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Circle Partners
ircle is a great administrator to work with , and I would
“ Chighly recommend this firm to my peers in the industry ,” writes a happy client . The overall average score certainly speaks of a firm that has the confidence of its small to mid-sized hedge fund clients , and there are testimonials to back it up . “ I have only ever experienced excellent services from Circle Partners , with many key personnel I am in daily contact with having been at Circle for many years ,” writes one respondent . Others echo this assessment , arguing that “ Circle has consistently provided quality service ” and that the firm delivers “ great value for the quality of service they are able to provide .” One respondent describes the service as “ perfect .” Of course , not everyone is happy as that (“ The level of service of the NL entity has decreased ,” grumbles one client ), and at least one respondent would like a price cut (“ Fees need to come down and they have not , unfortunately ”). But the most striking aspect of the Circle performance is that the firm earns even better scores in peripheral services ( which a minority of its respondents assess ) than it does in the core fund administration services of accounting and investor relations ( which almost every respondent addresses ). Certainly , the scores for fund accounting and investor services are not as high as the comments suggest they ought to be . “ We have different sub-funds with different strategies and types of investments ,” writes one user of the fund accounting services . “ Circle Partners provides accurate and timely accounting for each of the subfunds .” Another client argues that “ they have a very strong and knowledgeable accounting team , who are great to work with ,” while a third respondent insists his fund accountant is “ one of the top diligent guys we ever met !” Likewise , in investor services , clients have noticed only a “ flawless process until now ” and a “ very responsive investor services team .” There is a similar disjunction between the scores and the comments in reporting to managers (“ Communications between the administrator and the manager are very fluid , questions / comments / issues are solved very quickly ”) and to investors (“ Perfect , no errors ”). Closer analysis of the scores – which finds shortcomings highlighted by averages are , in fact , highly specific – resolves these mysteries in favour of the firm . There is one reporting field in which Circle Partners unequivocally excels . The firm prides itself on its financial reporting services across all reporting frequencies and accounting standards . “ Interaction between administrator and fund auditors is very smooth , rarely , if ever , we need to intervene ,” attests a respondent . A second agrees that “ Circle provides accurate schedules , reports and data to our auditors ” and “ is responsive to our auditors ’ queries .” There is a score to match . For a firm founded as recently as 2000 , Circle Partners has maintained an admirable discipline in sticking to fund accounting , investor services , middle-office services and financial , regulatory and tax reporting as it has expanded its geographical reach . Clients are now serviced from offices in Luxembourg , Switzerland , the United Kingdom , Slovakia , the United States , the Cayman Islands , the British Virgin Islands and Curaçao as well as the native Netherlands of the founders . But at least one client would like to see Circle Partners be more adventurous . “ They should strive more to find a right banking partner ,” advises a client . “ There are two banks and none of them offers proper service .”
By size
95 %
5 %
Weighted average scores
PROFILE OF RESPONDENTS
Large Medium Small
Weighted average scores by service area Service area
By location
9 %
68 %
2016 2017 2018 5.74 5.99 6.10
Weighted average score
Client service 6.22 3.4 % On-boarding 5.80 1.5 % Fund accounting 6.00 -3.3 % Investor services 5.97 -1.5 % Reporting to investors 5.69 -5.4 % Reporting to managers 5.70 -2.7 % Reporting to regulators 6.50 8.0 % Reporting to the tax authorities 6.29 5.2 % Reporting to auditors 6.24 2.6 % KYC , AML and sanctions screening 6.38 5.7 %
23 %
Depositary services N / A N / A Corporate secretarial services 6.83 16.4 % Middle office services 6.59 12.5 % Banking services N / A N / A Operations 6.28 2.6 % Cyber-security 6.23 4.0 % Price 5.92 1.7 % Total 6.10 1.9 %
Americas Europe and Middle East Asia
+/ - the global average
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