Module Code: A6FNDAD
Long Title Fund Administration
Title Fund Administration
Module Level: LEVEL 6
EQF Level: 5
EHEA Level: Short Cycle
Credits: 10
Module Coordinator: JONATHAN BRITTAIN
Module Author: TARA CLEMENTS
Departments: School of Business
Specifications of the qualifications and experience required of staff  
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module the learner will be able to:
# Learning Outcome Description
LO1 Explain the nature and operations of the investment funds market and the instruments traded in funds
LO2 Differentiate between different types of funds, the nature and structure of different fund categories, and their investors and investment strategies
LO3 Demonstrate an understanding of the role of the various parties to a Fund the Promoter, the Investor, the Fund Manager, the Trustee, the Administrator, the Transfer Agent and the Custodian.
LO4 Apply the procedures and mechanisms at work within fund accounting and valuation to calculate realized and unrealized profit & loss using different methodologies and Net Asset Value
LO5 Explain the role of regulation and control environment in the funds industry and evolution of same in a European and global context
LO6 Assess the international mutual funds arena and the factors that govern where a domicile is located
LO7 Describe the function of technology in improving the quality of processes and enhancing the regulatory framework applicable to the funds industry.
Dependencies
Module Recommendations

This is prior learning (or a practical skill) that is required before enrolment on this module. While the prior learning is expressed as named NCI module(s) it also allows for learning (in another module or modules) which is equivalent to the learning specified in the named module(s).
No recommendations listed
Co-requisite Modules
No Co-requisite modules listed
Entry requirements  
 

Module Content & Assessment

Indicative Content
Introduction to the Funds Industry
• Introduction to Funds, Advantages and Disadvantages of investing in Funds, Types of Funds • Mutual Funds and Alternative Investment Vehicles, • Main Domiciles: Cayman Islands, Luxembourg, the US, the UK & Ireland
Funds Industry in Ireland
• History and Growth of Funds Industry in Ireland against the global backdrop • Factors for choosing fund domicile • Setting up a Fund in Ireland Regulations, Tax Implications, ISE Listing Requirements for Custodian, Auditor and Administrator
Regulation of the Fund Industry
• Introduction to the Regulations and Rulebooks – UCITS, non-UCITS & AIFMD • Overview of regulatory reporting • Introduction to Fund Financial Statements • PRISM and the risk-based approach to regulation • Outsourcing – the conditions applied under Annex II (UCITS/non-UCITS notices)
Fund Types and Structures
• Definition of Fund types - Open-ended and Closed-ended funds, • Other Legal Structures - Unit Trust, Company & Partnership, • Specialist Fund structures - Umbrella Funds, Fund of Funds, Master Feeder Funds, • Alternative Investment (Hedge) Funds, Private Investment (Equity) Vehicles
Roles and Duties of Fund Counterparties throughout the Fund Life-cycle
• Role of the Regulator, the Central Bank of Ireland • Reporting Function of Promoter and Distributor • Function of Transfer Agent, Dealing: Subscription, redemption, transfer, switching Registration Procedures, Dividend Distributions, Types of Investors • Function of Investment manager – trading and asset allocation • Function of Custodian – settlement of trades – trade life-cycle – keeping title • Function of Administrator, Calculation of the Net Asset Value, Keeping books and records of the fund’s transactions, reconciliations with the Custodian, preparation of financial statements • Function of Trustee – fiduciary duty to investors – liaison with the Regulator • Role of Stock Exchange • Role of Corporate Secretary – board papers and minutes from meetings – approval of financial statements • Role of the Auditor
Transfer Agency and Registration
• Types of transactions and the documentation required for each transaction • AML and the documentation required for regulatory purposes • Record retention requirements • Data Protection Act and its application to shareholder files • Importance of client files and proper archiving • Calculation of sales charges and front-end loads • Settlement of deals – cash and in-specie transfers • Fund mergers • Registration of share-holding • Calculation of Distributions – types of units and shares and how the distribution is applied • Redemptions – notice periods and “gates” • Performance fees • Good Customer Service – professional writing (emails and letters) and telephone skills
Fund Management
• Key Trading Concepts - Arbitrage, Leverage, Buying, Short-selling, Liquidating positions, Primary and Secondary Trading Markets, Buy Side/Sell Side - Market players - Investors, Issuers, Investment Banks, Brokers & Dealers, Derivatives and Leveraged Trading, Portfolio Management Styles - Active, Management, Consensus, Asset Allocation - Top Down and Bottom Up - Compliance
Lifecycle of a Trade
• Front Office, Middle Office and Back Office, Order Management, Allocation and Compliance • Security identifiers – primary versus secondary listing • Role of Fund Administrator in executing middle office functions, in particular trade capture • Clearing and Settlement - Central Securities Depositories - local and international, • Settlement of Transactions, Importance of Pre-settlement Functions, • Custody and Record Keeping, • Interaction with Administrator - reporting & reconciliations of cash and asset positions
The NAV Lifecycle
• Review of trade inputs reconciliation processes and application of controls • Pricing – sources – levels of confidence – controls and validations applied • Preparation of a NAV - controls and processes and use of the Trial Balance • Calculation of Net Asset Value per Share (Assets less Liabilities and the Capital Statement methods)
Fund Accounting and Valuation
• Accounting for Share Capital transactions - subscriptions & redemptions • Accounting for Instruments - Equities, Bonds and Coupon, Accruals & Money Market Instruments • Valuing Assets denominated in foreign currencies, • Accounting of Income - Interest, Dividends, • Accounting for Fees and Expenses – fixed and NAV-based – Fund budgets – Performance fees • Calculation of Realised and Unrealised P&L, • Accounting for Corporate Actions
The Control Environment
• Segregation of duties – the 4-eyes principle (maker/checker) • Use of checklists and sign-off (manual and computerised) • The importance of documentation and the retention of records • Information classification and the Data Protection Act • AML documentation and controls • Organisation charts and the allocation of responsibility (definition of roles within hierarchy) • Identification of Risks and the mitigation of those risks through controls and awareness training.
Technology in the Funds Industry
• Interface with Investment Manager, • Portfolio systems - components & functions, • Price feeds from exchanges and other sources • The maintenance of the Securities Master Database • Fund Accounting systems - components & functions, • Share registration systems - components & functions, • Communications with other parties - investors, regulators • Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
Assessment Breakdown%
Coursework50.00%
End of Module Assessment50.00%

Assessments

Full Time

Coursework
Assessment Type: Assignment (0350) % of total: 50
Assessment Date: n/a Outcome addressed: 1,2,3,5
Non-Marked: No
Assessment Description:
This will take the form of applying learning to the IFS industry context in the production of a Fund Fact Sheet to include relevant information for the professional environment. Learners will also be tasked with applying an active fund management strategy by employing basic derivatives in order to represent an investment view on an underlying asset. This will include applying module learning to actual option live strike and premium data.
End of Module Assessment
Assessment Type: Terminal Exam % of total: 50
Assessment Date: End-of-Semester Outcome addressed: 4,6,7
Non-Marked: No
Assessment Description:
Open Book Time Constrained Exam’ The method of assessment for this module is a minimum two-hour exam. The end of term exam paper consists of five questions on the material covered in lectures, tutorials, group exercises and presentations carried out by learners during the course, answer 3.
No Workplace Assessment
Reassessment Requirement
Coursework Only
This module is reassessed solely on the basis of re-submitted coursework. There is no repeat written examination.

NCIRL reserves the right to alter the nature and timings of assessment

 

Module Workload

Module Target Workload Hours 0 Hours
Workload: Full Time
Workload Type Workload Description Hours Frequency Average Weekly Learner Workload
Lecture No Description 36 Per Semester 3.00
Tutorial No Description 20 Per Semester 1.67
Directed E-Learning No Description 20 Per Semester 1.67
Independent Learning No Description 144 Per Semester 12.00
Workbased learning No Description 30 Per Semester 2.50
Total Weekly Contact Hours 8.83
Workload: Part Time
Workload Type Workload Description Hours Frequency Average Weekly Learner Workload
Lecture Learners will have 39 hours a semester of college-based classroom contact (3 hours per week). Of these, 13 hours will be whole-class lectures and / or other tutor supervised learning activities. There are 14 week teaching timetabled within each semester, with a ‘reading week’ approximately half way through this period in which there will be no formal classes but in which learners will be engaged in tutor supervised independent learning, typically in preparation for assessments or other learning 26 Every Week 26.00
Tutorial No Description 13 Every Week 13.00
Independent Learning No Description 137 Every Week 137.00
Workbased learning No Description 60 Every Week 60.00
Directed Learning Directed elearning 14 Every Week 14.00
Total Weekly Contact Hours 113.00
 

Module Resources

Recommended Book Resources
  • Hull, John (2021) Risk management and financial institutions. 5th ed. Wiley..
  • Mishkin, Frederic and Eakins, Stanley G. (2023) Financial markets and institutions. 10th ed. Pearson..
  • Pilbeam, Keith (2018) Finance and Financial markets. 4th ed. Palgrave..
  • Hull, John (2021) Options futures and other derivatives. 11th global. Wiley.
  • Bodie, Z., Kane, A., and Marcus, A.J., (2024), Investments, 13th Ed., NY, McGraw-Hill Education.
Supplementary Book Resources
  • Ben-David, I., Franzoni, F. and Moussawi, R., (2017). Exchange-Traded Funds. Annual Review of Financial Economics, 9, pp.169-189..
  • Ibert, M., Kaniel, R., Van Nieuwerburgh, S. and Vestman, R., (2018) . Are Mutual Fund Managers paid for Investment Skill?. The Review of Financial Studies, 31(2), pp.715-772..
  • Ma, L., Tang, Y. and Gomez, J.P., (2019). Portfolio Manager Compensation in the US Mutual Fund Industry. The Journal of Finance, 74(2), pp.587-638.
  • Wójcik, D., Urban, M. and Dörry, S., (2022). Luxembourg and Ireland in Global Financial Networks: Analysing the changing structure of European Investment Funds. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 47(2), pp.514-528.
This module does not have any article/paper resources
Other Resources
Discussion Note: