Fund management software: a buyer's guide
Scope, pricing models, implementation and the vendor questions that save a month of demos.
What is fund management software?
Fund management software is the operating system for a fund's back and middle office: accounting and NAV, capital calls and distributions, waterfalls and fees, investor onboarding, reporting and the investor portal, plus the controls and audit trail around them.
Scope: software, service, or both
Some vendors sell software; some sell fund administration with software attached; some sell both. Bundled administration is convenient but ties your books to one provider. Software-only platforms let you run the books in-house or with any administrator you choose.
Pricing models
Per-user, per-investor, AUM-based and flat per-firm pricing all exist. Per-user and per-investor pricing are easy to start with and expensive to grow into. AUM-based pricing rises with success. A flat firm licence is the easiest to forecast.
Implementation
Ask what 'live' means: historical data loaded and reconciled, waterfalls modelled and tested against past distributions, investors migrated to the portal. For a fund with history, six to ten weeks is a good benchmark; enterprise suites often take months.
Ten questions for every vendor
- Demo on our structure, not a sample.
- Where does each portal number come from?
- Which modules are native?
- Who models the waterfall?
- How are side-letter terms applied?
- What does the auditor see?
- Three-year cost at year-three size?
- Can we export everything?
- What's in the mobile app?
- Who answers support?
Questions
Do we need an administrator if we buy software?
Not necessarily. Many firms run in-house; others use an administrator inside the same platform.
How long does selection usually take?
Four to twelve weeks; demos on your own structure shorten it.
Want to see this on your own fund?
Name and work email. A person replies within one business day, usually with times for a demo on a structure like yours.
Talk to us
Name and work email. We reply within one business day, from a person.
Sent.
Someone from FUN/D will email you within one business day. If it's urgent, call +1-212-658-0862.