Meeting these investor demands while maintaining profitably, in light of increasing client numbers, diversity of client requirements and changing investment strategies is challenging. Standardization falls short of clients’ personalization expectations, while full bespoking is impractical and unprofitable, at anything approaching scale.
We are increasingly seeing a new, more innovative and agile approach to client report production. It will involve standardizing as much as possible, while retaining the ability to accommodate the preferences of each individual report consumer – whether that be a private investor, a pension fund, a consultant, or an accountant – through configuration, not customization. This trend relies on a high level of operational agility, which is made possible through client reporting automation.
Demand for digital reporting tools is increasing for both investors and client servicing teams
Asset managers must deliver a very different digital experience if they are to remain relevant in the future. The trend towards investor empowerment is fueled by two factors: first, investors expect to be provided with the right data whenever and wherever they want it; second, ‘digital’ is rapidly becoming the de facto form for everyday communication and transactions.
The availability of easy-to-use, dynamic, online self-service and mobile tools is becoming commonplace, making flexibility in business models and the technology underpinning them, paramount. Not only will these tools satisfy investor appetite for extreme transparency on the performance of their investments in relation to the costs and risks of making them, but they will also make clients feel good about investing with you. There is also a growing trend for institutions to adopt these digital tools for internal use, empowering client services teams to be more productive and cost-efficient when creating presentations, client meeting packs, pitch books, and other client communications.
Centralized reporting hub will be a cornerstone for global operations
Large global asset managers will evolve towards a Reporting Center of Excellence model that is ideally suited to supporting globalization initiatives, omni-channel delivery, ad hoc reporting, and regulatory compliance. As confidence in data accuracy and consistency increases, and the focus shifts towards the quality of client communications and consistency of the omni-channel experience, it will become increasingly common for Marketing to govern these Reporting Centers. Data imported on-demand from multiple sources will be held in a reporting-ready form within the Reporting Center; exceptions, discrepancies, audits, position re-statements, and report re-runs will be processed automatically from within this central facility. Elements that differ regionally, including language, PDF size formatting, identifiers, data points and disclaimers, will also be addressed automatically.
SimCorp is committed to enabling wealth and asset managers to build flexibility into their client reporting processes, so that new client demands and regulatory requirements of the future will be easily (and cost-effectively) accommodated. As we execute our road map throughout 2016 and beyond, we will continue to deliver business-user-friendly tools that increase agility, fully support a centralized reporting model and increase profitability.
SimCorp Coric Web Reporter provides ad hoc access, and versatile self-service tools, online or via your mobile device of choice. We are also working on SimCorp Coric Web Reporter’s dynamic charting capabilities, further enhancing them to increase interactivity and to create an even richer user experience.
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