Hedge IT Blog

With 2011 just a few days away (1.5 to be exact), we thought it would be the ideal time to recap our most popular Hedge IT blog posts of 2010. We launched Hedge IT in April of 2010 to great fanfare (at least internally) and hope we haven’t disappointed you over the last nine months.

As we go into 2011, we’ll continue to publish new timely content every Tuesday and Thursday to keep you informed of the latest developments in hedge fund technology, operations and best practices. In 2011, you can look forward to seeing more video incorporated into our blog – we like to keep things interesting!

Without further ado, here is a rundown of our most popular 2010 blog posts. Not surprisingly cloud computing, regulations and hedge fund marketing top the list.

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2011 is just around the corner so we wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a wonderful end of 2010 and a prosperous new year.

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During our recent webinar on hedge fund due diligence, we received a number of questions regarding the SEC’s process for conducting routine examinations. To help simplify this process, we have provided two articles on what to expect during an examination, as well as the types of information that are typically requested by the SEC.

To further assist with this complex process, we have created a presentation on the topic. Check out the Hedge Fund SEC Examination Preparation Guide now!

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Last week, we discussed some types of information a hedge fund can expect the SEC to request during a routine examination. We looked at the General Information, Compliance Program, Risk Management & Internal Controls, and Investment Activities sections. In Part Two, we’ll dive into the Portfolio Management, Broker Arrangement, Conflicts of Interest and/or Insider Trading, Performance Advertising and Marketing, and Financial Records categories.

Without further adieu, here are the remaining types of information you can expect to produce during an SEC routine examination:

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We’ve held a number of events recently on hedge fund due diligence and one common question centers on the SEC’s examination process. Specifically, we hear a lot of hedge funds asking about the process the SEC examiners follow when conducting an examination of an Advisor under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

For this article we’ll focus on an SEC routine examination, which is typically scheduled based on the passage of time since a hedge fund has been examined. A SEC routine examination typically starts with a review of the hedge fund’s business and investment activities and its compliance policies and procedures. The SEC also often asks to speak with the hedge fund’s employees to ensure an understanding of the firm’s business and operations. From there, the SEC assesses whether the hedge fund’s policies and procedures effectively address the firm’s compliance risks.

This two part article lists the type of information requested by the SEC during a hedge fund routine examination.

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Is your password “123456” or just plain old “password”? If so, you’re not alone. As you’ve likely heard by now, on Sunday night media company-Gawker Media’s user database was compromised by hackers and the passwords of its million plus users where exposed.

Over 3,000 people used the password “123456” and nearly 2,000 were using “password” as their password. Think your name is an original password? Apparently lots of Michelle’s and Jennifer’s did because those made the most common password list as well.

Gawker being hacked is yet another reminder of the importance of having strong passwords and updating them regularly, especially in the hedge fund and investment management industry. We've included the WSJ's list of the 50-most popular Gawker Media passwords as well as some tips to create safe passwords.

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In Part One of Bob Guilbert’s interview with HFMWeek, he discussed the increasing call for sound disaster recovery solutions, prompted by changing regulations and operational due diligence. In Part Two, Bob talks about tape back-up as a disaster recovery solution and the growing trend of cloud computing.

HFM:  Is tape back-up secure enough as part of an effective disaster recovery solution

BG: It is our opinion that tape back-up is not efficient or sufficient enough in order to have an effective disaster recovery solution [for hedge funds].  Tape-back up gives you a very low RPO and RTO, and there is high-risk in using tape alone to enable disaster recovery.  The biggest risks are, firstly, that the data is restored properly from the tape.  We have seen multiple instances where data is written to tape, but recovering it does not always work properly.  Secondly, if you do have some form of a disaster and you have your data stored on tape and the disaster destroys your primary computer systems, you have nowhere to recover the data.  Unless you have idle resources or idle servers available, it makes it very difficult to recover the data to an operating platform. 

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Hedge funds have known for some time the importance of effective disaster recovery, and regulation increasingly enforces this as a requirement. For any system to be effective, however, there are a number of factors which need to be considered prior to implementation. Eze Castle’s Managing Director Bob Guilbert recently sat down with HFMWeek to talk about the importance of disaster recovery plans for investment firms.

HFMWEEK (HFM): What are some of the key factors driving the increasing call for sound disaster recovery solutions in the investment industry?

BOB GUILBERT (BG): The increasing call is driven by regulation as well as the desire by the investment community to see best practices in operation. They want to ensure that hedge funds have robust business practices surrounding disaster recovery and business continuity planning in the event of some type of failure, whether it is a major disaster or something as simple as a broken pipe. 

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Welcome to part two of ‘How to Run an Effective Meeting.’ Below are some additional techniques for running an effective meeting. We also have a presentation that encapsulates all these great pointers.

Stay on topic: When conversation strays, your job as meeting leader is to rein it in and bring the discussion back to the items listed on the meeting agenda and/or meeting minutes.

Communicate results: Even if you cover all your agenda items, results are the only real evidence of an effective meeting. The most effective method for tracking results is to wrap-up the meeting by discussing action items and communicating them via the meeting notes. At the next meeting, review your progress and make adjustments as needed. If no progress has been made, you may need to either reassess the purpose of your meeting minute item or step-up your efforts to hold participants accountable for their follow-up responsibilities.

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