Alternative investments
Technology leadership for alternative investment firms.
The technology function behind an investment firm has to satisfy investors, regulators, employees and counterparties at the same time. VanDien.io provides principal-led technology leadership for firms that need institutional judgment without building a large executive team around it.
The operating environment
One technology function, several standards to meet.
A good operating model connects the controls, vendors and systems that are too often managed as separate projects.
Investment operations
OMS and PMS workflows, market data, research systems, reconciliation and the handoffs where an operational issue becomes a technology issue.
Cybersecurity and evidence
Identity, endpoints, data handling, third-party risk and incident readiness, with evidence organized for investors, insurers and examiners.
Infrastructure and cloud
Microsoft 365, Azure, networks, endpoints, backups and recovery designed as one resilient environment rather than as a collection of subscriptions.
Vendors and market data
Selection, contract review, service ownership and renewal planning across providers whose boundaries rarely line up with the firm’s own responsibilities.
AI governance and adoption
Clear rules for confidential information, approved tools, review of generated output and practical use cases that return more than they cost to govern.
Continuity and special situations
BCP and disaster recovery, leadership transitions, incidents, acquisitions, launches and the moments when an ordinary support model is not enough.
A technology operating model
Direction, ownership and evidence.
The work is not a list of products. It is a repeatable way to make decisions, assign owners, test controls and report the result to management.
Establish the current state
Map the systems, providers, contracts, risks and dependencies that actually run the firm, including the undocumented decisions that became permanent.
Set the roadmap and budget
Turn business priorities and control gaps into a sequenced plan with owners, dependencies, timing and cost attached.
Run the cadence
Review risk, delivery, vendors, incidents and spend on a regular schedule, then report the decisions and exceptions in language management can use.
Where clients use us
From steady-state leadership to a special situation.
VanDien maintains a limited number of active advisory relationships so every engagement retains direct principal involvement.
See engagement modelsFractional CTO
Ongoing ownership of strategy, budget, vendors, risk, delivery and executive communication.
Emerging manager launch
A defensible technology foundation ready for employees, investors, counterparties and growth.
Independent review
An executive-level assessment for owners, investors, boards or a management team that needs a second opinion.
Due diligence and transition
Technology risk, leadership change, acquisition planning, remediation or a provider transition with a fixed deadline.
Who you are working with
Built inside alternative investments, not adapted to it later.
Christopher Moskowitz served as CTO at two New York alternative investment firms before leading global engineering at Jefferies. The work included order management, fund accounting, analytics, market data, investor due diligence, cybersecurity governance, international offices and continuity architecture that was tested under extraordinary pressure.
Common questions
Which investment firms do you work with?
The model fits hedge funds, investment managers, family offices, private investment firms, private equity firms, emerging managers and financial-services organizations with a complex technology environment but no need for a full executive bench.
Can you work alongside our MSP and internal team?
Yes. The job is to give the technology function an accountable owner, not to replace capable people. We set direction, test the evidence, make the decisions that cross vendors, and give the existing team a clear operating cadence.
Do you provide legal and compliance guidance?
Yes, on the technology side of those obligations, which is where most of them are actually met or missed. Books and records requirements, cybersecurity controls, business continuity and disaster recovery, and the evidence that proves each of them works are areas of long practice, built through direct work with U.S. federal authorities and a great deal of work alongside outside counsel. We work closely with your counsel and compliance team, and are equally comfortable in the room with either.
Can you help with a fund launch?
Yes. A launch engagement can cover the operating model, Microsoft 365 and identity, endpoints, market data, OMS and PMS integration, cybersecurity controls, vendors, continuity planning and the evidence investors will ask to see.
Do you only take ongoing engagements?
No. Some clients need a fractional CTO relationship; others need an independent assessment, a launch plan, due diligence or help with one consequential decision. The commercial basis follows the need: a retainer for ongoing leadership, a project fee for defined work, or time and materials for a one-time engagement.
Institutional technology experience, applied at the size your firm needs.
info@vandien.io · (551) 236-3191 · Ridgewood, NJ, serving clients worldwide