Asset Management at Ernst & Young - Ernst & Young - United States

The global downturn forced hedge fund managers to respond swiftly and radically. Our new survey (pdf, 366.7kb) highlights the significant changes to the governance, fund administration and investor reporting, all of which have enhanced investor confidence without significant additional cost.

How do you manage through the recession and position your company for growth? Our asset management professionals around the world conducted over 2500 client meetings and identified some overarching themes. Rebuilding stakeholder confidence, building lines of credit and being proactive with regulators could mean the difference between surviving and thriving.

Innovation is the lifeblood of financial services. Yet some question whether the government’s growing involvement hinders the industry’s creativity.  The new issue of CrossCurrents looks at government participation in the recent economic crisis. And we report on how companies in asset management, banking and insurance navigate the changing market landscape.

What's the return on treasury? A large alternative investment manager obtained a partial answer while examining its cash management practices, including overnight investing. A few simple changes to its operating practices (pdf, 84.9kb) are now saving the company millions of dollars annually. Through the addition of a single, newly hired professional cash manager followed by an analysis and refinement of prior practices and procedures.

Prior to the current market downturn, hedge fund managers were able to diffuse investor requests for greater transparency in risk management practices (pdf, 110.4kb), preserving policies that limited the information available to third parties. However, recent marketplace events indicate that increased regulation, scrutiny and transparency are on the horizon for the hedge fund industry.

Our business risk report 2009 (pdf, 4mb) evaluates the top 10 risks most likely to affect asset management companies during 2009 and shape the industry.

The economic downturn is making its mark. Debt and equity capital, the lifeblood of a thriving real estate private equity firm, are scarce, costly and highly coveted. However, we may be entering one of the best periods for acquisitions of distressed assets the industry has ever seen (pdf, 1M). So, what’s on the horizon? 40 real estate fund sponsors from around the country give us their take.

The world of internal control reporting has widened significantly in recent years. Click through this brief slideshow to learn how different reporting mechanisms are helping asset managers evaluate control risk and comply with new regulations.