INDOS Financial is hiring! Office and Administration Manager, London City
INDOS Financial is an award-winning independent depositary business with offices in London and Ireland.
We are recruiting an Office and Administration Manager for our head office in the City of London (EC4). If you know someone that might be interested please pass on these details and ask them to contact us at [email protected].
The successful candidate will be responsible for the efficient day-to-day running of the office, supporting the Finance and Compliance Manager to ensure compliance with relevant accounting, corporate and compliance procedures as well as providing some PA support to firm’s CEO and other management team members.
The candidate will have experience within a similar role. The applicant must possess excellent MS Office, communication and organisational skills.
This is a great opportunity to join a fast-growing entrepreneurial business in a varied and busy role where the candidate will have exposure to all office management, PA and HR Administration duties.
Responsibilities:
General office management and administration duties
Finance duties including client invoicing and liaison with the firm’s accountants
Administration of the firm’s online compliance training and monitoring system
New joiner process administration
Attendance of board and internal management meetings and preparation of meeting minutes
Management and liaison with all existing office suppliers
Periodic client and industry event organisation
Experience:
The candidate should possess at least 2 years general office management or personal assistant experience. Accounts or book keeping experience would be an advantage and would place the candidate at the front of applications review list.
Key Skills:
Excellent IT skills (Microsoft Excel, Word and PowerPoint)
Sound numeracy skills and accounts experience an advantage
Very good verbal and written communication skills
Excellent planning, organization, implementation and follow-up skills
High level of attention to detail
Enthusiastic and positive attitude
Ability to work to tight deadlines
Team Player
Compensation and benefits:
Competitive salary
Personal Health and Dental cover
25 days annual leave
Workplace pension
Application process:
To apply for this position, please send an email with your CV and short covering letter outlining your relevant experience for this role and current compensation, to [email protected].
INDOS Financial specialises in providing independent AIFMD depositary services to alternative investment funds. INDOS was the first FCA authorised AIFMD Depositary in January 2014 and currently provides depositary services to over 80 funds that have more than $15bn in assets. Clients include EU and non-EU investment managers managing a broad range of open and closed ended alternative investment fund strategies ranging from hedge funds, to private equity, real estate and other closed ended funds. INDOS has been name “Best Depositary Solution” for two consecutive years in the 2016 and 2017 HFM Service Awards.
INDOS employs a growing team of 25 people across two offices in London, UK and Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, Ireland.
INDOS appoints Jon Masters as Head of Client and Business Development
INDOS Financial Limited (“INDOS”), the UK independent depositary, has appointed Jon Masters to the new position of Head of Client and Business Development. Mr Masters had most recently been Head of Compliance at Sciens Group in London since 2014.
“Continued growth across all segments of our business, hedge, private equity, real estate and more recently full depositary, now means that INDOS has over 80 funds using our independent depositary services, with assets in excess of $15bn. We have therefore taken the decision to invest in senior client level service and business development to help support and continue to drive the business forward,” said Bill Prew, founder and CEO of INDOS.
“I have known Jon for several years and had the pleasure of working with him for six months earlier this year as he helped build out our full depositary business. I know he will be able to make an even greater contribution to the growth of INDOS in his new permanent role,” Mr Prew continued.
Jon Masters Jon Masters is a Chartered accountant with over 30 years financial experience. Jon qualified with Touche Ross before joining James Capel in 1988 where he worked in operations before becoming Head of Treasury, and helping establish the HSBC Investment Bank. In 1999 he moved to the Treasury Management team at Lehman Brothers where he was responsible for Network management and Cash management. In 2004 he joined the Executive office to focus on senior client relationship management, working under Xavier Rolet. The team focused on the firm’s top clients in the Asset Management sector, covering Hedge Funds and large Institutions. Jon moved to Northwood Capital, a hedge fund, and one of his clients in 2008 as COO, also specialising in compliance and risk management. Following the closure of Northwood, he joined Sciens Group as Head of Compliance, before moving to INDOS in 2017.
The future for depositaries: Brexit, conflicts of interest and the drive for added value
The role of the depositary was introduced under the AIFMD to address failings of the alternative fund management industry. AIFMD sought to help restore confidence among investors and regulators in the alternatives sector.
The depositary, alongside the fund auditor and directors, is now viewed as an important part of the governance structure that provides independent assurance to investors, boards, managers and regulators. The responsibilities of depositaries include daily cash-flow monitoring, regular asset ownership verification and oversight of fund valuations, shareholder dealing and compliance with fund offering terms.
Unlike the annual fund audit, the depositary’s oversight is on-going throughout the year and includes a review of every monthly NAV. However, the UK decision to leave the European Union in 2016 has created uncertainty about the future role of the depositary for UK managers.
The UK is expected to leave the EU in March 2019 but is pushing to introduce a transition period of two years or more. After Brexit, there have been calls in the industry for the UK government to replace AIFMD and other funds regulation with looser, less prescriptive rules.
This year’s FCA asset management market study is a good indicator this will not happen. Its focus was on strengthening fund governance to ensure the UK asset management industry is a more attractive place for investors and to improve the competitiveness of the UK market.
The depositary is viewed by the regulator as one of the cornerstones of good fund governance and will therefore likely be retained post Brexit. Retention of the depositary requirements would also be required to ensure equivalence with the EU, which would be a basic condition for continued access to European investors.
Shortcomings in the implementation of the depositary requirements could however lead to more regulatory focus on improving standards and consistency. One area of focus would be to address conflicts of interest in the depositary industry.
Frequently, depositaries affiliated to the fund administrator are appointed by managers as part of a bundled service offering, which can also extend to custody or prime brokerage. There are inherent conflicts in a model whereby one part of a business oversees and ‘marks the homework’ of another division within the same group.
Largely driven by regulatory requirements, depositary businesses are established as separate legal entities within the group. However, despite this legal separation there cannot be complete assurances that a depositary would self-report issues identified within its administrator or custody arm as this could result in financial or reputational harm at the broader group level.
A second area of focus surrounds consistency and quality of service to ensure all depositaries undertake the required duties to a high standard. A growing number of managers are reporting that engagement by their depositaries has been lacking, while others acknowledge rudimentary errors have been missed by providers. Such deficiencies are prompting searching questions about the added value of certain providers of depositary services.
This inaction has prompted several large fund managers to switch from an affiliated depositary model to an independent provider. It is not just the managers who are growing frustrated, but institutional investors, consultants and fund directors are starting to act.
Operational due diligence teams are recognising the benefits of a well implemented depositary model and are increasingly asking questions about how it functions. ‘Tick the box’ depositary models that add no value could contribute to a vetoed investment. Fund directors are also the driving force behind some of the decisions to switch providers.
A properly functioning depositary that can and will challenge the process will enhance the governance of the fund, providing increased confidence to investors, fund directors, and regulators. A focus on management of conflicts and raising the bar of expected performance will result in the UK depositary continuing to play an important role in the success of the UK funds industry in the post-Brexit era.
This INDOS Financial article was first published by HFM Week and can be read here.