These are challenging times for fund administrators with profit margins coming under pressure as the asset base of investment manager clients shrinks. Our roundtable panellists discuss the steps they are taking to protect their bottom line and take advantage of new business opportunities.

Few financial sectors have been galvanised into action as rapidly as the OTC global credit default swap market. This time last year, few financial regulators – let alone global policy-makers – had heard of or encountered a credit default swap. But with the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008 and the near fatal demise of American International Group some days later, the market was propelled into the global regulatory and political limelight. In recent weeks, the industry made some tangible progress, but as FT Mandate's Business Excellence Series debate highlighted, each development poses new questions.

The roundtable is the second in FT Mandate's Business Excellence Series

Pierre Servant, chief executive officer of Natixis Global Asset Management, the giant French funds player, talks to Yuri Bender about hedge funds, structured products, rebalancing product ranges and growth prospects for retail and institutional business.

Transition managers are having to deal with market volatility and rising costs as well as greater scrutiny of their operations. Our panellists explain how they are responding to these challenges.