Articles and white papers relating to back office and custody issues. This section covers research for investment operations professionals, clearing & settlement staff, fund accounting managers and global custody executives. Particularly popular papers in this section include those which tackle the operational challenges facing investment managers as they manage complexity and change in investment operations. Surveys of fund operations and investment banking operations have also been well received. A number of papers examine middle office operations: should the middle office be outsourced, or can you transform the asset management middle office to a bottom-line contributor? Other back office research in this section includes white papers on global custody, custodian ratings, clearing and settlement, settlement systems, securities lending and collateral management. A number of articles examine back office issues relating to alternative investments, specifically hedge fund administration, prime brokers and alternative investment fund operations and domiciles. Other reports cover the effect of investment regulation on the back office, for example, IFRS9 (impairment of financial assets and AIFMD).
This 22 page report from Michael Page details average remuneration (salary plus bonus) for a range of front office banking and fund management positions, including compensation for asset managers, quants, investment strategists, equity analysts, multi-asset portfolio managers, debt and credit analysts, and those in research/strategy and sales/trading roles in the UK. The ...
There is growing agreement that Blockchain technology, though overhyped, is here to stay. This excellent report from Robeco explains the distributed ledger technology, transaction flows and the eco-system. It then examines the ways in which it might transform the asset management industry in the future.
This survey reveals compensation levels across a variety of investment roles, covering marketing and distribution, investment analysis, finance, risk & compliance, and investment operations. The analysis is split by role and experience.
The authors of this paper review the participants and mechanics in a securities-lending transaction. They explore the strategies used to generate return, the primary sources of risk, and the role of the lending agent (if any) in shaping both.
This 11-page paper by KPMG aims to cut through the hype of blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) to offer real and practical examples of how these technologies work in the asset management space. The authors examine specific areas where blockchain and DLT are disrupting the status quo for asset managers and their value chains.
Brexit—the UK decision to exit the European Union—has important implications for UK and EU investment management firms and their clients. This guide for investment management professionals explores the legal and regulatory considerations and analyzes the possible outcomes.
This is the 17th Robert Walters annual Global Salary Survey of Finance and Accounting professionals. This epic and detailed 400 page report covers data across 24 countries, including the UK and Ireland, Continental Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, as well as North and South America.
When the UK leaves the EU and its single market by the spring of 2019, UK-based financial firms will lose their passport to do direct business with EU27 clients. Brexit will thus lead to a partial migration of financial firms from London to the EU27 (EU minus the UK) . This 13-page paper by Bruegel provides a comparison between London and four major cities (Frankfurt, Paris, Dublin ...
The authors of this paper argue that asset managers will most probably face lagging margins and scarce resources if they fail to effectively transform the middle office into a contributor to the bottom-line. The market has become more and more competitive. In their view, asset managers can overcome institutional roadblocks and be successful by means of appropriate planning. Every ...
This 25 page report is based on a survey of the heads of investment operation and fund distribution at large asset management companies. The report discuss the impact of regulation upon fund management companies, the risks associated with outsourcing, and issues surrounding corporate actions, collateral management, trade processing and fund distribution.
The UK’s exit from the EU and the new relationship with the EU are critical issues for the UK-based financial services sector, and for the wider economy it serves. To inform the UK Government’s approach to the UK’s exit from the EU negotiations TheCityUK commissioned Oliver Wyman to develop a comprehensive fact-base on the size of the sector and the potential impact of the ...
The traditional business of providing equity research to asset managers has been under pressure in recent years, as managers, challenged to deliver alpha to their clients, seek new forms of research and asset owners turn increasingly to passive strategies. Now, new regulation, specifically the advent of MiFID II in Europe in 2018, is about to escalate these pressures. The result ...
This set of global principles of good practice in the foreign exchange market (Global Code) has been developed to provide a common set of guidelines to promote the integrity and effective functioning of the wholesale foreign exchange market (FX Market). It is intended to promote a robust, fair, liquid, open, and appropriately transparent market in which a diverse set of Market ...
This report by Preqin presents an analysis of the latest trends in the hedge fund service provider industry. The authors examine the leading service providers by number of fund manager relationships as well as which service providers have been most successful with new fund launches.
Recent regulatory changes have raised the cost of activity in the repurchase agreement (repo) market for bank-affiliated dealers. Many transactions between dealers are centrally cleared. Expanding the use of central clearing to transactions between dealers and nondealers could reduce costs and improve market access for market participants. But what are the trade-offs? Data from the ...
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) - also known as blockchain technology or distributed database technology - has attracted significant interest and funding in the financial services industry in recent years. Several large financial institutions have established dedicated teams to explore the technology, and some market participants have formed consortia to create industry ...
In this report, BNY Mellon looks at the challenges and opportunities for investors and managers in the alternative credit market, focusing in particular on the operational requirements that underpin a successful business model and also exploring the key elements of the current market environment.
This 39 page salary guide from Robert Half shows benchmark levels of compensation for roles within banking and financial services, accounting and finance.
What impact does securities lending have on the returns of regulated funds? According to the authors of this paper, this is an issue that is not well understood within the investment industry. In this paper, they aim to give a comprehensive view of the contribution of securities lending to fund returns. To do this, they collected data from a large sample of funds across several ...
