On a recent panel at the InvestOps 2023 Conference, Martin Ouellette shared key insights about how firms can effectively transform their front-to-back operations. In this paper, he recaps his top three tips and offers practical strategies for alleviating operational challenges in pursuit of growth and scale.
by Martin Ouellette, Director
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The mix of skills required to oversee investment performance includes regulatory compliance, complex mathematical models coupled with data management, and a variety of technologies. Fractional Performance Oversight is the concept of key elements of oversight and leadership being supported by partial allocated resources or fractional outsourcing. In what situations does Fractional Performance Oversight make sense? Jonathan Boersma and Alicia Spencer consider some scenarios which may warrant a different paradigm.
by Jonathan A. Boersma, CFA, Practice Lead, GIPS and Performance Regulation
Alicia Spencer, CIPM, Senior Manager
Are you looking to stand up or revise a data catalog? Is understanding your data one of your company’s goals or principals? Understanding the full scope of your data involves a top-down understanding and a bottom-up inventory. This provides valuable insights into your current state to enable multiple efforts to be launched at your firm, but who has the time? The new methodology developed using AI technology and industry expertise reduced the time and client resources required to inventory data and stand up a catalog to a fraction of the normal amount. In this paper, we share the methodology and tools to help you achieve your firm’s goals both effectively and efficiently.
by Andrew Jacob, CFA, Senior Consultant
Kevin Coffin, CIPM, Zengines, Head of Customer Success
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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While it’s impossible to know exactly what to expect for the future of the data management and governance industry, research and experience combine to yield what we believe will be the top trends over the coming years. These trends will shape the technology, operations, and performance of nearly every firm in the investment industry in some way.
by Andrew Jacob, CFA, Senior Consultant
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Like many industries, wealth management is undergoing a change. Demographic and generational shifts in wealth will continue to reshape services and enhance the digital experience . In a survey of 120 wealth managers, 87% reported that they have made significant investments in technology over the past several years. Tech transformations within large wealth management firms are often achieved through integrations of vendor platforms with proprietary applications, as stakeholder needs are particularly diverse. A single platform solution may solve for a set number of stakeholders, but firms with various client types require multiple solutions that integrate seamlessly. Deciding on the best technology partners requires a proven, structured approach to technology evaluation.
by Tina Madel, CFA, Senior Manager
Jose Michaelraj, CIPM, CAIA, Manager
Josh Gerwick, CFA, CIPM, Consultant
Compliance with the GIPS standards is widely adopted within the institutional asset management industry as it is considered the industry’s best practice for calculating and reporting investment performance. Asset owners’ need for reliable and transparent investment performance when evaluating and hiring outsourced investment managers is a major reason for the rise in the Standards’ popularity. In recent years, the industry has seen a trend in asset owners’ turning their attention to their own investment performance reporting and adopting the GIPS standards. This movement has now gained momentum with CFA Institute’s release of guidance specific to asset owners to make adoption of the standards easier. Aside from better-fit guidance allowing for easier implementation, why are asset owners interested in claiming compliance with the GIPS standards?
by Alicia Spencer, CIPM, Senior Manager
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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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As private and institutional clients continue to demand greater technology, service, and ease of access, investment managers are under pressure to advance all aspects of the client journey. We tend to think of the client experience as business-to-customer interactions, yet the reality is there are aspects of your business the customer never “sees” but senses. This often stems from internal operating models and projects to deliverables such as account reporting and ongoing information availability.
For added perspective on how technology is adapting to fit a myriad of client needs, we spoke with Andrew Maynard of SimCorp, an independent provider of industry-leading, integrated investment management solutions.
by Tim Jager, Senior Manager
Andrew Maynard, Product Expert, Client Communications, SimCorp North America
Building off of his previous article, Mark David discusses how a performance prototype takes a step beyond a performance data readiness assessment (PDRA) to identify undetected issues.
by Mark David, Senior Manager
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