Data and Technology in Investment Management
Perspectives
How CEOs can deliver a competitive advantage
Disruptive data and technology trends in investment management are challenging the industry’s leaders.
CEOs who are short on internal expertise are facing ballooning costs and a myriad of new applications. As investment management technology moves to the core of the business, CEOs must set a clear vision for how they will drive competitive advantage.
The Rise of Data And Technology
Just-in-time expectations
Clients and employees expect instantaneous and accessible information. From market data delivered to investment professionals to interactive client reporting, firms must be able to deliver high-speed, accurate data regardless of internal silos, global operating models, or other internal constraints.
Personalization
Off-the-shelf products and information no longer suffice. Buyers and employees expect customizable, self-service capabilities on demand. Managers must develop the agility to customize products and services without amplifying operational cost and complexity.
Expanding ecosystems
With new challenges come new providers. Fintech firms, outsourcing platforms, consultants, and data providers are joining an ever-increasing ecosystem of service providers supporting the industry.
Data Proliferation
Asset managers are expanding their efforts to mine an exploding amount of data, driven by client interactions, new alternative data sets (e.g., from cell phones or internet-enabled appliances) and multiplying levels of market information.
Risk and compliance
Increased customization, from fee schedules to IMAs, and increased regulatory reporting amplify organizational complexity. Technology is becoming essential to manage risk and compliance obligations in efforts to reduce risk and minimize manual intervention.
Maximizing
Maximizing Return on Investment Management Technology
Competitive Advantage
Data and technology increasingly are central to competitive advantage among asset managers. Informed by experiences outside of the investment management industry, consumer, regulator, and employee expectations have changed. There is a higher bar for near real-time delivery and personalization, an expanding set of third-party providers and data to inform decisions, and an increasing compliance burden from regulators.
Budgets Growing
Data and technology budgets are growing rapidly, but only a narrow set of industry players are benefiting, enjoying thicker profits, stronger growth, and better investment performance. Technology front-runners share common characteristics across their culture, processes, operating models, and leadership.
Successful Data and Technology
Successful data and technology programs begin at the top, not within a siloed function. In front-runner organizations, data and technology use cases support competitive differentiation; effective change management and technology proficiency characterize current and future leaders; and budgets steer resources toward innovation and away from outmoded systems.
Maximize Impact
Front-runners adapt their operating models to maximize impact from data and technology. Leading firms invest in their foundation. They make conscious decisions about their shared technology systems, human capital management, analytics, and project execution methods, all of which are designed to amplify technology advantages across the entire enterprise.