, or foot.

Social

We support charities giving a % of profits to selected charities each year. The current charities we support are:

  • Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity
  • Macmillan Cancer Support
  • Nelson Mandela Children's Fund

We encourage our staff, clients and suppliers to be pro-active in their environmental programs too. We believe its important to give something back and encourage you to do the same.


 

SYSTEMS

bquote Many larger administrators still use Excel to calculate performance fees and have multiple legacy systems in place exposing investment managers to a higher degree of risk and inefficiency. We contrast this with our leading edge fully integrated system.

Our system is a globally renowned, purpose-designed and fully integrated hedge fund administration platform which combines all the different areas of hedge fund administration and crypto fund administration into one easy to use system. This enables us to administer your fund more efficiently and translates into a seamless service for the investment manager and transparent reporting for investors.

It obtains trade information directly from prime brokers' systems and price feeds are automated via independent pricing sources such as Bloomberg, Coinmarketcap and Refinitiv.

Document imaging capabilities ensure that all information is readily available should any investor queries arise. Additionally, information is easily exported to Microsoft Excel and customised reporting is available.

With a world-class investor registry module, statements are fully customisable. Once the net asset value has been finalised, statements are automatically generated and distributed according to the investors' preferences electronically or physically.

Unlike other systems in use in the industry which were intended for banks or conventional fund management situations, our system was designed specifically with the needs of the hedge fund administration industry in mind. Features such as multi-class, multi-series unit pricing, partnership allocation, performance/incentive fees, high watermarks, hurdle rates and equalisation are all catered for within the system without the need for spreadsheets.

Additionally, our system is used by some of the biggest institutions in the world and has 24 hour UK and global support available.


 

FUND ADMINISTRATION

Fund Administration encompasses a broad range of activities incorporating (but not limited to):

bquoteFund Accounting

  • Trade capture via automated feeds from prime brokers and custodians
  • Calculating and accruing for dividends / corporate actions
  • Ongoing reconciliation of all accounts
  • P&L reporting
  • Independent pricing and NAV calculation
  • Automated fee calculations and P&L allocations across multi-class, multi-series or equalisation and multi-currency funds

Financial Accounting

  • Management reporting including financial reporting, contribution analysis etc
  • Financial statement preparation
  • Audit support
  • Tax reporting

Investor Services

  • Maintaining the investor register
  • Processing of subscriptions, redemptions, transfers (transfer agency services)
  • Regulatory and compliance - AML/KYC - anti-money laundering / "Know Your Customer" / FATCA / AEIO /CRS
  • Distributing investor statements and investment trade confirmations
  • Treasury services

Most importantly, Charter Group Fund Administration provides its services with the highest level of care. Attention to detail and quality of service is paramount to the fund administration services we offer.


 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How often are NAV calculations performed?

NAV calculations can be performed daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly.

Can you perform complex fee calculations?

Our technology platform performs the most complex of fee calculations including amongst others, multi-series, multi-class, multi-currency and equalisation calculations. Please note that fees are genuinely system calculated - i.e. they are not calculated by excel.

How are reports distributed to fund managers?

Our experience is that managers do not have time to navigate through websites, download and print out reports one at a time. Therefore we transmit our reports in a securely encrypted package directly to the fund manager.

What reports do you provide?

We have a large selection of system generated reports which are available in a wide variety of formats as well as being able to customise reports. Typically, system generated reports include fully reconciled financial statements, positions reports, reconciliations, investor registry summaries, fee calculations, and valuation summaries. A sample set of reports is available on request.

What information is sent to investors?

Information sent to investors varies dependant on the type of fund and the fund manager's requirements. Standard system generated information that is promptly distributed to investors includes:

  • investment confirmations;
  • periodic valuation statements - usually monthly;
  • redemption confirmations; and
  • other documentation that the fund manager wishes us to distribute.

Is my data secure?

All information is securely encrypted. Strictly enforced controls are in place to ensure that your data is protected. In addition to restricting access to your data, all staff are obligated to adhere to our code of ethics which includes a clause on confidentiality. We appreciate that our clients' data is highly sensitive and confidential and have taken the necessary steps to protect it.

Do you perform anti-money laundering procedures and FATCA / AEIO / CRS?

We adhere strictly to UK and FATF anti-money laundering rules and regulations and perform checks on each and every investor.  We use real-time online checks and continuous monitoring.  This gives fund managers peace of mind that their investors are legitimate investors and regulations are being complied with. We also provide FATCA / AEIO / CRS compliance services.

Are you independent?

Yes. We are not affiliated to any audit firms, fund managers, prime brokers or other industry participants. Your investors can take comfort in the fact that we are completely independent and act without any potential conflicts of interest which may arise from providing combined or subsidised services.

Do you operate in an environmentally friendly sustainable manner?

As much as we can. We try to reduce our environmental impact by various measures including, for example, reducing use of electricity, selecting energy intelligent suppliers, recycling, using public transport where possible, and minimising waste. See our Environment section for more information.

What source do you use to obtain your prices and corporate action information?

Our system has a direct feed from independent sources such as Bloomberg, Coinmarketcap and Refinitiv. Refer to our Systems section. For difficult to price instruments, please contact us for more information.

How much are your fees?

We recognise that each fund is unique and while we do have a set fee structure, it is important for us to better understand your fund and your requirements before providing a quote. Additionally, we like to build relationships with our clients and prefer to meet with you beforehand. For a no obligation proposal, and for a copy of our new client questionnaire, please contact us to discuss further or arrange a meeting.

What makes you different from other administrators?

Service excellence. We ensure that our funds:staff ratio is maintained at an appropriate level so that customer service is never adversely affected. Service excellence is a cornerstone value for Charter Group Fund Administration - kindly refer to our Cornerstone values section. We attend to all matters promptly and with a high degree of professionalism, and aim to ensure that our clients and their investors are completely satisfied with our services.

We also have experience on the client side which is a rarity amongst administrators, with one of the principals having worked for an investment manager.  We see ourselves as a business partner and continually look for opportunities to add value. Additionally, our superior technology and connectivity with custodians and prime brokers allows us to provide an enhanced service which is beneficial for fund managers and results in more time being available for core functions.


 

LOCATION