SunGard has released a new version of its VPM portfolio accounting solution for hedge funds. SunGard's VPM version 9.0 provides hedge funds with an enterprise-level portfolio accounting application that is built on a service-oriented architecture for plug-and-play integration with a firm's existing applications and scalability to address future business needs. It also provides a new user interface focused on increasing operational efficiency, simplifying workflows and providing intuitive access.
Denise Valentine, senior analyst at Aite Group, commented: "Regulators and institutional clients are fixated on transparency and improved reporting from their asset managers. Recent scandals mean clients have higher standards on reporting - including requiring a rapid response to ad-hoc requests for information. As firms receive reports from across their money managers, the performance bar is raised. Clients will expect all their managers to report on a par with their best reporting manager - a real challenge for some firms."
VPM version 9.0 includes workflows optimized for efficiency and transparency and an enhanced reporting engine. Data entry has been streamlined and improved to help users view data according to their preferences, which helps escalate data monitoring capabilities and improve efficiency. VPM's reporting engine provides click-through reporting and a dashboard that displays pertinent data in a graphical fashion, presenting timely access to mission-critical data through a centralized reporting portal. It can help to provide firms with a clear picture of their operations and put actionable information at a user's fingertips. Finally, VPM's service-oriented architecture and technology helps the solution to fit within each firm's unique architecture and service requirements.
Scott Alintoff, chief operating officer of SunGard's VPM business unit, said, "We continually work with our customers to identify solutions to address challenges facing hedge funds, including lack of transparency and an increased need for open technology and static reporting. Utilizing an open architecture design, click-through reporting and a completely new front-end design, VPM version 9.0 helps increase operational efficiency and provide transparency required by the most sophisticated institutional investors.