Promark Global Advisors Selects GlobeOp for Independent Valuation Assessment Services: Financial News

Promark Global Advisors Selects GlobeOp for Independent Valuation Assessment Services
Tuesday December 1, 9:31 am ET

LONDON & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Promark Global Advisors (“Promark”), with over $125 billion in assets under management (AUM), has selected GlobeOp Financial Services (LSE: GO.) to provide independent valuation assessment services across a portfolio of more than 20,000 unique securities.

Promark and its affiliates provide customized global investment management services to institutional investors, predominantly pension plans. Promark is focused on managing pension plans using asset and liability management solutions and developing customized investment programs for each client, as well as providing investment management for specific mandates, most notably alternative investments such as real estate and absolute-return strategies.

“We believe that independent valuation and greater transparency into the price determination process are key to our clients and to the services we provide,” said Mike Connors, director, Investment Operations at Promark. “In my opinion, GlobeOp presented the solution to our requirements for comprehensive product coverage, accuracy and timeliness in providing an independent valuation analysis across large and varied portfolios. These criteria are essential when obtaining additional prices to affirm the validity of our primary pricing sources. Additionally, GlobeOp offers a SAS 70 Type II-certified technology platform and will generate pricing analytic reports that enable our valuation committee to focus on exceptions. This analysis will also help support our year-end audit preparations.”

“The size and diversity of Promark’s portfolio presents unique challenges,” said Jon Anderson, GlobeOp head of Valuations and OTC Derivatives. “GlobeOp’s relationships with multiple data and pricing vendors create broad product coverage and enabled us to develop a comprehensive solution. We combined our experience serving some of the most complex clients in the hedge fund industry with a robust scalable infrastructure and well-defined processes. Our independence and controls offer investors and auditors the type of valuation assessment they are demanding. The management reports and granular detail that support the valuation analysis facilitates Promark’s management oversight of the valuation process. The data also helps them determine corrective action and process improvements related to material issues such as specific price discrepancies and exceptions.”

GlobeOp’s customized weekly and month-end report packages to the Promark valuation committee will include stale pricing, tolerance testing, and analyses of price discrepancies, market data and valuation sources.

Notes to Editors

About GlobeOp Financial Services

GlobeOp Financial Services (LSE:GO.) is a leading, independent financial technology specialist providing automated, integrated middle- and back-office, administration and risk reporting services to hedge funds and asset management firms-including banks, insurance companies, mutual & pension funds and proprietary traders. Clients trading a wide range of asset classes and derivatives outsource to GlobeOp to reduce technology investments and operational risks, and to focus resources on asset generation and portfolio management. Established in 2000, GlobeOp serves 180 clients worldwide, representing $100 billion in assets under administration (AuA). With headquarters in London and New York, GlobeOp employs more than 1,500 people on three continents; offices are also located in Dublin, Ireland; George Town, Cayman Islands; Harrison and Yorktown Heights, NY and Hartford, CT, U.S.A.; and Mumbai (Bombay), India. Further information: www.globeop.com.

About Promark Global Advisors

Promark Global Advisors (“Promark”) and its predecessors have been managing pension plan investment programs for more than six decades. Promark provides Fiduciary Management and Advisory services to more than 30 pension plans. As of September 30, 2009, Promark managed more than $125 billion in assets in traditional and alternative asset classes. Promark Global Advisors includes Promark Investment Advisors, Inc., an SEC-registered investment adviser, and Promark Trust Bank, N.A., an OCC-chartered bank. Further information: www.promarkglobal.com.