Investor demands for more frequent and more detailed reporting by fund managers has prompted investment software company Linedata Services to update its reporting module.
“With the recent volatility in the markets, there has been a definite move for a closer relationship between the fund managers and the client base, and clients are requiring more ad hoc reporting,” said Matt Gibbs, international product manager at Linedata. “Linedata reports give the fund managers the ability to produce a portfolio of reports very quickly and easily.”
Linedata has added new features to its trade reporting package, which is accessible though the firm’s LongView Trading order management system, its Linedata Compliance buy-side investment compliance system, and the Internet. The additions allow fund managers more flexibility when creating reports by allowing them to choose their own criteria.
Until now, most clients were happy with quarterly valuation reports, according to Gibbs, but the turmoil caused by the credit crunch means they expect more regular updates on a wider range of criteria from their fund managers. “Counterparty exposure is becoming a big issue,” said Gibbs. “Reports on these exposures must be generated and supplied quickly to the relevant person.”
The new updates to Linedata’s reporting module make it easier for asset managers to generate tailored reports, according to Gibbs. “Historically, we have given them reports based on compliance, commissions and executions,” he said. “Now clients can create reports and columns based on any of their own criteria.”
According to Gibbs, ease of use is critical to customisation. “Before if you were to create reports in the system, you really needed to be a technical user. Now it is very much point-and-click,” said Gibbs. “Any user should be able to go into the system with minimal training and be able to create their own reports with their own look and feel and with their own specific data items.”