When considering the sequel which to compare our upcoming Fund Services documentary to, the usual household names came up: The Godfather Part II, Empire Strikes Back…Titanic 2. Seriously that was produced. Did you know there was a Titanic 2? It’s about a modern-day luxury liner that ends up sharing the same fate as its namesake. Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t critically acclaimed – to say the least – and the first review I saw simply put “this really was quite bad”. So, learning from our Hollywood friends who have put out the best and worst of sequels, we put a lot of thought into our follow up of Custody 2020: A documentary.
Partnering with a film production company that has worked with the likes Amazon, Nespresso and British Airways, we are delighted to bring you Fund Services 2020: A Documentary on 10 December. Despite various City and travel restrictions we’ve managed to film some incredible interviews with hedge funds, administrators and prime brokers on the madness that has been the past 12 months in the fund management and operations world. The story tells the tale of three particular months in 2020 when the global pandemic sent markets and the world as a whole into a spin. A time when a delicate dance began between hedge funds and their prime brokers. Relationships had to be managed carefully with regular conversations around counterparty risk, credit risk, deleveraging, and financing, all in an environment where the entire financial services industry shifted to remote working.
At the same time, third-party administrators became a lifeline for fund managers to continue providing key services at a time when they were also transitioning to remote working.
In the documentary we ask what happens when hedge funds become over-leveraged? What happens when a global market event triggers mass margin calls? And what happens when market turmoil leads to valuation uncertainties? Service providers and their clients tell the story from their perspective and analyse the lessons learnt from such a turbulent time.
The narrative draws on themes from Global Custodian’s annual industry surveys, and looks at how standards across technology, operations, financing, and middle- and back-office offerings from prime brokers and fund administrators, have adapted and improved for the better.
With input from the winners of our annual Industry Leaders awards, this production builds on our first documentary with a range of experts shining a light on the fund services world.
With the help of our reputable production team, brilliant interviewees and a whole lot of planning and script writing from the Global Custodian team, we are confident this documentary will be even better than the first, and definitely, definitely better than Titanic 2.
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