Fund administration is the name given to the execution of back office activities including fund accounting, financial reporting, net asset value calculation, capital calls, distributions, investor communications and other functions carried out in support of an investment fund, which may take the form of a traditional mutual fund, a hedge fund, a private equity fund, a venture capital fund, a pension fund, a unit trust, or other pooled investment vehicle.
Managers of funds often choose to outsource some or all of these activities to external specialist companies, such as the fund's custodian bank or transfer agent. These companies are known as fund administrators.