ix Partners offers investment managers a complete outsourcing solution for all investment operations functions from trade settlement through performance measurement and full client reporting. Our operations professionals work with clients to develop customized service solutions that allow each client the ability to exploit its own core competencies, while leveraging ix Partner' strengths to service investment and trade support functions.

In outsourcing middle and back office functions to ix Partners, clients engage a firm specialized in and dedicated to managing the day-to-day operations of the asset manager. Our service deliveries are customized to suit the specific business needs of our clients, including the transfer of full responsibility of a client's back office to our team of operations professionals, all at defined service levels. Our solutions usually involve hiring existing client staff members, including managers, to insure continuity of service and effective knowledge transfer. Our clients retain physical assets, software and data licenses, systems hardware, and other vendor contracts, while we assume responsibility for staffing, vendor management, and service delivery.

Key strategic, operational, and financial benefits accrue to clients who outsource middle and back office functions to ix Partners:

• The relationship between the investment professional and the middle and back office is governed by a service level agreement that clearly establishes the specific deliverables to be provided by both the systems and investment operations teams in support of investment functions. This permits asset managers to concentrate on building and managing assets, communicating with clients, and developing new product offerings to distance them from competitors.




• Clients are no longer directly responsible for staffing middle and back office functions. From a human resources perspective, clients replace staff with a service provider fully accountable for effective delivery. This arrangement is governed by contract and rooted in a partnership with a team of experienced investment operations professional committed to the client's success. It is the first step in helping our clients control both the costs and risks of performing middle and back office functions.




• All service areas are monitored on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis to insure client satisfaction at the manager-level. Our approach is to build a relationship of professional trust between investment managers and the middle and back office. Accordingly, clients will experience an increase in satisfaction among ultimate "end-users" of systems and investment operations services.




• Because we are able to assume responsibility for all technology functions [see Technology Outsourcing] related to middle and back office, we help clients identify, then leverage technology assets that best meet their specific business requirements, while offering flexibility and full extensibility. Here our expertise ranges across the full spectrum of technology solutions for asset managers -data warehousing, investment management and accounting, trade order management, reconciliation, networking, desktop tools, market data and other third party financial information- all supported by a professionally staffed and managed help desk and support team.




• The members of the ix Partners management team have had line responsibility for the middle and back office functions at various firms over the past 25 years. As a result, our approach is based on best practices developed over many years and implemented effectively in production. They are based on constant communication with the client at all levels and include a full suite of client reports to give each client the confidence -daily, weekly, monthly- to know that their investment operations functions are being managed in a professional manner, consistent with industry best practices.