Over 10 years ago, HedgeGuard was created to simplify and streamline the fund management market. Since, the company has reached global heights, and its Portfolio Management System (PMS), is being used by institutional investors and fund managers.
Imad Wardé, the Founder of HedgeGuard, utilized his experience in hedge fund management, risk management and coding to develop a comprehensive front-to-back software to help fund managers manage their portfolio seamlessly and remain in compliance with all legal and in-house compliance regulations. The success of the platform emerged as a result of working closely with clients, to create a user-friendly software, adapted to the needs of fund managers. In 2006, the first version of HedgeGuard was launched.
The BDD team sat with the minds behind HedgeGuard (HG), to discuss how they overcome core challenges, the importance of being highly adaptable, and how a global organization expanded into Lebanon.
BDD: The industry that you operate in is very challenging. What are the main challenges that face?
HG: When we first kicked off, HedgeGuard’s PMS solution was very popular amongst new clients. As a result demand grew quickly and it was an initial challenge to manage the rapidly growing inflow of new clients and projects.
We have recently introduced a new crypto version of our PMS that caters to digital asset fund managers. The rate of change in the digital asset space is high and it is key to be able to adapt quickly to new developments. After a year of development, the crypto offer became operational and the company signed its first crypto clients in 2019.
BDD: Which markets did you venture into first?
HG: HedgeGuard is a global company that first operated in France and in UK. Then it expanded its team to Lebanon, with the R&D and the middle office service teams. In 2019, HedgeGuard signed its first client in the US. By 2020, HedgeGuard will have representatives in France, UK, Lebanon, Asia and the US.
BDD: Why is your model scalable?
HG: Automation plays a key role within our implementation processes in order to be able to implement our Portfolio Management System faster and be scalable.
BDD: What sets you apart from other companies operating in the same sphere?
HG: What makes the HedgeGuard offering unique, is a perfect combination of a robust Portfolio Management System and a middle office outsourcing service provided by a team of seasoned professionals. Our middle-officers are the first users of our software and help us to improve it regularly.
BDD: What are the most effective tools you use to acquire new clients and spread your reach?
HG: We work on digital marketing but also participate in industry events. But what is really important is the feedback of our customers who recommend us regularly.
