Finding new business for a firm is never easy. But one advantage Timothy Donmoyer has in his new position as vice president of new business development for PFPC of Wilmington, Del. is that his firm offers a wide variety of services, indeed, a "whole satchel of services," Donmoyer says.
He points out that in the 1998 DALBAR Service Guides, PFPC is ranked in the top ten in four categories: fund accounting, transfer agency, custody and Dublin fund administration.
In his new position, Donmoyer will be targeting intermediaries such as brokerage houses, accounting firms and law firms as well as mutual funds. His sales territory will be the states of Delaware, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.
"I think the primary challenge in my new position will be to hit the southeast part of the U.S.," Donmoyer said. "PFPC has existing clients in that region, but we have not been actively calling on that area for awhile."
His strategy in attracting new business will be stressing the specialized services that PFPC offers, in addition to "customized and personalized" connection with clients, he said.
PFPC, which employs 1,500 people, has certain services it excels in, such as data warehousing- the creation of a central data repository, which clients can gain access to through their computers, Donmoyer said. It also offers offshore funds services- such as fund accounting, management and transfer agency services- through its office in Dublin, Ireland.
PFPC also specializes in accounting and record-keeping services to hedge funds and closed-end funds that have a partnership management structure.
PFPC has a special opportunity in the hedge fund arena because it has capabilities other firms do not have, Donmoyer said.
"For about five years, there hasn't been enough attention to the accounting side of the hedge fund business," he said. "I think there is a shortage of qualified and experienced fund accounting service providers for these funds. We are more specialized in this area than our competitors are. We have the ability to adapt and change and customize to meet the needs of our clients."
"We're not a discount provider of these services- we're a quality provider," he said.
Donmoyer said he can easily spend as much as 60 percent of the week traveling.
