80 Percent of Investment Managers Expect Cost of Benchmark Data to Increase, Says Survey

Eighty percent of investment managers surveyed by data service provider RIMES expect the number and cost of the index and benchmark data they use to increase. RIMES surveyed 51 global investment management firms

Other key findings include:
– Benchmark data has become integral to a number of departments within buy-side firms, including performance, risk, compliance, data management and the front office
– Cost control, centralization, data governance, validation and storage are the main challenges faced by the majority of investment managers
– Improvements in quality, efficiency and cost-control are the key driving forces behind the decision to adopt best practice in data governance

Alessandro Ferrari, SVP global marketing at RIMES, comments: “This survey reveals the extent of the data management challenges currently being faced by the buy-side. These challenges are no longer isolated to one or two departments – index and benchmark data is being used across the organization, and so firms must take an enterprise-wide view in order to manage it.

“Benchmark data is of strategic importance to the asset management industry, but can be difficult and costly to manage. Firms can do little to control data licensing costs but there is much that can be done to reduce the overall costs of managing data by increasing operational efficiency.

“Successful firms will invest in the right data processing and data governance solutions, and by using a managed data service, they can help to reduce the complexity of managing large volumes of complex data while improving business agility.”