A report by Clear Path Analysis finds the technology used to manage operational transparency, improving risk management and staying abreast of regulatory developments has become a key focus for fund and asset managers.
The report Fund and Asset Management Technology surveyed 42 asset management delegates attending the SUPRA event in London 2011. It addresses the role that technology can play in improving the management of specific functions for hedge fund, private equity, traditional fund managers and those serving DC pension schemes.
The report found that managers are recognizing the necessity to update or employ new management systems to increase efficiency of their operations and compete for client assets. Data and System shortcomings ranked as one and two priority issues of concern by survey respondents. 69% of respondents use 3+ systems to measure performance and risk 52% said most pressing system issues are data related.
Sylvain Privat, product manager, Buy-Side at Misys Sophis commented: With regulators increasingly applying pressure from all corners of the globe, buy-side participants face growing demands to produce relevant reporting and implement risk controls that are both cost effective and sustainable. Overwhelmed by pressure from investors, as well as the uncertainty created by the current influx of regulation, such as Dodd-Frank, EMIR, MiFID and BASEL III, investment managers are stuck between a rock and a hard place.
To date, many buy-side participants have operated under legacy systems or processes that do not leverage the latest technology. As new regulations take place, these same participants will be forced to evaluate and invest in their processes.
Now, more than ever, data management is central to the investment managers day to day business operation argues Graeme Condie, director, Data Management & Analytic Solutions Strategy at DST Global Solutions. Discussing the area of data management, Condie suggested: Over the past decade, data management has grown in importance with a concerted effort across the industry to solve the reference data inconsistency. Now, an even more pressing data management challenge faces the industry. Stakeholders, both internal and external, are demanding more information, to be delivered quicker and presented bespoke to the individual. Increasingly, the middle office is viewed as the central point for all relevant information and is being asked to facilitate management, consolidation and delivery of business critical data.
(JDC)