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- Is there ever a ‘single version of the truth’ for investment reporting?
- Managing the leap from vendor selection to service provider relationship
- Investment reporting: sophistication doesn’t have to mean complexity
- Three ways to tell if your client reporting is at the heart of your client servicing.
- Mandatory vs discretionary documentation: a tale of two processes?
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Lost in translation: the importance of getting your translation strategy in investment reporting right
Investment reporting is a recognised component in the investment management lifecycle, but there is one area within this process that it often still overlooked – the translation, argues Abbey Shasore, CEO, Factbook and Jean Bernard Le Floc’h, Partner, Fastnet Translation. In the investment management world, investment reporting is, whilst not always given the highest priority, at least afforded a place of significance. Informing investors of their fund performance, satisfying regulators, or providing Marketing with key...
Time to circle the wagons and review your investment reporting process?
Many investment management firms take a DIY approach to their investment reporting, relying on highly bespoke systems developed by the IT department. There is nothing inherently wrong with this approach – but can it only take the firm so far, asks Abbey Shasore, CEO, Factbook. A US investment management firm we were talking to recently characterised it beautifully: ‘’We are currently circling the wagons to get a discussion about this [automating our investment reporting...
Getting value from your investment reporting.
There are now many middle or back-office tasks within asset management firms where there is little or no competitive advantage to be gained. Is investment reporting one of them – or can real value still be derived, asks Abbey Shasore, CEO, Factbook. As investment management operations (and software) becomemore commoditised, it is increasingly difficult for asset managers to derive real value from these activities. Middle and back-officeprocessing in particular has become very standardised and...
Want to keep your clients interested in your investment reports? Change the narrative.
Why does it matter if your factsheets are issued like clockwork every month, if there is little thought being given to the narrative? Are there not more important elements for asset managers to consider when reporting on investments, asks Abbey Shasore, CEO, Factbook. The need to achieve or exceed service level agreements (SLAs) is obviously very important to asset management firms. Meeting client expectations is a fundamental part of any business and asset managers...
Client Reporting – Prepare to succeed
Sustained acquisition of AUM will always be the holy grail for investment firms – for most it is the reason they exist and the essential manifestation of the excellence. This is no less so in the relatively attritional conditions we have seen in recent times. At the same time as they seek to grow AUM firms also look to stem outflows by developing both profile and reputation. Ever more sophisticated communication techniques must be deployed to...
Effective client reporting is telling the investor what they need to know, not what you want them to know
Abbey Shasore, CEO, Factbook, discusses how buy-side firms must seek to answer the genuine questions in their investment reporting. The recent Presidential debate in the US reminded me of an oft-forgotten parallel in the world of investment reporting: that of responding to the question that you wish to answer rather than the actual question being posed. It is a well-known fact that investment managers routinely include data in their client reports...
Is a best-of-breed reporting system within your reach?
An Investment reporting approach that addresses concerns related to throughput and standardisation, reduces risks associated with reporting cycles and assists rather than obstructs during tier transition is important - and within reach of all firms, writes Abbey Shasore, CEO, Factbook. From time to time I find myself in front of a small asset management firm that is considering a best-of-breed investment reporting solution. Usually the key driver for such firms (with, say, AuM of...
Successful investment reporting: it’s always about the data
Heads of Performance or Client Reporting at any asset management firm are responsible for the outputs to the end consumer. Their biggest worry is always: ‘Can I trust the numbers (and text) on those outputs? Is it ‘good to go’? Has it been brought in faithfully from multiple external sources?’ A good vendor will have all the tools and processes in place to ensure that it can take the data from the point of...
What price freedom? Asset managers, vendors and autonomy
In these days where one of the main subjects for debate is the theme of ‘taking back control’, a question that recently struck me is just what should be the level of dependence between a software vendor and an asset management firm? Should the goal for every buy-side firm be to take control of any software deployment from the outset, with the objective of being entirely self-sufficient in as short a period of...
Client reporting: can overexposure blur your vision?
Abbey Shasore, CEO, Factbook, discusses how buy-side firms must balance the regulatory and client demands for transparency with the risk of data overkill. The drive toward openness within the investment management industry has been gathering pace for many years now, but certainly went through the gears since the crash of 2008. Investors and regulators alike have viewed the need for information sharing and clarity as priorities since the opaque investment structures of the...
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