Product Support Specialist - Alternative Investment Fund Accounting

Product Support Specialist - Alternative Investment Fund Accounting

Experience: 5 - 8 Years

Domain: Hedge Funds & Private Equity

About the Role:

We are seeking a Product Support Specialist with a strong fund accounting background to support the financial data, accounting workflows, and reporting requirements of alternative investment funds.

The role focuses on maintaining reliable fund records, validating portfolio valuations, processing investment transactions, and investigating discrepancies between internal accounting outputs and external administrator statements.

The successful candidate will work closely with clients to resolve accounting queries, explain NAV movements, and support periodic financial reporting.

This position requires a combination of investment accounting knowledge, reconciliation expertise, financial statement preparation, and familiarity with the operational requirements of hedge funds and private equity structures.

Key Responsibilities:

Fund Records & Financial Data Management:

- Maintain complete accounting records for assigned hedge fund and private equity portfolios, ensuring transactions and financial balances are accurately reflected in the accounting system.

- Process investment-related transactions, cash movements, portfolio activity, capital adjustments, and fund expenses in accordance with established accounting procedures.

- Validate transaction classifications and accounting entries to ensure consistency between underlying investment activity and recorded fund balances.

- Review portfolio pricing information, investigate unusual valuation movements, and resolve pricing exceptions with the relevant data providers or internal teams.

- Examine the completeness of portfolio holdings, cash balances, and investment records before preparing periodic financial outputs.

- Maintain supporting schedules and transaction documentation to facilitate financial review and client reporting.

Investment Operations & Reconciliation:

- Process trade bookings and perform cash and investment position reconciliations to establish agreement between accounting records and external statements.

- Compare internal fund records with administrator-provided information, identify unexplained variances, and coordinate investigations through resolution.

- Investigate discrepancies arising from trade dates, settlement movements, pricing differences, income recognition, expense accruals, and corporate actions.

- Review capital activity entries, trading and non-trading accruals, and fee postings within the client accounting ledger.

- Monitor unresolved reconciliation items and maintain clear records of outstanding differences, investigation status, and corrective entries.

- Coordinate with operations teams, custodians, and fund administrators to obtain supporting evidence and resolve data inconsistencies.

Financial Reporting & NAV Support:

- Prepare and validate financial statements for alternative investment funds in accordance with applicable US GAAP, IFRS, and relevant regulatory reporting requirements.

- Support monthly and quarterly reporting cycles by compiling financial schedules, reviewing accounting balances, and investigating material period-on-period movements.

- Compare internally calculated estimates and NAV figures with fund administrator outputs, highlighting differences requiring client review or further investigation.

- Assist in reviewing income, expenses, investment valuations, and other components contributing to fund-level financial results.

- Prepare supporting reconciliations and reporting schedules for client review, ensuring figures are traceable to underlying accounting records.

- Maintain reporting documentation and respond to requests for additional financial details during periodic close activities.

Client Communication & Product Support:

- Serve as a point of contact for day-to-day accounting and reporting queries from assigned clients.

- Communicate estimated NAV figures, reporting updates, outstanding reconciliation items, and query resolutions within agreed timelines.

- Investigate client-reported discrepancies by tracing figures to source transactions, pricing inputs, and relevant accounting entries.

- Explain differences between internal calculations and administrator-reported balances using clear supporting analysis.

- Coordinate with internal product, technology, and operations teams when accounting issues arise from system behaviour, data feeds, or processing workflows.

- Document recurring issues and provide structured feedback to support improvements in accounting functionality and reporting accuracy.

Controls & Reporting Quality:

- Perform checks on accounting outputs to identify incomplete records, inconsistent balances, incorrect pricing inputs, or unusual transaction entries.

- Maintain accurate records of reconciliations, adjustments, review findings, and client query resolutions.

- Adhere to internal accounting procedures, confidentiality requirements, and applicable compliance standards.

- Identify recurring operational errors and recommend changes to validation checks or processing procedures.

- Support periodic control reviews by providing reconciliations, accounting evidence, and relevant reporting documentation.

Required Qualifications:

- 5 - 8 years of experience in fund accounting, investment operations, financial reporting, or accounting support for alternative investment funds.

- Practical knowledge of hedge fund and private equity accounting processes.

- Experience maintaining investment accounting records and processing trades, cash movements, fees, and accruals.

- Strong understanding of cash reconciliation, position reconciliation, pricing validation, and administrator statement comparison.

- Experience preparing or supporting financial statements under US GAAP and IFRS.

- Familiarity with NAV estimation, portfolio valuation checks, and monthly or quarterly fund reporting cycles.

- Ability to investigate accounting variances and trace discrepancies to their underlying transactions or data sources.

- Strong Microsoft Excel skills and the ability to analyse financial data with accuracy.

- Excellent written and verbal communication skills for managing client queries and explaining accounting differences.

- Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and the ability to manage recurring reporting deadlines.

Preferred Skills:

- Exposure to fund accounting platforms and investment data management systems.

- Familiarity with external fund administrator reporting, custodian statements, and portfolio pricing feeds.

- Understanding of regulatory and compliance considerations relevant to alternative investment funds.

- Experience coordinating accounting issue resolution with product support, technology, and operations teams