The accumulation of temporary workarounds in back and middle office operations can pose significant risks to firms. As new opportunities arise, scalability is often hindered. Fortunately, new vendor capabilities have made it easier to modernize these operations by integrating applications into IBOR or conducting a complete re-platforming exercise. Read this article to learn how to best utilize derivatives for modernizing operations.
by Jake Daly-Leonard, Consultant
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Have you selected a new investment operations system to replace your legacy technology and manual workarounds? Or have you decided to outsource investment operations to a service provider?
Both efforts are significant and likely the largest efforts your part of the organization has ever seen. Are you making the right decisions? Or do you need a golden opportunity to advance your business and improve the way you work? Here are three red flags you’re overlooking business transformation opportunities.
by Brian Lollar, Managing Director
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Historical inefficiencies in accounting software made accounting workarounds for complex products a matter of necessity. As vendor offerings have caught up to this complexity, is your firm prepared to migrate these assets between platforms?
by Jake Daly-Leonard, Consultant
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Front-to-back office solutions are on the rise. Are they right for your firm?
by John Leavy, Senior Manager
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As demand for crypto offerings intensifies, asset managers entering this market are facing new operational challenges that are unique to this emerging asset class. This article highlights regulatory, valuation, performance, and safekeeping aspects of traditional managers’ operations that require a special approach when it comes to digital currencies.
by Natasha Romanova, CIPM, Consultant
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The consolidation of middle- and back-office outsourcing is gaining popularity across the investment management industry. To date, there have been many debates around the pros and cons of this trend. Whether your firm has already made the decision to outsource or is actively evaluating options, there’s much to consider. How do you know you’ve made the right choice? Have you considered the most important factors? We believe wearing a “special” lens might reveal insights missing in existing discussions, paving the way for a novel method to assess comparable offerings and potentially result in superior outcomes.
by Jose R. Michaelraj, CIPM, CAIA Senior Consultant…
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The use of Robotics Process Automation (RPA) is on the rise across the financial services industry. Investment operations managers are touting the benefits of using this new technology to reduce headcount, reduce errors, and increase through-put – an operations manager’s dream! Meanwhile, other operations managers are finding themselves in a nightmare situation when they’ve implemented this technology resulting in failed projects and money wasted. To achieve the dream and evade the nightmare, managers need to follow a disciplined approach before deciding which direction to take. This paper provides insights into a proven RPA analysis process used to derive a realistic ROI and successful projects.
by Christine (Tina) M. Madel, CFA, Principal
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The operations arms of Insurance Investment Managers are experiencing increased activity. With challenges mounting from increased customer expectations, a challenging regulatory environment, and a divergence in the quality and quantity of data between front and back offices; Insurance Investment Managers are looking for new solutions. The software landscape is quickly evolving as the impetus for change has reached critical mass.
During the past two decades, we’ve observed many investment managers, including insurance companies, painfully and expensively deploy human capital rather than address technology gaps to solve their operational challenges. Failure to keep applications and related infrastructure current drives up costs. As firms seek change, experienced resources can dramatically improve outcomes.
by Laurie J. Hesketh, CIPM, PMP, Managing Director
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Investment accounting is an ever-changing process, especially for insurance companies and publicly traded insurers. Statutory accounting regulations (STAT) from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and accounting rules from the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) for generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) have been rapidly and broadly changing reporting requirements in response to riskier investment types, new investment categorizations, and changes in accounting rules. Flexibility within investment accounting systems is more critical than ever.
Rules are written or modified annually for investment accounting, which puts pressure on insurance companies to quickly implement new procedures and support systems to remain compliant. Enlisting Meradia’s expertise in evaluating your current state, defining your target state, vendor selection, conversion, and implementation can help you successfully navigate through this dynamic environment.
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