Hedge IT Blog

Cloud computing is becoming a standard IT deployment method for the investment management industry. In fact, our 2012 survey found that 8 in 10 investment management firms are either currently or planning to use a cloud service. So once a hedge fund or alternative decides to go cloud the next question is "why go Eze Private Cloud?"

Well, we have the perfect answer to that, and you can have it in just 60-seconds. Watch our quick video and learn why Eze Private Cloud is the investment industry standard for cloud services. 


 

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On 19^th March, the Eze Castle Integration team in London hosted their first-ever Hedge Fund Cloud Summit at the Prince Philip House. 

Eze Castle Integration along with leading experts in the financial services industry - INDOS Financial Limited, Morgan Stanley Prime Brokerage, Bloomberg, Credit Suisse Prime Services, Lucidus Capital Partners LLP, Portman Square, LLP, eSentire, Global Relay, and Simmons & Simmons - came together to provide a half day educational seminar featuring a wealth of information on the cloud to over 100 hedge fund and alternative investments firms.

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Yesterday our VP of client technology, Steve Schoener, presented on a California Hedge Fund Association webinar about building an institutional infrastructure at today’s hedge funds. A lofty topic (so consider this a basic primer), Steve focused on four key discussion areas, which we’ll recap here. They were:

• Investor Expectations of IT

• On-premise & Cloud solutions: Which is right?

• Security Risks & Best Practices

• Disaster Recovery How-Tos

You can watch the 30-minute webinar now or keep reading below.

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Here on the Hedge IT blog, we love to talk about the cloud. However, most of our discussions focus on the technology and operational considerations for investment firms. This week, we’re taking a different approach and looking at the cloud from a business perspective. On Tuesday we explored the business case for moving to the cloud. Today, we’re taking the CFO’s point of view.
 
You’re a hedge fund CFO. Your CTO has proposed moving the organization’s IT infrastructure to the cloud using a third party service provider. What questions should you ask to gain a better understanding of the impact this change could have on your team and the firm at large?

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Recently, we’ve been hearing more and more questions from our hedge fund clients on the topic of global networking and – more importantly – its value in the investment management industry.

So, as we often like to do here on the Hedge IT blog, we turned to the experts.
 
Mike Abbey is the vice president of network services here at Eze Castle Integration. He joined the company in 1999 and is currently responsible for ECINet, our global carrier class network platform. Mike also provides design consulting and best practice audits on fault tolerance and scalable optical, Ethernet, and IP-based networks, from single and multi-site domestic networks to multi-site, global deployments. He is a graduate of Binghamton University.
 
Q. Mike, what are you hearing from clients regarding networking and Internet services?
A. To be honest, most hedge fund managers don’t have the time – and don’t necessarily want – to grapple with the complicated intricacies of securing and maintaining an enterprise-class network or Internet service. That’s where my team and I come in. We help simplify this process for our clients using Eze Castle’s ECINet global private network.

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The latest HFR Global Hedge Fund Industry Report found that hedge fund assets increased by $60 billion in the fourth quarter of 2012, bringing total industry capital to a record $2.25 trillion.  With hedge funds posting performance gains and the new year upon us, we expect to see new hedge fund launches take off. 

Technology is just one of the many areas to consider when starting a hedge fund.  To help jump start the process, below is a list of some commonly asked questions we receive.

Where do I start in creating a technology budget for my hedge fund?

It is important to note that whether a firm selects to go with an in-house IT solution or cloud computing there will be implications on technology budgeting.  Once in-house versus cloud is evaluated, it is important to think about the workflows and systems you use to complete your work – be it email, reports, phones, market vendor applications, and/or risk systems.  You can find a technology budgeting worksheet here to help with your planning.

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Have we mentioned we dig the cloud? Well we do and we are happy to introduce you to the newest addition to our cloud family – Eze App Cloud.
 
Weighing in at 60+ applications, Eze App Cloud comes to us from the Eze Private Cloud and is tailor made for application vendors servicing hedge fund and investment management firms.
 
The App Cloud has been a long time in the making and aims to address many challenges, including the need for a central, consolidated cloud platform to run all hedge fund applications and IT services.  With adoption of cloud services growing, there are many disparate cloud platforms with varying degrees of quality and customization.  We are increasingly seeing clients challenged to integrate applications (i.e. OMS, Risk, CRM) all running on different cloud platforms and networks.  The cloud is supposed to simplify operations, not make them more difficult.
 
Eze App Cloud is prepared (and designed) to be the ONE cloud platform for everything a hedge fund needs.

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Pzena Investment Management is a 16-year-old hedge fund with a solid return record and a reputation for business integrity, research excellence and devotion. With close to 70 employees between the New York headquarters and a representative office in Melbourne, Australia, the company relies upon its IT department and technology consultants to oversee its 80 computers and 30 virtualized servers. As a public company and reputable investment management firm, Pzena must be assured that its critical systems and applications, such as its portfolio accounting system, email service, Microsoft Office applications and Swift Connections, are operating properly on a 24x7x365 basis to ensure client needs are addressed promptly.
 
Seeking an IT Partner for the Future
In 2009, the firm decided the time had come to replace its existing technology consulting company. In its search for a new partner, Pzena reviewed the qualifications of several firms and gathered referrals from other companies in the investment management market. Based on this research and feedback, the firm chose Eze Castle Integration for its deep technology knowledge, worldwide support and the ability to leverage Eze Castle personnel as on-site system administrators.

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Here we are again – at the end of another year and recapping some of the best and most popular posts from the Hedge IT Blog in 2012. This year, we spent a lot of time talking about cloud computing, security, and disaster recovery, among other topics.
 
As always, we welcome your feedback and would love to hear your suggestions for future articles on Hedge IT. In the meantime, we’ll continue to bring you new and interesting posts related to all of your favorite hedge fund technology topics.
 
At last, here is a recap of our most popular blog articles of 2012:

Cloud Adoption Survey Results Revealed: Part 1

This year, we undertook a research study surveying 130 hedge funds and alternative investment firms in regards to their adoption of cloud technology. The results revealed that more than eight out of ten investment firms are either currently using or planning to use cloud computing services in the near future. This shift towards the cloud signifies a major trend in the financial services space as firms look to move away from costly on-premise technology infrastructures. You can download the complete survey report here.

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We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again. Starting a hedge fund is a thoughtful and time-consuming process that requires skillful considerations and supportive collaborations to drive success. But with the changes that have swept through the industry of late, now seems like as good a time as any to launch a new fund.
 
We recently hosted a webinar with KPMG to examine the current hedge fund landscape for startups and determine whether 2013 is the right time to begin the launch process. Below is a short summary of the topics discussed. To watch the full event replay, click here.
 
Forming a Hedge Fund
There is a wealth to consider when launching your first (or second or third) hedge fund. From organizational and personnel matters to grappling with regulatory and compliance requirements and infrastructure needs, the list seems to never end. With the help of experienced prime brokers and service providers, however, managing these tasks has never been easier.

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