BNP Paribas launches alternatives administration service

BNP Paribas Securities Services has launched an administration service for alternative assets.

The service leverages its global administration platform to give institutional investors access to risk analytics and performance reporting and underlying risk and exposure assessment. 

BNP Paribas head of product management Daryl Crich said demand for an alternatives administration service had developed in response to a need for greater transparency around funds' investments.

"We're seeing most tenders in the market now, from even medium-sized superannuation funds, are asking about administration capabilities in this space," he said.

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The year-long development process also aligned with an increasing appetite for private equity, real estate and property among Australian super funds, he said.

He said that with the increased scrutiny by regulators of super funds' investments, a fund needed to prove it could manage risk, compliance and auditing requirements. 

The long-dated nature of alternative investments and cash-weighted performance measures such as the IRI could not be managed on spreadsheets as a fund's alternative assets increased, according to Crich.

Media Super, which served as the pilot for BNP Paribas' service, used the reporting and analytics to do away with spreadsheets, according to the fund's general manager of finance and compliance Michael Rooney. 

BNP Paribas managing director for Australia and New Zealand Pierre Jond said the platform's ability to create reports by sector or geography could help clients manage an alternatives portfolio's risk exposure in relation to its broader portfolio. 

He said better management of funding commitments and cashflows could assist in managing liquidity requirements.