Hedge IT Blog

Earlier this month BlackBerry introduced its new BlackBerry 7.1 OS that adds new features including mobile hotspot capabilities, BlackBerry Tag and Wi-Fi calling. This week I updated my device and thought I’d share my experiences with the new features.

Mobile Hotspot
The ability to turn my BlackBerry into a mobile hotspot got my attention after some recent trips to NYC where I enjoyed the snail-pace of Acela’s free Wi-Fi. The Mobile Hotspot feature is found under ‘managed connections’ and allows you to connect up to five Wi-Fi devices at once.

BlackBerry warns that additional charges might apply for Mobile Hotspot use and that during phone calls Internet traffic to and from connected devices will be suspended until the call ends.

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The start of a new year is the perfect time to reflect on the previous year’s accomplishments (and perhaps shortcomings) and consider areas for improvement. While many of us are striving to cut back on the sweets, drop a bad habit or spend more time with friends and family, we got to thinking about resolutions that hedge funds and alternative investment firms should make in 2012.

In this spirit, I spoke with some internal experts here at Eze Castle to gain their thoughts on a few areas in which funds could consider making enhancements. Check out our list of the top five resolutions every hedge fund should make:

Resolution #1: Investigate the Cloud.
Cloud computing was certainly a hot topic in the investment industry in 2011. This year, the conversation is getting deeper and more technical as fund managers seek to gain a more thorough understanding of this technology and consider implementing it within their firms. Whether you are a startup fund preparing to launch this year, or an established firm looking to improve efficiencies and reduce costs, the cloud provides real opportunities for improvements in 2012. Advantages include increased flexibility and scalability, less required maintenance and reduced expenditures. There are also challenges associated with cloud computing, such as privacy and data security concerns. Resolve to learn more about the cloud in 2012, as many of your competitors are likely doing the same.

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Happy New Year! We hope your 2012 is off to a great start. Whether you’re launching a new fund this year or ramping up your existing firm, you should (and probably do) know how important your firm’s technology is and will be to your success. More so than ever, technology plays a critical role for hedge funds and investment firms, allowing them to streamline processes and communication, get a leg up on competitors in the marketplace and provide investors with the utmost confidence. 

One of your first technology decisions of the year is your most important one: do you want your fund to operate on a traditional, on-premise technology infrastructure or utilize the cloud? This decision will affect many of your other technology choices, notably the type of office hardware and connectivity you will require, so we urge you to do your due diligence and select the option that best suits your firm’s needs.

Once you’ve made your infrastructure selection, there is a seemingly endless list of additional technology requirements for your firm. Luckily, I’ve whittled them down here to focus on some top technology priorities for you to focus on as you enter 2012.

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Last week, I held an internal training session to educate my fellow Eze Castle employees on how to leverage the social networking tool LinkedIn. I think the information is valuable for anyone, however, so I’ve decided to share it with you, too!

With over 135 million members, LinkedIn has grown exponentially since its inception in 2003 and is the most respected “professional” social networking site in the industry. And regardless of what your reason is for using LinkedIn (recruiting, prospecting, job searching, etc.), it is essential that you put your best foot forward through your personal profile and activity.

The presentation below outlines a few tips to help you get the most out of LinkedIn, including:

• Building Your Personal Profile
• Customizing & Organizing Your Profile
• Making & Soliciting Recommendations
• Adding Applications
• Joining & Participating in Groups

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When we introduced our readers to the concept of WAN optimization a few months ago, we looked at the various efficiency and budgetary benefits this technology can provide for hedge funds and other alternative investment organizations. To take these advantages one step further, I recently sat down with Matt Jones, our telecommunications technology manager here at Eze Castle, to learn more about how WAN optimization is benefitting our clients, especially those whose employees frequently work remotely.

Matt and I discussed how WAN optimization technology providers offer solutions that enable large volumes of data to be transmitted across telecommunication lines with minimal bandwidth. Through new products that are entering the marketplace, such as Riverbed’s Steelhead Mobile technology, employees can have LAN-like access to all of their important files and documents – just as they would if they were seated at their desks in the office – without incurring the steep costs involved with increasing bandwidth.

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The FSA is removing the exemption for recording of mobile phones. This article explores mobile recording technology hedge funds can use to be compliant.

Following our earlier post on UK Hedge Fund Regulations, today’s blog explores mobile recording technology so you can confidently choose the best technology solution and achieve compliance with the new Financial Services Authority (FSA) requirements.  

Let’s start by recapping on the new FSA requirements for mobile recording:

• In 2010 the FSA decided to remove the current exemption for the recording of mobile phones from its Code of Business Sourcebook (COBS 11.8 taping rules).
• Compliance deadline: 14th November 2011
• Record  all ‘relevant’ telephone conversations and all electronic communications on firm-issued mobile devices and store these recordings for 6 months in a format that cannot be alternated and the FSA can have easy access
• Take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent ‘relevant’ conversations on unrecorded private mobile devices

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Today Apple had yet another one of their annual keynotes which began with a 45 minute repeat of the last one – announcing two new services, Cards and Find My Friends.

• Cards is a new app for creating and sending greeting cards via the mail.
   
• Find My Friends is a cool service that allows you to see the location of your friends, if they choose to share such information via their iPhone. This app will be great for those of us with kids who want to know where they are and keep a close eye on them. An added benefit is that it has enough parental controls to prevent iStalking.

From there, Apple announced iOS 5, which will be available for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch on Wednesday, October 12. Some of the more noteworthy new features coming from iOS 5 include Reminders and the updated Safari and Mail apps.

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This is a story about a New York City investment firm and how it was affected by Hurricane Irene (You didn’t think we were done talking about Irene yet, did you?).

When Irene struck New York on Sunday, August 28, most people were fortunate enough to find shelter in their homes. And while financial markets were closed, many investment firms were still concerned about the technology infrastructure in their offices and the potential loss of power and/or data as a result of the storm.

This particular firm, based in midtown Manhattan, had a primary Internet line that ran through its building’s basement level. Several telephony circuits also ran through this space. Due to the heavy rains from Irene, this basement quickly flooded, damaging Internet service and creating packet loss and uneven traffic.

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As technology continues to grow as an important competitive differentiator for hedge funds and investment firms, funds are continuing to leverage technology outsourcing as part of their operational strategies.

A variety of circumstances in the industry have driven this move to outsourcing including:

• The changing economic environment as a result of the financial crisis and increased investor focus on transparency and operational risk
• Rising overheard costs relative to owning, maintaining and monitoring one’s own technology infrastructure

Hedge funds and investment firms can leverage outsourcing in a variety of ways – everything from help desks to document management, virtual Chief Technology Officers and other staff to disaster recovery plans, FIX connectivity and more. But regardless of the specific elements being outsourced, funds should look for a few baseline requirements as part of an outsourcing solution:

• A secure physical infrastructure;
• Efficient and reliable communications;
• Data protection; and
• Vendor strength and stability.

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As part of our April 2011 Hedge Fund Benchmark Study, we asked hedge fund managers about the use of an email and instant message (IM) archiving system. Of the funds we surveyed, 61 percent of respondents who were using an archival solution said they were using Global Relay. Other popular vendors named in the survey included Symantec and Iron Mountain.

This was an important question on our survey, particularly in light of changing requirements under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Dodd-Frank now requires registered investment advisers to retain email records for between five and seven years. In addition to regulatory requirements, investors are also looking for firms to have email and IM archiving in place as part of a complete technology infrastructure.

A comprehensive archiving solution will assist investment firms in responding to any audits or litigation discovery requests in a timely manner. An ideal solution, for example, should be able to effectively handle electronic discovery requests under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) by ensuring quick access to relevant data and avoiding disclosure of irrelevant, sensitive or proprietary information.

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