Demystifying the fund industry
A quick guide to better understand Kneip’s role at the heart of the fund industry
The core mission of an asset manager is to invest people’s capital and savings into productive economic activity, allowing companies to grow by providing access to new sources of funding for their business. There are over 4,500 asset management companies operating in Europe, with around 115,000 employed directly in the industry.
Asset managers typically manage investment funds and discretionary mandates. Total assets under management have increased steadily over the years and in Q3 2021 amounted to 31 trillion (or 182% of European GDP) of which around 54.9% on behalf of investment funds and 45% in managing discretionary mandates. Source: EFAMA
Types of funds
Funds are investment products created with the sole purpose of gathering investors’ capital, and investing that capital collectively through a portfolio of financial instruments such as stocks, bonds and other securities.
The directive on Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) is the main European framework covering collective investment schemes. This category of investment funds accounts for around 75% of all collective investments by small investors in Europe.
The alternative investment fund managers (AIFM) directive covers managers of alternative investment schemes designed for professional investors. AIFs are funds that are not regulated at EU level by the UCITS directive. They include hedge funds, private equity funds, real estate funds and a wide range of other types of institutional funds.
Asset managers face 3 critical challenges today
Managing accurate data
To sell funds, asset managers have to publish accurate data and documents to potential investors and regulators in every one of their target markets. The complexity of that process often comes at a cost in resources and missed opportunities.
Keeping up with regulatory change
The asset management industry faces unprecedented levels of regulatory change. New rules around transparency and reporting mean that data management is now a business critical issue and so there is a real opportunity for firms to put their data to work for them.
Maximising fund distribution
Launching funds into new jurisdictions can be a daunting task. Ensuring that your fund data and documents are published accurately and in the most efficient way, and across all the right destinations, is critical to competitiveness.
Kneip covers all aspects of the fund life cycle
Kneip: an industry leader since 1993
Over the past 30 years, Kneip has become a leader in fund data management and reporting solutions for the asset management industry. Our teams develop solutions to remove complexity throughout the fund lifecycle and help clients manage data and ensure compliance in a changing regulatory environment. With data at the core of our solutions, clients can accelerate the production and publication of fund documentation, easily adapt to new regulatory requirements, and gain insights to further expand their distribution footprint.
The definitive guide to fund industry acronyms
Have you ever heard an acronym but you didn't know what it meant? Here is a list of the most common fund industry acronyms.
AGM
Annual General Meetings
AIFMD
The Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive
AIFs
Alternative Investment Funds
API
Application programming interface
CEPT
Comfort European PRIIPs Template
CSV
Simple file format used to store tabular data, such as a spreadsheet or database
DCPT
DC Workplace Pensions Template
DDQ
Due Diligence Questionnaire
EET
European ESG Template
EFAMA
European Fund and Asset Management Association
EFT
Electronic Funds Transfer
EGM
Extraordinary General Meetings
EMT
European MiFID Template
EPT
European PRIIPs Template
ESA
European Supervisory Authorities
ESMA
European Securities and Markets Authority
ETF
Exchange-traded Fund
GAAP
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
ISIN
The International Securities Identification Number
ITIL v3
The third version of the Information Technology Infrastructure Library, a globally recognised collection of best practices for managing information technology
LPT
Luxembourg PRIIPs Template
MiFID II
The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II
MOP
Multiple Options Products
NAV
Net Asset Value
NCA
National Competent Authorities
OCF
Ongoing Charges Figure
OTC trades
Over-the-counter trades
PRIIPs
Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products
PRIIPs KID
Key Information Document
RHP
Recommended Holding Period
RTS
Regulatory Technical Standard
SFDR
The Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation
SFTP
SSH File Transfer Protocol: a network protocol used for secure file transfer
SIDs
Scheme Information Documents
SRRI
The Synthetic Risk and Reward Indicator