Client reporting: Responding to the key drivers of automation, customisation and globalisation

Abstract

Investment management is becoming a more global business. New markets for investment management services are emerging that, in time, could become more important than the established ones. These new markets offer significant potential for investment managers but to realise this potential, investment managers will need to develop more globally integrated operating models. Product manufactured in one part of the world will need to be delivered effectively and efficiently to clients on the other side of the world. Distribution channels, client servicing models, and operational processes will all become more complex. In general, complexity and efficiency do not sit well together. Therefore, it is not clear whether the processes and systems typically found within investment management firms will be able to scale up to meet the demands of globalisation. This paper looks at some of the challenges that client reporting functions will face trying to deliver customised client reports, efficiently, to a global client base, and at the role that outsourcing and off-shoring could play.