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New horizons
The 2018 Mutual Fund Administration survey focuses on North American providers, but from next year, its scope will be expanded.
The 2018 Mutual Fund Administration
Survey is the first to be produced jointly by AON McLagan Investment Services( McLagan) and Global Custodian( GC), following signature of their agreement to co-operate in the management of client experience surveys in the securities services industry from March 2018. Under the terms of the partnership agreement, McLagan provides a fully outsourced survey service to GC, including the creation and distribution of questionnaires, the collection of questionnaires completed both online through a dedicated technology platform and offline in formatted Excel spreadsheets, the analysis of the data received, and the preparation of both results and accompanying texts for publication. McLagan will also prepare research reports, based on the survey findings but combined with additional information about the costs, revenues, productivity and financial performance of service providers, for purchase by the firms that take part in the survey. GC continues to deliver all other aspects of the surveys published in the magazine, including the annual awards dinners in London and New York, and all advertising and sponsorship associated with the surveys, including the purchase of tiered Badges of Excellence. The timing of the 2018 Mutual Fund Administration Survey, which was open for submissions between February and April 2018, did not permit the full division of labour between GC and McLagan to operate. Instead, both the survey questionnaire and the data collection process were managed by GC, while the analysis of the data, the weighting of respondents and the preparation of the texts that accompany the published scores were managed by McLagan. As in 2016 and 2017, the published survey considers only fund managers purchasing fund administration services in North America. This has the virtue of facilitating comparability, but at the expense of illuminating the global marketplace. In 2019, we intend to expand the coverage of the Mutual Fund Administration Survey to incorporate all of the major fund markets of the world, using a remodelled questionnaire.
We are most grateful to all fund managers who took the time and trouble to complete a respondent questionnaire, as well as to the mutual fund administrators who encouraged their clients to do so, and who completed a provider questionnaire of their own. Without their contribution, this survey would not be possible.
Methodology
The 2018 Mutual Fund Administration Survey asked respondents to address 29 questions divided between eight service areas: relationship management and client service, value delivered, fund accounting, transfer agency, distribution support, reporting, compliance and operations and custody. One hundred and nineteen completed questionnaires were received on behalf of 13 fund administrators, of which six received at least five responses, which is the minimum number required to assess a service provider adequately enough to publish
Contacts:
Daljit Sokhi Global Custodian daljit. sokhi @ globalcustodian. com
Richard Schwartz Global Custodian richard. schwartz @ globalcustodian. com
Dominic Hobson McLagan Investment Services dominic. hobson @ mclagan. com
Allison Cayse McLagan Investment Services allison. cayse @ mclagan. com
their average scores, both in absolute terms and relative to the average scores in each service area. Respondents were asked to rate their service provider on a scale of 1 to 7, where 1 is“ very weak” and 7 is“ excellent.” The analysis published in this issue of the magazine is based on average scores given by respondents. The scores are also weighted for the size( measured by assets under management, or AuM) and complexity( measured by the number of asset classes and investment strategies pursued) of the respondent.
72 Global Custodian Summer 2018