eFront offers LP software

Third party service provider news: Placement agents Park Madison and Monument make hires; GPs are being encouraged to use a new smartphone legal app; and more.

• Park Madison Partners has brought on a new principal, Amy Thiessen, formerly a managing director at Forbes Private Capital Group.

• MIK Fund Solutions, a software provider for alternative asset managers, expanded its geographic footprint into Asia, basing its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Shanghai, China.

• Vantage, a software provider for the private funds space, teamed up with IBM Watson to create Coalesce, a software tool that makes it easier for GPs to analyze and evaluate information. “Coalesce learns from interactions with investment managers, using knowledge of how they perform research to deliver them with a broader picture of the market landscape and financial implications when conducting their due diligence on investments,” a press release for the new product stated. 

• Software provider eFront launched a portfolio analysis product for limited partners. The eFront LP Investor Portal can provide quarterly data, delivered by general partners, through the use of standardized Excel templates via an internet-based portal.

• Fund administration firm Kleinwort Benson recruited Susan McCabe into its corporate secretarial team in Jersey. Formerly of rival administrator Alter Domus, McCabe is a Chartered Fellow of the Securities and Investment Institute.

• Tax and valuation specialists Andersen Tax added Bob McDonald to its Chicago office as a managing director in its alternative investment funds practice. Previously, McDonald worked at KPMG where he was a partner in the federal income tax group. 

• IT provider Options appointed former KPMG director, Brian McKimm, as the firm’s new chief financial officer.

• IAG UK Fund Administration recruited Alan Ross as commercial director in London to oversee the firm’s UK private equity and real estate practice. Ross was previously a senior sales manager for BNP Paribas’ securities services.

• Fund administration firm JTC appointed Martin Fotheringham as its new group chief financial officer. The former CFO of Moody International will be based in JTC’s Jersey offices.

• Private equity firms are being invited to join a new law focused social media platform launched by lawyer Bill Braithwaite. Mootis is aimed at business leaders, senior executives and professionals who deal with legal issues on a regular basis.

• Monument Group, an alternative investment fund placement agent, hired Karl Adam as a director in the London office. Prior to joining Monument Group, Karl was a vice president at Citi Private Bank.

• Scott Sanborn, the chief operating officer of the crowdfunding firm Lending Club, has joined the board of CircleUp, an online marketplace for private equity investments.