Replication Administrator at Prescient

Purpose of role:

• The Replication Administrator is responsible for the independent, end-to-end administration of replicated fund mandates — ingesting and processing 3rd party trade and cash data, striking an independently derived NAV, performing full fund accounting, and producing client-specific reporting. The role exists to give clients an independent check on their primary administrator, not simply to mirror data received from a 3rd party, and is central to meeting daily, weekly and monthly client SLAs across an allocated book of funds

Duties and responsibilities:
Daily Processing

• Receive and validate 3rd party trade and cash files (ASISA and non-ASISA formats) for all allocated funds.
• Capture and process trades and cash transactions accurately and within daily cut-off times.
• Investigate and resolve breaks, pricing exceptions, and reconciliation discrepancies between the replicated book and 3rd party data.
• Escalate unresolved data or file-format issues to the relevant fund accountant, 3rd party administrator, or ICT support.

Weekly / Monthly Processing

• Perform independent NAV striking for allocated funds, applying the correct valuation policy, pricing sources, and corporate actions.
• Calculate and process management, performance, trustee and other fees and expense accruals accurately.
• Prepare and self-review the full trial balance and supporting valuation working papers ahead of client and investor deadlines.
• Investigate and correct any variances between the replicated NAV and the primary administrator's NAV, documenting explanations for material differences.

Client Reporting

• Produce client-specific reporting packs, including exact replicas of segregated mandate monthly PDF valuation packs, to the agreed format and deadline.
• Conduct a thorough self-review of all fee calculations and reports prior to client submission — no report should be sent without independent review.
• Respond to client and 3rd party queries on valuations, fees and reporting in a professional and timely manner.

Fund Onboarding & Change

• Support the onboarding of new local and offshore funds onto the replication administration platform, including non-ASISA source formats.
• Contribute to testing and sign-off of process or system changes (e.g. automation of file ingestion) affecting the replication administration function.
• Maintain up-to-date process documentation for all funds administered.

Risk, Control & Governance

• Adhere to all SLA, compliance, and internal control requirements applicable to the replication administration function.
• Maintain a complete and accurate audit trail for all trades, cash, fee calculations, and NAV adjustments.
• Proactively flag operational risks, control gaps, or recurring errors to the Team Leader / Ops Manager

Required experience:

• Relevant tertiary qualification (e.g. B.Com, Finance, Accounting, or equivalent) preferred.
• 2 years' experience in fund/hedge fund administration, fund accounting, or investment operations.
• Working knowledge of ASISA reporting standards and unit trust / hedge fund valuation principles advantageous.
• Experience with fund accounting or portfolio management systems advantageous.

Key competencies:

• Strong attention to detail and a self-review, quality-first mindset.
• Sound understanding of fund accounting, NAV calculation, and fee/expense processing.
• Ability to manage multiple funds, deadlines, and stakeholders concurrently.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, particularly in reconciling and explaining valuation variances.
• Clear written and verbal communication for client-facing reporting and query resolution.
• Comfortable working with data across varied file formats and adapting to process/system change.

Key Performance Areas: 

Performance in this role is assessed against the Replication Administration role scorecard, including but not limited to:

• Providing end-to-end services in the daily, weekly and monthly processes involved in servicing allocated funds and their investment managers.
• Accuracy and timeliness of NAV striking, fee calculations, and client reporting.
• Consistently meeting client SLAs, with evidenced self-review prior to client submission.
• Successful onboarding of new funds within agreed timelines.