Hedge Fund Awards 2014

WWFS is a specialist provider of reconciliation software and, since its creation in 2007, it has built a solid client base including a wide array of professionals such as hedge funds experts, asset managers and commodities traders using the i-Recs reconcilia- tion Solution. Mr Wheatley said: “Our team services clients worldwide from our base in the UK. i-Recs and its associated data aggregation tools were specifically developed for the buy-side in one of the largest hedge funds in Europe.” Mr Wheatley further explained that the environment in which i- Recs grew up made it ideal for hedge funds as it works “alongside the firm and handles the complexities that occur”. It’s not just the outstanding products that help Watson Wheatley distinguish itself from the competition – responsive customer ser- vice and deep subject knowledge, among others, are also vital. “Our team is small, knowledgeable and efficient; we are extremely pleased to win the award as everyone here has worked very hard in the last year to develop and release the next generation of our product as well as on-board a record number of new clients,” he said. “The systems we build require little maintenance, are highly flex- ible and simple to configure. While many of our clients are self-suf- ficient, we regularly provide the services required to on-board new funds or reconciliations to supplement their internal resources.” www.acquisition-intl.com 2014 International Hedge Fund Awards Watson Wheatley Financial Systems Talking about the latest emerging trends, Mr Wheatley outlined the operational due diligence within the hedge fund industry and the recent US and European regulatory changes as the primary external drivers for post-trade reconciliation. He explained that firms are addressing these regulatory demands by replacing the manual reconciliation processes with more pur- pose-built, automated systems such as i-Recs. Assessing the quality of operation processes, highlighting recurring weaknesses and measuring the impact of remedial actions are only some of the positives which reconciliation software can provide to businesses focused on thriving in the current economic struggle. “In addition to handling day-to-day reconciliation our clients are increasingly using i-Recs for long-term trend analysis to improve operational processes and to measure the quality of their service providers,” Mr Wheatley said. “We have supported our clients in this endeavour by developing analytical tools using new reporting and dashboard functions.” He added that the “unprecedented interest” in WWFS’ products could only suggest that growth is set to continue in 2014. “In terms of products from WWFS we are already laying the ground- work for new systems and enabling the deployment of our current products via different delivery methods. Our hard work to ensure our existing clients gain maximum value from our products has enabled us to weather the recent poor market conditions and we will require additional hires this year,” he concluded. Fact File Company: Watson Wheatley Financial Systems Name: Duncan Wheatley Email: [email protected] Web Address: www.watsonwheatley.com Address: Marston House, Cromwell Park, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, OX7 5SR, United Kingdom Telephone: +44 (0)1608 649640 “Our team services cli- ents worldwide from our base in the UK. i-Recs and its associated data aggregation tools were specifically developed for the buy-side in one of the largest hedge funds in Europe.” Duncan Wheatley is the Managing Director of Watson Wheatley Financial Systems (WWFS), responsible for product design and business development. He explains more about the company and its products. Reconciliation & Data Aggregation Software Provider of the Year – UK 38