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Catalina Partners Launches As Independent Risk Advisory Firm

Addresses hedge fund due diligence, screening for fraud and broad array of risk management needs.

With growing concerns over hedge fund due diligence and fraudulent investment schemes, two investment industry veterans have formed Catalina Partners to focus on a broad array of business risk management needs of both institutional investors and investment advisors, according to today’s release.

The firm’s cofounders Patricia Watters and Mason Snyder bring substantial experience from the investment industry. For the past seven years, Watters worked for Pacific Alternative Asset Management Company (PAAMCO), a fund of hedge funds, where she was a partner as well as COO and chief compliance officer. Snyder who is a former director in the Regulatory & Capital Markets Consulting Practice at Deloitte & Touche LLP, where he worked for nine years assisting investors and advisors with their operations and business risk needs.

The launch occurs at a time of growing concerns about the adequacy of fund manager due diligence, fraudulent investment schemes and SEC demands for risk management programs and public outcry for increased regulation of the investment industry, stated the release.

The firm will offer investors an alternative to in-house business risk management do so with the added benefit of independence and focus on best practices, stated the release.

The firm’s value proposition is delivery of first-class professional services in a cost-effective way that leverages the founders’ three decades of industry experience, according to Watters in the release.

For institutional investors such as pension plans, endowments, foundations, family offices and separate account managers, Catalina offers the full range of operational due diligence services, including screening for fraud and risk concentration. For investment advisors, the firm offers a suite of business risk management services that includes operational risk assessments; process, controls and governance reengineering; and operational risk monitoring. Support for investment advisors includes start-up work like infrastructure and back-office set up, data management and security, and selection of third-party service providers.

Both founders reported they are receiving interest for their services, particularly from hedge fund managers who want to retain clients and attract new prospects in this demanding environment, according to the release. “Being able to tell clients that you have an independent view on various aspects of your business operations has become an important message for fund managers to be able to tell their investors,” commented Snyder in the release. “And in this environment, they need to take every opportunity to prove their commitment to risk mitigation,” stated Snyder.

Ivy is Editor-at-Large for Advanced Trading and Wall Street & Technology. Ivy is responsible for writing in-depth feature articles, daily blogs and news articles with a focus on automated trading in the capital markets. As an industry expert, Ivy has reported on a myriad ... View Full Bio

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