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Reframe Performance as a Growth Engine, Not a Cost Center There is a flaw in the assumption that the investment performance department is a cost center. Revising this assumption clarifies why firms are funding performance transformation projects. Reframed as a core product interface and growth enabler, performance improves client experience, creates a strategic feedback loop,
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Transformation Tapes, Episode 3: Derivatives
Manual steps, errors, and costly trade failures often plague derivatives operations. AI can help firms transition from firefights to foresights by reducing downtime, accelerating reconciliations, and freeing teams to focus on meaningful work. David Raza discusses this topic in his recent article, From Friction to Flow: Rethinking Derivatives Operations with AI. Listen to the highlights
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Same Fund, Different Returns: Explaining the IRR Gap
“Why did my investment underperform the fund?” It’s an uncomfortable question, and one that private fund managers are hearing more often. As investor-level performance reporting becomes more common alongside traditional fund-level Internal Rate of Return (IRRs), a growing truth has come into focus: the same fund can deliver materially different outcomes to different investors. Increasing
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Sticky by Nature: Why Canadian Asset Owners Struggle to Achieve Total Portfolio View
For Canadian pension plans and institutional investors, Total Portfolio View (TPV) refers to a synchronized, near real-time understanding of public and private holdings and exposures across the enterprise. It’s the cornerstone of investment clarity, empowering decisions, strengthening oversight, and unifying front-to-back investment processes. Yet for Canadian asset owners, achieving TPV isn’t just complex; it’s sticky.
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The Corporate Actions Conundrum: Why Modernization Is No Longer Optional
At first glance, an asset manager’s Multi Asset Classes (MAC) platform and an asset owner’s Total Portfolio View (TPV) framework appear similar. Both manage diverse asset classes, complex return methodologies, and multiple benchmarks. Yet beneath the surface, their objectives, data requirements, and architectural foundations diverge sharply. Data Models: Flexibility Beyond Product-Level Structures MAC platforms perform well in
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Escaping Excel Anarchy: The Hidden Problems of Excel
Excel remains a cornerstone tool in financial services due to its accessibility, flexibility, and powerful data manipulation capabilities. Its intuitive interface and widespread adoption empower business users to perform complex calculations, build financial models, and easily generate reports. This accessibility fosters innovation, enabling teams to respond quickly to evolving business needs without waiting for IT
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Architect for the End-State: Enable the Total Portfolio View by Design
If you could build your investment organization from the ground up, would you recreate the inefficiencies that plague mature firms today? Too often, firms grow organically, layering systems, processes, and teams in response to immediate needs. This approach may solve short-term challenges but creates long-term operational debt: fragmented infrastructure, inconsistent data, lagging insights, and rising
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From Friction to Flow: Rethinking Derivatives Operations with AI
In a world where front offices are adopting AI for portfolio construction and risk modeling, the middle office is quietly falling behind. Operational failures cost the industry Billions annually. According to DTCC, a global trade fail rate of just 2% leads to approximately $3 billion in costs each year, much of it stemming from outdated,
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Navigating the Future: Modernizing and Transforming Investment Technology and Operations
The Continuous Need for Modernization The investment industry is evolving rapidly, driven by technological advancements, regulatory changes, and increasing investor expectations. To remain competitive, firms must continuously modernize their people, processes, and systems. Stagnation no longer creates inefficiencies, it creates risk. Modernization is not merely about adopting new technology; it requires a fundamental shift in
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ISITC Securities Operations Summit 2025 – Event Recap by Meradia: Shifting Cycles, Smarter Tech, and the Future of Ops
The 31st Annual ISITC Securities Operations Summit, held earlier this week, brought together professionals from across the financial services industry to engage with thought leaders shaping the future of operations. Centered around the theme Resilience Through Innovation: Preparing for the Next Decade in Financial Services, the event explored topics including accelerated settlement, AI, U.S. Treasury clearing,
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