From Hedge Fund Insight staff reporter
The Citco Group of Companies (“Citco”), a leading provider of asset servicing solutions to the global alternative investment industry, announced this week that global assets under administration (“AuA”) have hit the US $1 trillion mark. According to the company, an important feature of this achievement is that the milestone was reached purely through organic growth, an industry first amongst alternative asset service providers. Citco companies offer fund administration, custody and fund trading, financial products and corporate and trust planning solutions services in the respective geographic areas of their clients.
- AuA has grown organically, with zero acquisitions
- Private Capital, the largest growth area in recent years
- Continued expansion into APAC
The growing drive to streamline operations is leading managers to outsource more functions, including: front office risk reporting, middle office treasury and collateral management, back office financial statements, and tax and regulatory reporting. Simultaneously, growing diversification across asset classes, moves into hybrid strategies and the launch of a wide range of investment vehicles will continue to translate into growing complexities for fund administration. Staying on top of these developments has been the driver of Citco‘s investment in expanding internal talent and building out service platform solutions, all with a view to ensure that clients have access to the right tools in pivotal moments.
Citco’s philosophy, dubbed the ‘Citco Way’, is a commitment to investment in the right people, and ensuring they are provided with the means to succeed (e.g. investment in training and career management initiatives). It also includes significant and sustained investment in proprietary technology. Citco’s in-house team of technologists combine expertise in developing award-winning technology products (Æxeo® Technology, Æxeo® Investor, CitcoOne®, Citco Waterfall™, CitcoConnect) with the latest advancements in cloud-based technology, to produce commercially available software. In November 2018, Citco launched Æxeo® Treasury, an inaugural “born-on-the-cloud” solution that gives alternative fund managers a state-of-art method of managing treasury functions through a SaaS tool running on Amazon Web Services (AWS). Æxeo® Treasury enhances operational efficiencies and workflows, and provides a secure, centralized module for treasury operations. The combination of Citco’s commitment to service excellence and technology results in a “Fintech+” approach, which will continue to ensure that clients’ interaction and information assets are safe and secure.
The Citco Way has provided an edge that will allow the company to stay at the forefront of industry innovation and provide clients with solutions that are both efficient and scalable. Citco’s growth strategy, sustained by investment in proprietary technology, has enabled the firm to focus on building solutions which center on the needs of its clients, as opposed to spending time trying to integrate multiple cultures and platforms.
“As a private company focused on servicing alternative investment firms, and with the support of our ownership, the Smeets family – who founded the business in 1948 – we have been able to adopt a long-term mindset when it comes to investing in our people and proprietary technology. We have leveraged that support to form relationships with clients that span decades. Our ability to deliver the right solutions in support of our clients’ businesses and investors has been of paramount importance to our success story,” said Jay Peller, Head of Fund Services at Citco.
Peller also added, “As the regulatory framework increases in complexity, and investors demand heightened levels of transparency from managers, we expect our clients to increasingly rely on Citco for front-to-back technology solutions that will allow them to focus on delivering outsized returns for their investors.”
Citco currently operates across North America, Europe and Asia, with specialized teams situated around the globe. Asia has been a strong driver of growth for Citco, with AuA having grown 18% year to date across all lines of business. The growth is a direct result of increasing demand from Asian managers for Citco’s proprietary technology and subject matter expertise, who are looking towards the further institutionalization of their operations.
Citco has offices in over 40 countries with more than 6,000 staff serving the world’s elite hedge funds, private equity and real estate firms, institutional banks, Global 1000 companies and high net worth individuals.
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