Glossary · Operations
Fund Servicing
Fund servicing is the umbrella term for the operational services a fund buys from specialist providers to run day to day: fund administration (accounting, NAV and investor services), custody, transfer agency and related reporting. A fund administrator provides an important part of fund servicing, but not all of it.
Funds rarely run their own operations end to end. Instead, the manager appoints service providers, each with a defined role set out in the fund documents. Together these are called fund servicing. The fund administrator keeps the books, calculates the NAV and services investors; the custodian or prime broker holds the assets; a transfer agent may keep the investor register.
The split matters because each role carries different responsibilities and, in some domiciles, different regulation. Managers comparing providers should check which parts of fund servicing a firm actually performs, and which it relies on others for.
Fund servicing vs fund administration vs custody
| Service | What it covers | Typical provider |
|---|---|---|
| Fund administration | Fund accounting, NAV, investor onboarding and statements, financial statements | Fund administrator |
| Custody | Safekeeping of assets, settlement, income collection, corporate actions | Custodian bank or prime broker |
| Transfer agency | Investor register, subscriptions and redemptions processing | Administrator or transfer agent |
| Fund servicing | All of the above together, plus related reporting | Several providers, or one group offering several roles |
Related terms
Where this comes up in our work
Hire a Fund Administrator
Fundtec administers hedge, private equity, venture, credit, real estate and digital asset funds from NAV calculation through investor reporting, au…
Read more →Managed Investment OperationsInvestor Services
Investors judge a fund by how it treats them: how fast they are onboarded, how accurate their statements are and how quickly questions are answered…
Read more →Tell us where your operations need to be in twelve months.
A 30-minute scoping call with our team. You leave with a clear view of scope, transition timeline and indicative pricing.