Every day, in every industry, we hear about robotic process automation (RPA), machine learning, and artificial intelligence (AI) — what they mean for the world as we know it and how society, industry, and humankind will all benefit. We’ve heard plenty about the potential pitfalls, the doom and gloom, the end of human ingenuity as […]
Balancing Marketing Brand Standards with Fund Administration ROI Expectations
For most asset managers, regulator-mandated investor-facing reports such as quarterly or annual financial statements or prospectuses have become more than just reports to meet disclosure requirements—they are also a way to showcase their brand to investors. Some fund reports are graphics-heavy, using custom fonts, unique spacing and other tricks to set their brand apart. These […]
How Smart Can Your Fund Be?
Do you live in a SmartCity? Our guess is that if you live in a relatively big city, it is very likely “smart”. There are many definitions for what makes a SmartCity, but according to Cisco and the Center for Cities, they are urban areas that are taking advantage of already existing information and communications […]
Physics, Aircraft Carriers, and Liquidity Buckets
At its March 14 open meeting, the SEC approved a proposal that while still mandating funds to use the SEC’s Form N-PORT to report liquidity classifications, commonly known as “buckets”, it would, among other things, eliminate the public reporting of buckets. The vote was generally split along party lines, with Republican Commissioners Piwowar and Peirce […]
DataTech: Technology Innovation that Puts Data first
Just a few years back, the industry was responding to regulatory filings like Form N-MFP, AIFMD Annex IV, Form PF, Form CPO-PQR and Solvency II with individual software solutions to solve each one of those requirements in isolation from the others. And, just as regulatory fatigue had become the norm, U.S. mutual funds braced for […]
Putting the Consistency in the Inconsistency: The Importance of a Global Regulatory Framework
Deloitte’s 2018 Regulatory Outlook states that even with all of the regulatory discussions and progress toward regulatory transparency both in Europe and in the United States in 2018, the uncertainty from a global regulatory perspective will remain. The Outlook specifically points out that “[f]inancial services firms need to be prepared to deal with the challenges […]
Moving Beyond ’Warehousing‘: The Need for Advanced DataTech
Over the past decade, what started out as industry buzzwords – data, data warehouse, data strategy and data governance – have become part of our daily work and are a key area of focus for many asset managers who look to data to transform how they do business. If you have ever watched your children […]
Come to your Census – Why Form N-CEN is a Key to Fund Administration Data Strategy
How many times has your manager come to you and asked a difficult question that they expected you to know off the top of your head? “How many funds hold IBM stock?” or “Which clients use Accountancy ABC as an audit firm?” Chances are these questions are asked with very little context and a ton […]
Delays Aren’t What They Used to Be
Why the Form N-PORT Temporary Rule Is All Hat and No Cattle
Pretty much from the day the SEC finalized its reporting modernization rules, the industry has lobbied for something to ease the burden of readiness and processing – a delay, an extended monthly due date, a reduction in frequency – and often cybersecurity was the justification for those readiness and processing asks. The requests were met […]
Beyond Compliance: Outlook for 2018
By Todd Moyer on January 29, 2018 in Cloud in Financial Services, DataTech, RegTech, SEC Modernization
As we begin 2018, I am reminded of the remarkable evolution that has taken place in the fund servicing industry in the decade following the market downturn. It’s hard to imagine the pre-crisis era when static human disclosures and documents were considered good enough for regulators. The post-crisis shift in focus from investor protection to […]