Penny version 11.2 supports fund of funds and breaks new ground on master/feeder flexibility

TKS Solutions continues its tradition in adding new enhancements to its flagship product Penny-it Works that provide both more control in handling labyrinthine funds as well as improving upon the system’s ease of use.

Released on September 30, version 11.2 builds upon the strong master/feeder functionality already in Penny. The new version now allows even more flexibility, such as: choosing different allocation methods for each ledger account/subaccount; automatically creating contributions and withdrawals in the master, based upon capital flows in the feeder; and selecting from a list of pre-defined system checks to help synchronize the accounting between the master and feeder funds.

Founder Ron Kashden explains, “As the alternative investment community continues to get more sophisticated, we are seeing more and more funds with multiple legal entities with a complex web of relationships between them. It’s that complexity that has made it more challenging for accountants and administrators to manage. Our new tools greatly simplify the process.”

ith the new version of Penny, users will now be able to enter purchases, sales, and even basis adjustments for their fund of fund investments. Furthermore, with added per share support of those investments, the software now allows users to enter an NAV (aka: price) per share and the system will calculate and maintain the unrealized associated with that investment.

Handling confidential information has always been a challenging problem for fund managers. They are required by law to retrieve and maintain detailed information regarding their investors, yet it is that information that is considered by many regulations to be highly confidential. The new confidential information features helps firms walk this tightrope. With version 11.2, you can designate which users can view confidential information. The ones that are restricted will still see the fields, but the values will be obscured.

The new version of the software also includes a number of other enhancements, designed to increase ease of use. For example, users can now such as choose which features are their favorites,. Those items appear in a separate section as well as in a new menu; keyboard shortcuts for each favorite are also supported. To promote multi-tasking, release 11.2 offers users with multiple screens to view a report in one screen and have the main window in another. Another usability enhancement is click-through editing, which allows users to drill down to the fee set-up right from the investor role screen.

The investor transaction module has also been enhanced in the new release — investors can now have their contribution designated as an end of period transaction, rather than just at the beginning. On the transaction front, private equity call and distribution allocation and rounding features now support funds that break their capital into separate pools for each investment.

Last, but not lease, Penny – It Works version 11.2 offers more reporting options. For foreign currency (FX) translation, users can choose what exchange rate is used when translating p/l, fees, and other period amounts. There are also a host of new reports, including a comparative income statement by category and a new investor income by ledger line item.

Says founder Ron Kashden, “We are so proud of the many awards that Penny has received this year. However, we couldn’t just rest on our laurels. Feeling that we can do even more, we at TKS continue to invest in our products and are so proud of our latest release. With over 70 new features we are confident this version will allow our clients to further improve their workflow and better handle the curve balls that are common place in our industry.”

About TKS Solutions

TKS Solutions is the firm that brings you the acclaimed software, Penny It Works®. TKS is a registered Microsoft partner offering specialized partnership and shareholder accounting solutions for the financial industry. Penny It Works® is used to manage upwards of 9500 onshore and offshore funds with more than $490bn in AUM. The award-winning system provides automated and instant access to detailed investor data, performance, fees, and transactions. Penny’s open architecture facilitates easy integration with portfolio accounting systems, data warehouses and proprietary solutions. Penny is tailored to the specific needs of leading hedge funds, fund of funds, private equity firms, fund administrators and management companies with assets under management ranging from $100 million to $60 billion.