The ValueExchange Foreword

The asset owner operating model is highly complex and is set to become much more so. Years of increasing complexity (across every element of the investment cycle) have driven significant innovation in the pensions industry: with rapidly expanding coverage of asset classes and geographies supported by a growing number of partners, operating models and data flows. Yet today many asset owners are still struggling to gain real value out of their data flows in a centralized fashion. Despite growing data sophistication at an investment level, asset allocators continue to rely on outdated or repurposed technologies (including spreadsheets) in order to manage their investments in a macro way. As a result, costs and risks remain at high levels – added to by the lack of flexibility that legacy technologies entail. Whilst some asset owners have already begun to transform and consolidate their data flows, the transformation journey remains highly challenging for many organizations. With a multitude of partners and technologies available, there is limited evidence of best-practice across different industry segments – leaving many asset allocators to map out the journey on their own. Based on an industry-wide survey of over 130 asset owners, this research sets out to showcase what transformation initiatives are underway in our industry today and to help asset owners map out a path that leverages our collective experience.

We are extremely grateful for the support of our partners, Milestone Group, RBC Investor and Treasury Services, Citisoft and Adapa Advisory in this campaign and we look forward to working with you to help turn these research insights into actionable outcomes in the coming months.