A new technology framework  

As business moves to operate on a wide variety of platforms and yet remain secure, we have introduced a framework which supports the browsers that people now want.  This means that M.A.T.ware operates on Chrome and Safari as easily as Internet Explorer or indeed any number of secure browsers.  This means consistency in the presentation and interaction aiding in the ease of use.

Our new framework also works for users operating on tablets as it supports touch screen systems.  With  modern work running on a variety of devices to support remote working as well as in-office work and given M.A.T.ware’s private cloud-based solution, it’s completely in line with operating securely anywhere.

Multiple approval process 

M.A.T.ware is used by both large institutions with a significant number of users and smaller firms that have only a handful of users.  It’s been critical to users that their way of working including internal controls, is suited to their business scale.  M.A.T.ware’s core strength is based on its configurability  that enables clients to actively manage every day complex processing and reporting with ease. This configurability not only ensures their system is sized best for their business today, but also provides the necessary scalable framework required for the business changes ahead.

One such area is multiple approvals (commonly referred to as “four-eyes”).  M.A.T.ware has well-established multiple approval controls over the trade process.  However this release extends a universal feature that allows businesses to configure multiple approvals as needed over functions.  An immediately useful implementation of this is in Price and Performance Management where firms that desire internal controls over price discovery can implement them.  Of course up front controls including data validation and tolerance checks have long been in place but multiple approvals extends this for best practice.

Increased speed 

M.A.T.ware has always been characterized by its precise, dynamic valuation process.  Supporting onshore and offshore hedge funds, private equity partnerships and equities through a pricing evaluation model allows for no compromises.  In order to enhance speed, Comada has targeted this critical area with a highly optimized process that means getting this information instantaneously is managed and delivered consistently.  Ultimately we know users want to get the results rather than spend time on a system.

Out with the old

As technologies evolve we constantly upgrade M.A.T.ware – for this release we have moved to Microsoft’s newest .NET architecture version.  We have also removed and replaced older (which today may only be a few years old) technology.  It makes us able to build new features more efficiently and therefore respond to the business requirements of our clients.

The awards, hosted by Custody Risk magazine in London this month, recognise excellence in the provision of custody, fund administration and associated services in the European asset management and securities industries.

“Chariot Phase 2 was a ground breaking project for the European hedge funds industry, and it is great to see this being independently recognised,” said Rupert Vaughan Williams, co-founder of Comada. “Significantly, its implementation allows seamless dealing in equalised funds administered by Custom House, bringing with it greater transparency for hedge fund investors.”

Said Mark Hedderman, CEO of Custom House: “Here at Custom House we are committed to a culture of innovation for our hedge fund clients. We chose to work with Comada because of the group’s ability to deliver solid, institutional grade technology which would meet our own high standards of security and investor confidence.”

For further information please contact:

Stuart Fieldhouse
Media Relations
Email – sf@comada.com
Tel: +44 (0) 7793 882230

About Comada

Comada was founded in 2004 to provide the alternative funds industry with technology solutions that would revolutionise operational processes and the way the industry communicates. Our vision has always been to deliver system solutions that make a real difference to our clients, which facilitate the way they do business, and help them to radically reduce operational risks. At the core of this delivery is our M.A.T.ware transaction-driven technology.

Hamilton, BERMUDA, July 2012: Comada, the provider of transaction-driven software solutions for investors in hedge funds, has migrated its servers to a new next-generation data centre hosted by QuoVadis Services Limited. The new Infrastructure-As-A-Service (IaaS) platform will bring considerable advantages to Comada’s customer base, including users of Comada’s award-winning M.A.T.ware software.

The new platform has been built using the latest generation networking equipment, high speed SAN for data storage, and servers designed for high density CPU and memory. It enhances the levels of security Comada can now offer its clients, with options for either multi-tenant or dedicated infrastructure. The platform also supports Comada’s programme to offer clients more flexibility in the way they use Comada technology.

Said Rupert Vaughan Williams, co-founder of Comada: “Security is a key requirement for today’s fund managers and their investors. With QuoVadis we are still able to offer clients robust solutions when compliance requirements mean they are unable to host software or data in a multi-tenant environment.”

Comada’s M.A.T.ware software is designed to be highly scalable, allowing it to be seamlessly deployed across a multi-tenant environment, along with highly configurable reporting features for fund managers and investors. Its scalability for both small and large firms in the alternative investments space requires a hosting environment that can meet the most stringent technological due diligence criteria.

Said Gavin Dent, CEO of QuoVadis Services (QVS): “QuoVadis has provided IaaS hosting to Comada for eight years, working with the company to support their fast growth and technology evolutions. By focusing on the performance, availability and security of the underlying platforms, QVS allows Comada’s team to focus on evolving the software at the heart of their services.”

About Comada
Comada is a global technology company specialising in building and implementing software solutions for the alternative investment industry. In particular, Comada’s flagship M.A.T.ware product delivers an unprecedented level of interconnectivity and transparency to the portfolio management and STP process in the alternative investments space. Praised for its flexibility, M.A.T.ware can be scaled to suit the needs of family offices as easily as large custodian banks. M.A.T.ware is already being used by custodians, fund administrators and funds of hedge funds. For more information, please go to www.comada.com.
About QuoVadis

Founded in 1999, QuoVadis Limited is an Internet security provider with operations in Switzerland, Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Bermuda. The company is a global provider of digital certificate and digital signature services used to enhance privacy and confidentiality, data integrity, and strong authentication over the Internet. Drawing upon the company’s experience and investment in high performance datacenters, QuoVadis Services Limited (QVS) provides secure collocation, virtual hosting, and disaster recovery services to international organisations. For more information, please go to www.quovadis.bm.

LONDON: Comada, the award-winning provider of transaction-based technology solutions to the alternative investments industry, is pleased to announce that its M.A.T.ware technology has successfully supported the roll-out of the second phase of the CHARIOT Web Dealing Platform by Custom House Global Fund Services this week.

Using its proprietary M.A.T.ware technology, Comada helped Custom House to launch CHARIOT in April 2010. CHARIOT is a robust web-based investment platform that enables investors to subscribe and redeem funds that Custom House administers. The launch of the second phase of CHARIOT brings new enhancements for Custom House clients, allowing investors to also deal in funds that are subject to an equalisation process.

Said Rupert Vaughan Williams, Co-Founder of Comada: “Using M.A.T.ware technology Custom House continues to set new standards for hedge fund investing. The ongoing success of CHARIOT is soundly based on the integration commitment of both groups  We have been very pleased with the way it was possible to mesh M.A.T.ware with Custom House’s existing systems, and we welcome the live deployment of CHARIOT’s second phase to Custom House customers.”

Said Mark Hedderman, Chief Operating Officer of Custom House: “Here at Custom House we are committed to a culture of innovation for our hedge fund clients. We chose to work with Comada because of the group’s ability to deliver solid, institutional grade technology which would meet our own high standards of security and investor confidence.”

Editor’s notes:

About Comada
Comada was founded in 2004 by experts in the hedge fund front, middle and back office areas to develop specialist transaction level software applications. Its M.A.T.ware technology is specifically designed to enable fund of fund managers, their clients and counterparties to significantly enhance their operational risk management capabilities. Greater transparency and accurate liquidity profiling from underlying portfolios are key to the benefits this technology has to offer. Comada’s flagship product, M.A.T. Share, is already enjoying considerable recognition as a ground-breaking tool for industry participants seeking to reduce operational risk by delivering highly scalable functionality through smoother Straight Through Processing capabilities.

About Custom House Global Fund Services
Custom House Global Fund Services Limited (“CHGFS”), which is a member of the Equity Trust group of companies, is the Maltese-based holding company for the Custom House Group of Companies. CHGFS is a Category 4 Licensed Custodian of funds of funds and recognised as a full service fund administrator by the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”). The primary business of Custom House is the provision of full administrative services to alternative investment and hedge funds, funds of funds, and managed accounts and managed account platforms. In addition to its Malta head office, Custom House, which was established in 1989, also operates through offices in Chicago, Dublin, Guernsey, Luxembourg, The Netherlands and Singapore, and has approximately 290 staff worldwide. With approximately US$48 billion in assets under administration, the firm provides administration services to more than 200 managers, trading through more than 500 investment funds, for approximately 25% of which Custom House provides daily dealing NAVs.

LONDON: Hedge fund technology specialist Comada is pleased to announce that it has won the award for Leading Fund of Fund Technology Provider from prestigious hedge fund trade magazine The Hedge Fund Journal. The award was given in recognition of Comada’s ongoing success with the deployment of its M.A.T. Share product for funds of funds.

Said Rupert Vaughan Williams, co-founder of Comada: “We are very pleased to receive recognition for M.A.T. Share, which continues to build on its transaction level architecture to address specific challenges regarding scalability and transparency in the fund of hedge funds industry. The past few years have highlighted our ability to address the liquidity management and operational challenges faced by this industry, providing a clear picture for those who manage hedge fund portfolios, and allowing them to deliver meaningful reporting to their clients.”

M.A.T. Share is a dynamic, web-based application for funds of hedge funds, distinguished by its ability to connect funds of funds with hedge fund administrators and custodians. Its robust technology platform allows portfolio managers to make trades and receive confirmations electronically, and assess liquidity within portfolios on a real-time or hypothetical basis.

Said Dave Shastri, co-founder of Comada: “M.A.T. Share makes use of Comada proprietary M.A.T.ware technology to address many of the operational challenges that the market turbulence of the recent past brought to the fore. The success of this product partly stems from its ability to do this while meshing seamlessly with existing legacy systems within a fund of funds operation.”

This is the second time Comada has been recognised for its ongoing programme of technology development in the hedge funds space by The Hedge Fund Journal. Founded in 2004 by a seasoned team of technology professionals with a background in asset management operations, Comada is at the cutting edge of transactional systems development for the hedge funds industry.

Editor’s notes:

About Comada
Comada was founded in 2004 by experts in the hedge fund front, middle and back office areas to develop specialist transaction level software applications. Its M.A.T.ware technology is specifically designed to enable fund of fund managers, their clients and counterparties to significantly enhance their operational risk management capabilities. Greater transparency and accurate liquidity profiling from underlying portfolios are key to the benefits this technology has to offer. Comada’s flagship product, M.A.T. Share, is already enjoying considerable recognition as a ground-breaking tool for industry participants seeking to reduce operational risk by delivering highly scalable functionality through smoother Straight Through Processing capabilities.

SEI (NASDAQ:SEIC), one of the leading global providers of outsourced asset management, investment processing and investment operations solutions,  has selected financial software specialist Comada to enhance the risk management services that will be delivered to the company’s investment manager clients via SEI’s Total Liquidity Management tool.

The strategic partnership, announced this week by Comada co-founders Rupert Vaughan Williams and Dave Shastri, will see the implementation of Comada’s M.A.T.ware risk management capabilities into SEI’s operations platform to further enhance SEI’s outsourcing services for hedge funds and funds of hedge funds.

Said Rupert Vaughan Williams, “SEI was particularly interested in working with us to address increasingly important liquidity issues that continue to challenge the alternative investments industry in the wake of the credit crunch, and to provide their hedge fund managers with further insight and analytics into their portfolio construction process. We very much look forward to working with SEI to continue to deliver client integration tools in this area.”

Comada is an established fund of hedge fund technology solutions group and is responsible for the development of the award winning web based M.A.T. Share portfolio and liquidity management product. The core infrastructure for M.A.T.ware serves as a basis for both Comada’s own products and custom-designed industry solutions.

By seamlessly integrating the M.A.T.ware risk management application features to SEI’s existing platform, SEI will be able to deliver a web based liquidity management solution that addresses time to cash analysis plus ‘what if’ liquidity analysis over both the portfolio and investor sides of the balance sheet.

Dave Shastri added: “We are delighted that the level of granularity and presentation in our risk and liquidity analyses represented the quality of information that SEI was seeking to provide its clients with.”

Phil McCabe, Senior Vice President and Solution Head, SEI’s Investment Manager Services division, commented: “Liquidity management, particularly for funds of hedge fund managers, has been of critical importance over the past few years as managers and investors alike seek broader transparency and holistic views of their investments. Integrating Comada’s M.A.T.ware application into our best-in-class solution enhances our front-office offering and helps us deliver a way for managers to more accurately monitor their cash availability in both an efficient and automated manner.”

About Comada
Comada is a leading alternative investment technology group established by seasoned funds industry professionals in 2004. Its M.A.T.ware technology delivers fully integrated transaction-driven applications for hedge fund services providers and managers. Comada’s technology is focused on integrating critical work flow processes to significantly enhance portfolio and operational risk management capabilities through greater transparency and accurate portfolio liquidity profiling. This is achieved by linking administration and custody operations directly to hedge fund clients.  Comada’s flagship product, M.A.T. Share, is already enjoying considerable recognition as a scalable ground-breaking tool for industry participants seeking advanced Straight Through Processing (STP) and integrated dynamic client reporting capabilities.

About SEI’s Investment Manager Services Division
SEI’s Investment Manager Services division provides comprehensive operational outsourcing solutions to global investment managers focused on mutual funds, hedge and private equity funds, exchange traded funds, collective trusts, and separately managed, as well as institutional and private client, accounts. The division applies operating services, technologies, and business and regulatory knowledge to each client’s business objectives. Its resources enable clients to meet the demands of the marketplace and sharpen business strategies by focusing on their core competencies. The division has been recognized by Buy-Side Technology as “Best Fund Administrator” and by HFMWeek as “Best Funds of Hedge Funds Administrator.” For more information,  visit www.seic.com/enUS/im/303.htm.

About SEI
SEI (NASDAQ:SEIC) is a leading global provider of outsourced asset management, investment processing and investment operations solutions. The company’s innovative solutions help corporations,  financial institutions, financial advisors, and affluent families create and manage wealth. As of March 31, 2010, through its subsidiaries and partnerships in which the company has a significant interest, SEI administers $394 billion in mutual fund and pooled assets and manages $162 billion in assets. SEI serves clients, conducts or is registered to conduct business and/or operations, from numerous offices worldwide.  For more information, visit www.seic.com

(Somerset, BERMUDA): Transaction technology developer Comada has partnered with leading alternative investment funds service provider Prime Fund Solutions (PFS) in the development and delivery of PFS’ next generation middle office platform, PFS Horizon. The strategic partnership, announced this week by Comada co-founders Rupert Vaughan Williams and Dave Shastri, sees PFS Horizon used to deliver best-in-class middle office services and reporting technology to the fund clients of Prime Fund Solutions.

Comada is an established developer of technology solutions for the fund services market. Its core M.A.T.ware system already serves as the basis for a number of off-the-shelf products for funds of funds, as well as bespoke platforms like PFS Horizon. Comada’s flagship M.A.T. Share software is already being used within the alternative investments industry to help with the reduction of operational risk and to enhance liquidity profiling.

PFS Horizon brings funds of funds a full transaction-based custody portfolio and investment management system. With the objective of providing fund managers with efficient straight through processing,  PFS Horizon uses direct interfaces to harmonise a range of mission critical operations, including the handling of portfolio assets, due diligence, trading, pricing and reconciliation. It offers a single point of control to allow a manager to oversee the entire investment lifecycle,  actual and hypothetical, from start to finish.

“We are very excited to work together with the team at Prime Fund Solutions to deliver what we believe is a market leading straight through processing tool for the funds of funds industry,” said Comada co-founder Dave Shastri. “Our M.A.T.ware technology has been developed to combine PFS requirements with those of their clients into a single integrated operational environment.”

M.A.T.ware is designed to support the development of fund servicing solutions that help managers to significantly enhance their operational processes for much greater transparency of underlying portfolios,  more accurate liquidity management, and dynamic portfolio modelling.  Comada’s emphasis on web-enabled delivery means its technology can be configured to meet a range of operational challenges via a seamless and easy-to-deploy interface.

Said Rupert Vaughan Williams, co-founder of Comada: “PFS wanted us to work with them to build a fully integrated portfolio and liquidity management solution that could tackle a range of important tasks for their clients. We will continue to work with them going forwards to enhance their offering on the basis of client feedback and the changing regulatory and operational environment for funds of funds.”

Erik Jens, CEO of Prime Fund Solutions, said: “We believe this new technology represents a significant step forward in the fund of hedge funds middle office and reporting arena. The custodian’s ability to provide greater transparency, asset safety, and robust infrastructure are now important considerations for fund of hedge fund managers.  Comada and PFS are playing an active role with the technology solutions we have been developing to help custodians deliver both efficiency and continuity. We have already received extremely positive initial feedback from our institutional fund of funds clients and we now look forward to rolling out the new technology across our global client base over the coming months.”

About Comada
Comada is a leading alternative investment technology group established by seasoned funds industry professionals in 2004. It delivers fully integrated bespoke and off-the-shelf transaction-driven technology applications for fund services providers and managers.  Its M.A.T.ware core engine has been used to power M.A.T. Share,  the STP solution for fund services companies and funds of funds managers. Its solutions are focused on significantly improving operational risk by delivering greater transparency and liquidity profiling. Its fund portfolio management products are easily delivered via web interface to the desk tops of custody and fund administration operations, linking them directly to their hedge fund clients.

About Prime Fund Solutions
Since 1969 Prime Fund Solutions (PFS) has pioneered the provision of fund services to the alternative asset management industry. PFS has a global presence from eight key locations including Ireland,  Luxembourg, the Isle of Man, Amsterdam, the Cayman Islands,  New York, Hong Kong and Singapore. In addition, it has representative offices in Geneva, London and Tokyo. PFS is amongst the largest and most trusted counterparts in the areas in which it specialises, including:  administration, banking, custody and financing. PFS currently services clients ranging from boutique asset managers to large scale global institutions such as pension and sovereign wealth funds.

Transaction technology developer Comada today announced that it has partnered with hedge fund administrator Custom House to launch a new platform for fund managers and their investors. Launched this week, the platform allows investors in hedge funds administered by Custom House to invest, track and receive investment and redemption confirmations electronically. Most importantly, it achieves this via browser-based architecture that precludes the need to download software to a desktop computer, seamlessly integrating with, and extending in-house legacy technology.

“The hedge fund industry has needed an application like this for some time now,” said Rupert Vaughan Williams, co-founder of Comada. ”We are delighted to be working with Custom House who are committed to best of breed technology. This platform significantly raises the bar for hedge fund investing. Users of this technology can now rely on robust infrastructure that electronically processes and reconciles transactions from a single reference point. It is specifically designed to minimise the operational risks of the day to day management of portfolios of alternative investments.”

Comada specialises in designing and delivering transaction-based solutions for the managed assets industry, particularly hedge funds. Its core management team has been working together in the industry for almost two decades. It provides both bespoke and off-the-shelf solutions for hedge fund managers and their clients. Comada partnered with Custom House to deliver an advanced platform that would further integrate investors into the investment cycle and help reduce operational risk.

Dermot Butler, Chairman of hedge fund administrator Custom House commented: “We wanted to deliver a service to our customers which they could rely on. It is now possible for both managers and investors to track the progress of investments and redemptions electronically, real time, 24 hours a day. Thanks to our partnership with Comada,  we believe we are the first hedge fund administrator to be able to offer this particular kind of service.”

Custom House is responsible for the administration of more than $40 billion in hedge fund assets globally, across a range of different investment strategies. It has established its credentials as being a first mover and innovator in the arena of hedge fund administration.

Editor’s notes:

About Comada
Comada was established by seasoned funds industry professionals in 2004 to create bespoke and off-the-shelf technology applications for fund services providers and managers. Its M.A.T.ware core engine has been used to power M.A.T. Share, the STP solution for fund services companies and funds of funds managers. Its solutions are focused on improving operational risk by delivering greater transparency and comprehensive liquidity analysis. Its browser-based products are easily delivered over Intranet, Extranet or Internet, to the desk tops of custody and fund administration operations linking them directly to their hedge fund clients.

About Custom House
Custom House Global Fund Services Ltd., the Maltese-based holding company for the Custom House Group, is a member of the Equity Trust group of companies. The company is a Category 4 Licensed Custodian of funds-of-funds and recognised as a full service hedge fund administrator by the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”).

The primary business of Custom House is the provision of full administrative services to alternative investment and hedge funds, including private equity and real estate funds, as well as managed accounts. Established in 1989, Custom House operates a network of global offices, and has approximately 290 staff worldwide. With around US$40 billion in assets under administration, the firm provides administration services to more than 200 managers, trading through more than 600 investment funds. Custom House provides daily dealing NAVs for over a third of these.

Hedge fund technology specialist Comada has been recognised for the excellence of its M.A.T. Share platform at the Funds Europe Awards in December 2008. This special commendation was given for the category of European Middle Office technology.

According to leading asset management trade journal Funds Europe “This hedge fund middle-office provider has bridged the gap between poor operational infrastructure in the hedge fund world and the stringent requirements of institutions such as pension schemes. Counting Gottex Fund Managers among its clients, Comada is using its M.A.T. Share product to replace the use of spreadsheets as a risk control tool at fund of hedge fund firms with better technology architecture. This in turn allows the fund houses to scale their business. Judges recognised this as a major necessity within the institutional hedge fund world, and so Comada was given a special commendation.”

Mark Porter Chief Operating Officer, Fund Services, UBS Global Asset Management presented the award to Susanne Petrie, Comada’s business development manager. M.A.T. Share is a hosted transaction level portfolio and liquidity management solution. Its enterprise class technology seamlessly integrates hedge fund data, delivering powerful operational risk management tools delivered through web accessed reporting to and between clients and service providers.

Co-founder Rupert Vaughan Williams remarked that “Comada was particularly pleased to accept this commendation from an industry leading publication like Funds Europe, signifying a strong endorsement of the specific type of operational architecture required for managing and executing hedge fund trades. Solutions like ours are likely to be in even more demand from institutional-scale managers as they seek to grow their businesses in a significantly altered and challenging environment this year.”

Funds Europe is the dedicated journal for cross-border fund professionals in Europe. It covers all areas of the asset management business with a circulation of over 10,600 copies each month. Established in 2002, funds europe is an influential and recognised market leading publication within the asset management and pension communities.

Comada, the developer of the award-winning fund of hedge funds software package M.A.T. Share, has appointed Susanne Petrie to spearhead its marketing and business development activities in the UK. Based in London, Petrie will be working closely with Comada co-founder and Head of Business Development Dave Shastri.

“London is an important hub for the European hedge fund industry, and we felt it was vital that we had someone with Susanne’s experience to help us to raise our profile with the fund of hedge funds community here,” Shastri said. “Susanne comes to us with an extensive network of contacts in the alternative investments sector, and we look forward to her putting her experience to good use on Comada’s behalf.”

Petrie began her career in hedge funds by launching Hedge Funds Review in 2000, establishing it as a leading publication for hedge fund information. Her industry focus subsequently included the development of hedge fund and fund of fund events around the globe. In 2005 she moved to IMS Consulting, the dominant independent UK compliance consultancy focusing on the asset management industry, as Head of Business Development.

Said Petrie: “Technology is becoming an increasingly vital ingredient for the successful functioning of funds of hedge funds businesses, and it is great to be working with a business like Comada, which is developing software of practical and strategic significance for these firms. I am looking forward to meeting both old and new friends in the hedge funds industry in my new role.”

Comada is continuing to deploy and support its M.A.T. Share software, an ASP-hosted solution specifically designed for funds of hedge funds, in both Asia and North America. Petrie’s appointment will allow the firm to deal more efficiently with potential customers in Europe as well. M·A·T·share allows fund managers to integrate day-to-day operational and investment activities as well as linking firms with service providers to ensure vastly improved pricing and reporting capabilities.