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Quintillion
After five years in the ownership of US Bancorp , Quintillion is still admired for its personal touch and commitment to quality . “ They are the most client-centric administrator I have dealt with in 15 years ,” writes one client . Another is delighted by “ outstanding service – we are very happy .” A third confirms that “ we receive excellent service from Quintillion in all areas .” The fact that Quintillion has not lost a single client since it was acquired in October 2013 and more than doubled the assets under administration to well over $ 30 billion in the same period , is a tribute to the good sense of the parent , as well as to its reach across the Atlantic and the reassuring size of its balance sheet . The value of a demonstrably successful post-acquisition transition , in a consolidating industry , should not be under-estimated . The hands-off approach has made it much easier to introduce clients gently to the complementary-but-optional services that US Bancorp can add to the core fund administration services – depositary banking , collateral management , global custody , and FX and cash management – without any sense of them being compulsory buys or a hard-sell . Judging by the names of the respondents , being owned by a large bank has also turned Quintillion into a credible contender for massive global mandates . Major asset managers will certainly struggle to find fault with the on-boarding process . “ Much less painful and more straightforward than I had anticipated ,” says one client with recent experience of it . Any painful memories are probably dulled by the Quintillion policy of assigning to the on-boarding process the same people that will provide the services once a client is on-board , since it inevitably forges personal bonds . The Quintillion approach to fund accounting is equally distinctive , with valuations reconciled to independent data and thoroughly checked prior to publication , reducing the risk of errors being published . It takes more time , but clients obviously like the results . “ We have never experienced any problems with fund accounting ,” notes one client . “ The fund accounting service is high quality with very rare mistakes ,” adds another . “ Deliverables could sometimes reach us earlier – [ that ] is the only minor complaint .” The reporting scores , while still impressive , are more equivocal . Managers are pleased by the reporting to regulators ( though it is not a service which Quintillion emphasises ) and say their auditors are delighted by what they get as well . “ Our auditors – a big four company – are impressed and comment favourably about Quintillion every year ,” writes one respondent . Another says Quintillion “ take the pain out of the audit process , which is a high accolade indeed .” Reporting to investors and managers does not rise to the same heights , but closer examination suggests respondents would like to be offered a choice of reporting models even if their current preferences are clearly being satisfied . Something similar is true of their assessment of reporting to tax authorities , where Quintillion is lightly admonished for giving insufficient priority to upcoming tax changes rather than under-performing in a crucial area ( nor is it a field in which the firm claims to specialise ). In investor services , the issue seems to be one of flexibility . A respondent says HWM Mantra , which Quintillion uses for investor services , “ appears to be quite a rigid system .” Another client notes that “ investor services client services can take some time to respond to queries .” But a third has found Quintillion “ very flexible and helpful in completing forms for investor subscriptions and redemptions .”
65 %
By size
4 %
31 %
Weighted average scores
PROFILE OF RESPONDENTS
Large Medium Small
By location
82 %
2016 2017 2018 6.08 5.92 5.95
Weighted average scores by service area Service area
18 %
Weighted average score
Client service 5.83 -3.1 % On-boarding 6.04 5.6 % Fund accounting 6.13 -1.2 % Investor services 5.86 -3.2 % Reporting to investors 5.93 -1.6 % Reporting to managers 5.67 -3.2 % Reporting to regulators 6.10 1.3 % Reporting to the tax authorities 5.55 -7.2 % Reporting to auditors 6.13 0.7 %
Americas Europe and Middle East Asia
+/ - the global average
KYC , AML and sanctions screening 5.40 -10.4 % Depositary services 6.04 0.7 % Corporate secretarial services N / A N / A Middle office services 6.52 11.1 % Banking services 6.52 7.3 % Operations 6.74 10.2 % Cyber-security 6.05 1.1 % Price 6.15 5.7 % Total 5.95 -0.6 %
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