The headlines will quickly tell of the confusion and mess among intermediaries and investors. How quickly would you be able to react? How long would it take to resolve – and at what reputational and monetary cost?
While such incidents are relatively rare, it is far from being just a ‘what-if?’ scenario. Among many smaller incidents, one stands out. In August 2015, a leading service provider’s fund accounting system failed, rendering it unable to calculate accurate and timely NAVs. This failure left numerous mutual fund companies unable to value their client accounts nor transact with accurate NAVs for hundreds of mutual and exchange traded funds for several days. The reputational, financial and regulatory repercussions for that event are still being measured and discussed by the industry today.
This incident was a salient lesson that such black swan events can and do happen. They cannot be predicted or planned for. There will never be a good time for it to happen. Many may very well have had ‘lucky escapes’ without really knowing it, or even errors that have gone undetected.
This paper explores how you can safeguard against it happening on your watch.