Fund Operations Professional
Job description Primary Purpose
The purpose of this position is to support the Fund Operations team in the administration of Private Equity, Infrastructure and Private Debt funds, monitor appointed third-party service providers for assigned CD products/mandates, work on bringing new products and initiatives to market, and work on general Operations projects.
The position is based in Zug, Switzerland.
Responsibilities
*Act as primary contact for the administration of assigned Funds including management of all external parties/service providers involved in the day-to-day operations of the Funds (e.g. underlying investment GPs, directors, administrators, paying agents, trustees/depositories, regulators, legal advisors and other external parties as required) independently or with limited supervision.
*Work closely with colleagues from other departments, especially Client Relations, Legal & Compliance and Business development regarding client deliverables for assigned funds
*Monitor the work of external parties/service providers, assessing service quality based on Service Level Agreements ("SLA") compliance and other benchmarks and flagging quality issues to management. Review and/or prepare periodic SLA monitoring reports for service quality review meetings (i) with service providers and (ii) within the ISAE 3402 audit control framework.
*Perform periodic budget planning for assigned Funds, ongoing monitoring of fees invoiced by providers and periodic actual cost to budget analysis. Maintain processes and documents for fee benchmarking, selection of new providers and/or (re-)negotiation of fees with existing or prospective external service providers for different Funds. Approve fee invoices and monitor payment process, including VAT checks.
*Support fundraising efforts of Sales Department and Investment Management, including preparation of (i) Proposals (RfP/RfI) for potential clients and/or (ii) cost estimations for new/planned products.
*Monitor and coordinate providers to ensure that all Funds fulfill their legal, tax, regulatory compliance and other contractual deliverables. Liaise with auditors and tax advisors. Monitor that service providers complete year-end support files timely and accurately to ensure timely and on budget for the completion of annual audit and tax engagements. Flag audit findings and/or compliance issues to management. Evaluate findings & "lessons learned" from annual audit & tax compliance to enhance service quality and participate in service provider presentations at and/or to board meetings, AGMs, investment management and risk management committees meetings as required.
*Periodically review SLA and Operation Manuals with existing providers as well as the scope of services and initiate updates if necessary. Take an active role in identifying and proposing service quality improvements that can be implemented with providers.
*Document, maintain and update operational procedures and control templates to ensure the department's compliance with the annual ISAE 3402 controls audit. Active approach towards further strengthening internal monitoring controls, electronic workflow documentation and service quality improvements. Coordination of the firm-wide annual ISAE3402 control audit across different departments within the organization and with external auditors.
*Assist with ad-hoc accounting, regulatory or investments related questions as well as liaising and coordinating with the internal departments regarding regulatory reporting requirements or ad-hoc requests from regulators (e.g. AIFMD reporting, AUM calculations, TER ratios, Solvency II reporting,CRR/CRD Reporting, FATCA/CRS requests as well as providing KYC/AML documents to external parties as necessary).
*Any other duties commensurate with the nature and position of the post.
Experience / background:
*Master's degree in accounting, finance or related field, and related accounting/auditing/reporting/controlling work experience. Relevant Accounting or Tax qualification required for the role.
*3-6 years' experience in similar role at an asset manager, fund administrator or professional service firm (Big 4 or similar) specialized in alternative investments (especially Private Equity). Work experience in an external facing capacity a plus.
*General knowledge of private equity operations and terminology.
*Solid and thorough knowledge of the day-to-day operation of Alternative Investments Funds (Private Equity, Infrastructure, Private Debt or Real Estate), operating procedures and coordination of different parties.
*Solid understanding of the legal and regulatory compliance framework for the asset management industry for alternative investments (e.g. AML, KYC, AIFMD, FATCA, CRS).
*Understanding of applicable accounting & valuation standards in the Private Equity industry (IPEV, ILPA, EVCA/InvestEurope, IFRS, US-GAAP, UK-GAAP etc.). Understanding of Investor Reporting standards, KPIs and other metrics used in the industry to produce meaningful written content to investors.
*Basic understanding of taxation rules and withholding taxes that are relevant for German investors (basic knowledge of German Tax Law desirable).
*Experience with eFront (Front Invest Alternatives) ideal, but other relevant ERP system in the alternative assets industry (SunGard, Burgiss, Multifonds etc.) also an advantage. * Prior experience and familiarity with investor portals a plus.
Language skills:
*Fluent in English, ability to speak and write at a business level.
*Fluent in German, ability to speak and write at a business level.
*Other languages (especially Italian, Spanish or French) a bonus.
Competencies:
*Forward thinking, creative, efficient, with a level of business acumen.
*Excellent organizational, analytical, communication and interpersonal skills.
*Client focused; ability to handle oral and written internal and external communications independently.
*Independently coordinate and steer projects/tasks across different offices, functions and stakeholders (both internal and external parties) and drive them towards completion.
*Flexible team player but equally able to work independently and with supervision.
*Ability to work accurately under pressure and to meet tight deadlines, whilst maintaining commitment to quality. Exceptional attention to detail and ability to proof own work.
*Advanced Microsoft Office skills. Expertise with advanced Excel functions a plus.
