One Ten Associates: Best Recruitment Company for Operations & Finance – Recruitment in private equity is evolving. Managers want to build holistic relationships with recruiters who have a greater understanding of their business. This is particularly relevant given the current environment. “It has been well-documented that there are record levels of capital available for investment and as such, private equity firms seem to be intent on navigating the post-Covid world with ambition and vigour,” observes Khuram Bajwa, Partner, One Ten Associates. “There is a genuine belief that deal activity will continue to scale without compromising the value and returns being delivered

Options: Best Technology Infrastructure Provider – The outlook for the private equity market is particularly buoyant, with firms expected to increase their headcount and push hard on cost efficiencies. They will also be delivering digital transformation projects within a context of continued remote working environments. We spoke with chief technology officer at Options, John Bryant, as he discusses what digital transformation may look like for a private equity firm in 2021. “The private equity firms we service have been aggressively migrating all aspects of their technology stacks to cloud-based services. As with other alternative investment vehicles, they increasingly want to focus

Alter Domus: Best Fund Administrator (GPs with assets >$30bn) – Progress in technology is driving managers to create more complex private equity strategies and as products are globalised, the lines which historically were drawn between segments are blurring. There is also growing specialisation in the industry. “As a result of this specialisation, managers are having to capture many more data points and therefore how that data is managed and reported on serves a huge purpose,” details Tim Toska, Global Head of Private Equity at Alter Domus. “Limited partners (LPs) are demanding even more transparency, so general partners (GPs) need to have

Crestbridge: Best Fund Administrator – Technology – As diversification continued to be critical amid the general disruption experienced this year, private equity managers have sought increasing assistance to support their expansion across domiciles and asset classes. “Diversification has really emerged as a key trend over the past year. This has played out in the funds space with funds managers diversifying across domiciles, asset classes and reviewing their key investment focus and investment strategies,” outlines Alex Di Santo, Group Head of Private Equity Fund Services, Crestbridge. “A really good example is the increasing trend among private equity managers establishing SPACs (Special Purpose

Wheelhouse Advisors: Best Accounting Firm – Private equity firms in the UK and Europe must brace themselves for significant change as a wave of new regulation is due to be implemented in January 2022 and UK firms understand how to continue marketing their funds across the EU in a post-Brexit world. The implementation of the Investment Firm Prudential Regime (IFPR) in the UK in January 2022 and its EU equivalent, the IFR, later this year will impact all firms with MiFID permissions. “They can expect to see significant changes to their capital requirements and prudential governance arrangements, including a ‘Pillar 2’

Lionpoint: Best Technology Advisory Firm – The changes and uncertainty which have come to light in the past year, coupled with the increasing speed of the private equity industry, have highlighted the need for faster, more reliable data to enable real-time forecasting and portfolio monitoring, accounting fund administration and performance.

SS&C Advent: Best Accounting & Reporting Software – Hedge fund managers actively invest in private equity and launch funds to satisfy investors’ demands for better returns. To succeed, hedge funds need a multi-asset class system with robust private equity capabilities to support their investor pools. “There is a need for more investor reporting across funds – hedge and private equity combined. We have observed this trend developing over the last few years in our private equity technology and fund administration business. On the technology side, we have built out private equity partnership accounting to support our clients,” outlines Daniel Leader, a

CEPRES: Best Data Management Solution – Demand for rigorous and in-depth analysis of complex investment strategies is growing exponentially as more capital is allocated to private markets. In this environment, access to accurate data down to single asset levels is critical to support insightful analysis, and investors with this access can achieve better investment outcomes and possess a distinct advantage.  “Different industries can differ heavily in their risk/return outcomes and various private equity strategies will deliver varying degrees of success,” comments Dr Daniel Schmidt, CEO & Founder at CEPRES. “Only those with access to the right data and investment analytics will