SimCorp recently announced the results of a comprehensive survey, titled 'Realizing Growth Through Operational Agility', which examines the current state of IT and operations in the global buy-side investment management industry and includes several notable findings. This includes the fact that 47% of the surveyed firms lack confidence in either their IT infrastructure, their data, or both.

The results also show that firms that are confident in both their data and infrastructure are much more likely to pursue a growth strategy than those with data/infrastructure problems. Further, firms with a lower degree of confidence in data or infrastructure are more likely to increase IT spend in the future, according to the survey.

The availability of real-time data in the front office is generally perceived as an important factor in buy-side firms' ability to make quality investment decisions. The survey shows that almost half (47%) of the respondents do not have access to real-time data in the front office. When breaking this down by IT strategy, the findings show that more firms running on 'an integrated investment management solution' have access to real-time front office data than those running with 'a core platform with multiple add-ons' or a 'best-of-breed strategy'.

Other findings include:

  • The integrated strategy - either a solution from a single supplier or a core system with add-ons - is preferred by the majority (53%).
  • The average rate of manual processes in the front office (measured as time spent per day) is 19%, or 1½ hours out of an eight-hour workday for each employee.
  • On average, firms operating with a best-of-breed IT infrastructure have higher manual process rates than those running with an integrated solution (24% versus 17%).

David Beveridge, Senior Product Marketing Manager at SimCorp commented: "Having roughly half of all surveyed firms express a mistrust in either their IT infrastructure or data is alarming. While this is damaging to the firms' own ability to generate growth, the ultimate losers could very well be their clients. The survey results clearly suggest the integrated solution strategy as the most viable path to higher operational agility and efficiency."

The survey was conducted in mid-2016 by the market research firm Lindberg International and covered 150+ respondents worldwide. For a full presentation of survey results and conclusions, please download the white paper: 'Realizing Growth Through Operational Agility'.

(Source: SimCorp)