Frater Asset Management outsources administration to Maitland

Maitland has been appointed by institutional asset manager Frater Asset Management to handle its outsourced fund administration business from 1 January 2008. The deal adds R15 billion in assets under management (AUM) to Maitland’s fund services division, bringing total AUM to over R295 billion.

Maitland will provide an end-to-end administration solution for Frater Asset Management’s segregated portfolios including four unit trusts, using its InvestOne back-office and Decalog front-office systems. Maitland will further provide disaster recovery, customised reporting and compliance.

Dale Lippstreu, MD of Maitland fund services, described the contract as a “huge coup” for Maitland as it was won in the face of stiff competition and after an extensive due diligence exercise. Frater Asset Management, which has to date conducted its administration in-house, will be Maitland’s fourth largest local institutional client.

A percentage of Maitland’s AUM are international, managed through its offices in the British Virgin Isles and Luxembourg off a Cape-Town based technology platform.

Lippstreu believes the real growth in outsourced fund administration will come in the area of independent niche service providers who can partner with their clients and provide a technology solution from front to back office, as compared to their institutionalised, “commoditised” counterparts.