The changing nature of portfolio strategies and the securities used within portfolios is driving increasing demand for portfolio management solutions. Portfolio accounting and order management solutions providers are currently scrambling to extend their reach and own the desktops of portfolio managers. The race is not insignificant: TowerGroup predicts that revenue from stand-alone portfolio management systems (PMSs) in North America alone will exceed $100 million (USD) in 2007.
As the defined portfolio management solutions market evolved over the past two years, it has come to be dominated by broad capability portfolio accounting and order management solutions. The offerings of these providers are continuing to change with the addition of alternative securities, as well as the growth of alternative portfolio strategies that require integration of risk and position exposure data. While this integration poses a challenge to providers currently chasing this market, it is also the driver TowerGroup believes will lead to the emergence of stand-alone, best-of-breed portfolio management solutions.
A new TowerGroup report titled, “Asset Managers Are Clamoring for Portfolio Management Systems: What Do They Really Need?” by Gavin Little-Gill, director of the Investment Management research service at TowerGroup, and Matt Nelson, an analyst in the same practice, discusses the evolution of the portfolio management system market and examines the current and emerging needs of asset managers. The research also highlights the difference between current product offerings and the future needs of the investment management market.