Key Takeaways
- • Northern Trust (Nasdaq: NTRS) was appointed by Modular Asset Management (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. for a new asset servicing mandate supporting the launch of Modular's Cayman Islands-domiciled Modular Asian Macro Fund and related entities.
- • The mandate covers custody, fund administration, middle-office outsourcing, collateral management and risk compliance monitoring.
- • Modular, a Singapore-licensed Asian macro manager that spun out of a large US hedge fund manager in January 2020, is expected to bring assets under management close to US$1 billion as global institutional investors commit capital.
- • Founder Jimmy Lim previously ran specialist Asian mandates at Millennium, BlueCrest and JPMorgan.
- • Northern Trust cited growing demand for middle-office outsourcing among Asian hedge funds, while co-founder Matthew Cannon pointed to the firm's technology platform as a deciding factor.
Summary
Northern Trust has been appointed by Modular Asset Management (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. (Modular), a specialist Asian macro alternative investment manager licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, according to a Business Wire release dated May 12, 2020. The mandate supports the launch of Modular's Cayman Islands-domiciled Modular Asian Macro Fund and related entities. Northern Trust will provide custody, fund administration, middle-office outsourcing, collateral management and risk compliance monitoring services.
Modular spun out of a large US hedge fund manager in January 2020 and is described by the release as one of Asia's largest hedge fund launches in recent years. The founder's track record has attracted commitments from global institutional investors, which is expected to bring the firm's assets under management close to US$1 billion. Founder Jimmy Lim previously ran similar specialist Asian mandates at Millennium, BlueCrest and JPMorgan. The Modular Asia Macro Master Fund pursues a pure-play Asia macro strategy aimed at stable, uncorrelated absolute returns through liquid foreign exchange and rates markets primarily in the Asia-Pacific region.
Iain Carey, head of Hedge Fund Services, Asia-Pacific at Northern Trust, said the firm is seeing an increasing trend toward middle-office outsourcing among hedge funds across Asia, and that Northern Trust's experience with sophisticated funds, technology platform and Singapore-based fund services position it to help Modular meet its objectives. Matthew Cannon, co-founder of Modular, said the firm evaluated several service providers and was impressed by Northern Trust's technology platform and integrated service suite, which support its complex strategies, investor liaison and operational needs.
Northern Trust Hedge Fund Services offers integrated middle-office capabilities from trade capture through investor statements on a single set of books and records. As of March 31, 2020, Northern Trust reported assets under custody/administration of US$10.9 trillion and assets under management of US$1.1 trillion.
Modular spun out of a large US hedge fund manager in January 2020 and is described by the release as one of Asia's largest hedge fund launches in recent years. The founder's track record has attracted commitments from global institutional investors, which is expected to bring the firm's assets under management close to US$1 billion. Founder Jimmy Lim previously ran similar specialist Asian mandates at Millennium, BlueCrest and JPMorgan. The Modular Asia Macro Master Fund pursues a pure-play Asia macro strategy aimed at stable, uncorrelated absolute returns through liquid foreign exchange and rates markets primarily in the Asia-Pacific region.
Iain Carey, head of Hedge Fund Services, Asia-Pacific at Northern Trust, said the firm is seeing an increasing trend toward middle-office outsourcing among hedge funds across Asia, and that Northern Trust's experience with sophisticated funds, technology platform and Singapore-based fund services position it to help Modular meet its objectives. Matthew Cannon, co-founder of Modular, said the firm evaluated several service providers and was impressed by Northern Trust's technology platform and integrated service suite, which support its complex strategies, investor liaison and operational needs.
Northern Trust Hedge Fund Services offers integrated middle-office capabilities from trade capture through investor statements on a single set of books and records. As of March 31, 2020, Northern Trust reported assets under custody/administration of US$10.9 trillion and assets under management of US$1.1 trillion.
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