Alternative Market Briefing

Other Voices: After Hurricane Sandy: Expect investors to probe investment managers’ disaster recovery plans in future

Friday, November 30, 2012

amb
Phil Niles This article was authored by Phil Niles, Canada-based Director at Butterfield Fulcrum, an independent fund administration company.

Hurricane Sandy wreaked incredible havoc on the East Coast of the United States, costing many lives and causing billions of dollars worth of damage. It was truly a tragedy of immense proportions; even as these words are being written, there are citizens who remain without power or life’s basic necessities, some two weeks after the storm struck. Such an enormous calamity succinctly illustrates how vulnerable we are to the fury of nature.

As people and communities begin putting the pieces back together, investment managers are evaluating how their businesses fared throughout and following the storm. In many cases, new lessons have been learned over the past few weeks and, by extension, firms are making changes to their business continuity and disaster recovery planning.

First and foremost, a number of investment managers either did not have true disaster recovery plans or the plans were notably insufficient. Given that we are just eleven short years removed from 9/11, it is nearly inexcusable for any business based in New York City to lack a robust business continuity plan, including asset management firms. Investment managers without appropriate plans were left facing some difficult decisions, most of which had to be made with incomplete information without much time for deep co......................

To view our full article Click here

Article link