BNP Paribas Securities Services will begin delivering real-time fund administration data to its private equity and real estate (PERE) fund manager clients via online reporting.
The launch is the first milestone of a major initiative by the bank to roll-out comprehensive online services for PERE managers and investors.
The service, which launches in November 2013, will give managers of alternative funds direct access to their fund accounting data. It will help those managers respond to queries from their investors and board members more quickly, and it will facilitate quicker decision-making by the managers.
The service is available to clients using BNP Paribas’ specialist private equity and real estate accounting and admin service. This is particularly valuable for clients with cross border fund structures, giving details of account records in each location in a consistent manner
“It is a challenge for general partners to obtain visibility of their accounting information across what can sometimes be very complex structures. Today, PERE funds often include cross-border and pan-regional structures, and increasingly consist of intermediary companies in multiple markets,” says Hugh Stevens, head of PERE services at BNP Paribas Securities Services.
“This service responds to managers’ needs by giving them direct access to the information on their funds,” says Stevens. “They continue to receive static reporting from our specialist private equity or real estate fund accountants—but can now drill down into their fund data and conduct flexible querying of the accounting data through an online interface.”
The system is compatible with all major fund accounting and administration platforms used by the bank’s clients, and is part of NeoLink—BNP Paribas Securities Services’ client information portal. “This means that irrespective of where and how their funds are structured, they will see the same front end,” says Stevens. “It is a truly global solution.”
In the next step of the roll out, the company will work on enriching the accounting data currently available with asset level data. This will provide managers with greater transparency on the data BNP Paribas holds on their investments. “Also we are developing products for real estate funds of funds performance analytics,” says Steven. “This product will help managers compare performance of real estate investments and funds against other funds and against other asset classes. The market standards in this notoriously complex area are continuing to develop and BNP Paribas’ developments here will help to provide managers even greater clarity on their performance.”
BNP Paribas Targets PE and Real Estate Managers With Online Fund Accounting Data Tool
The launch of the real-time fund administration data delivery service is the first milestone of a major initiative by the bank to roll-out comprehensive online services for PERE managers and investors.
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