The UK asset-management industry is at a structural turning point. Increased outsourcing, rising regulatory expectations, and heightened scrutiny over operational resilience are forcing managers to reassess how they evidence daily control over fund-administration processes.

Regulators have been explicit: accountability cannot be outsourced. Even where administration is delegated, firms must demonstrate strong, continuous, and data-driven oversight. That means being able to show — not simply assert — that controls are working, data is accurate, and investor outcomes are protected.

Yet many managers still rely on fragmented spreadsheets, manual reconciliations, and end-of-month checks. These approaches no longer satisfy internal governance needs nor external supervisory expectations. They create operational blind spots, undermine responsible data management, and increase the risk of regulatory challenge during audits, Section 166 reviews, or thematic assessments.

The Rise of Daily Independent Oversight

A new model is emerging across the UK: daily, real-time validation of outsourced activity through Shadow NAV and independent oversight platforms. These systems operate in parallel with administrators, providing managers with:

• A daily NAV calculated independently from the administrator

• Real-time exception detection and alerting

• Single-source transparency across trades, cash, pricing, and reconciliations

• Independent assurance for Boards, Depositaries, auditors, and regulators

• Clear, evidence-ready oversight — demonstrating responsible data management and control

This isn’t duplication; it’s protection — of investors, governance, and the firm’s regulatory position.

Why Shadow NAV Is Becoming Standard

UK firms are facing escalating pressures:

1. Regulatory scrutiny: FCA expectations around operational resilience, outsourced oversight, and data integrity continue to rise.
2. Complex outsourcing models: Multiple providers across front, middle, and back-office functions create fragmented accountability.
3. Data complexity: Managers must be able to reconcile, validate, and evidence accuracy across multiple systems and sources.
4. Immediacy: Monthly or weekly checks cannot catch daily discrepancies, pricing anomalies, or control failures quickly enough.

Shadow NAV gives firms the defensible, audit-ready assurance they simply cannot achieve through manual or periodic oversight.

The Fundamental Software Approach

Fundamental Software delivers a complete daily oversight environment through its Shadow NAV & Oversight solution:

• Independent daily NAV calculations

• Automated exception workflow, escalation, and resolution tracking

• Transparent audit trails and accountable oversight workflows

• Integrated modelling, order management, and compliance tools

• A unified dataset to support responsible data stewardship

• Evidence-ready reporting for Boards, Depositaries, auditors, and regulators

Managers retain full accountability — while ensuring their oversight is efficient, structured, and defensible.

If strengthening control, governance, or operational resilience is on your 2026 agenda, a short 20-minute conversation could be genuinely valuable.

To give you a clearer picture of what’s possible, we’ve put together a concise interactive brochure that walks through the workflow and key advantages of our Shadow NAV solution.

https://www.fundamental.net/products/uk-shadow-nav

If you’d like to understand how this could be applied within your environment or current oversight model, we’d be happy to arrange a tailored demo: https://www.fundamental.net/request-a-demo/