Today’s hedge fund managers and investors face numerous challenges that arise from growing regulatory risks and cost pressures. Hedge funds are experiencing a rise in expenses as a result of increased investment in personnel as well as technology upgrades. Regulation has by no means been constant and has only escalated in both complexity and scope over the years. And additionally, from a technological perspective, many of the organizations still use obsolete systems that have limited ability to adapt to new changes. Aiming to help hedge fund managers meet even the most complex post-trade challenges, Arcesium, a technology and services company based in New York, offers a wide range of comprehensive and flexible solutions. From real-time integration with order management systems to robust and automated oversight of third-party administrators, Arcesium offers a unified, open-architecture, fully-hosted technology platform for the entire post-trade process. “We have deployed our solution in the cloud, which makes it straightforward for us to scale it up and down to meet the needs of different kinds of funds,” begins Bryan Dougherty, managing director and head of technology, Arcesium.

The Arcesium platform caters to the areas of operations, portfolio accounting and valuation, enterprise data management, and treasury to enhance the daily and monthly middle and back-office processes for asset managers. With its open architecture and modern API accessibility, the platform allows the seamless transfer of data in and out of the system and provides firms the agility to meet the changing needs. The solutions can also be scaled in terms of volume of trading as well as asset coverage and provides users with the flexibility to adjust the funds and other product procurements accordingly. Dougherty continues to say, “As far as security is concerned, it is not a topic we take lightly.” Arcesium’s platform is designed such that each customer has a dedicated virtual private cloud where only their data is stored. Arcesium also carries out regular asset testing and has a strong security program in place to ensure the safety of its customer’s data.

The Arcesium platform, including its sophisticated treasury functionality was designed, built, and tested by the sophisticated professionals within the D.E. Shaw Group, a global investment and technology development firm. Arcesium deeply engages their customers, assigning each a dedicated technical relationship manager to assist with architectural design and provide expert advice, whether it is about responding to a new regulatory requirement, implementing a new line of business, or overseeing a substantial increase in trading volume. Dougherty proceeds to give an instance of how Arcesium’s solutions helped a client save millions on the cost of trading. The client approached Arcesium
seeking to implement an Omnibus 9account structure to support a multimanager investment program. By implementing Arcesium’s platform, the client was able to seamlessly transition to this Omnibus-structure approach that allowed them to trade much more efficiently and in a cost-effective manner.

In the near term, Arcesium is focusing on expanding its platform, while at the same time, offering clients more modular solutions that meet the emerging and ever-changing needs of customers and prospects. They are continuing to invest significantly in data security to stay at the forefront of client protection. “It is important to know where your business is headed and if you will be able to handle it at the absolute highest level of complexity. Having a strategy in place and knowing what makes sense for you and your firm is critical,” wraps up Dougherty.

 

Arcesium’s Bryan Dougherty was interviewed for an article after Arcesium was named a Top 10 Hedge Fund Technology Solution Provider for 2018 by Capital Markets CIO Outlook. The article was released as part of the September 2018 issue.

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