Funds that want to obtain the certificate must meet excellence standards in five areas: manager's organization, structure of the fund, back office, portfolio valuation procedures and independent oversight. Re-certification will be performed annually on top of monitoring crucial areas like service providers and personnel.
"Industry growth and increasing involvement by institutional investors has created an unprecedented focus on operational risk," said Reiko Nahum, co-founder and chief executive of Amber.
Amber has developed a vast network of participants whose combined investments exceed $50 billion. Amber's customers include funds-of-funds, private banks and family offices.
Robert Slutz, chairman of the Vega Funds, said, "We have seen the emphasis on operational risk increase dramatically and expect investors to become more demanding, searching out funds which have high-quality controls in areas such as valuation and independent oversight."
