We recently conducted a survey in partnership with Global Custodian to evaluate shifting attitudes towards outsourcing. Of the 250 participants, 68% were asset management firms, with a roughly even split between US- and UK-based firms. We’ve identified some interesting trends from this research, such as differences between hedge funds and traditional asset management firms, and regional differences between the US and the UK.
Among asset management firms in the US, 75% were traditional asset management firms, and 17% were hedge funds. When asked what part of the team they were responsible for, 52% of respondents reported that they were responsible for portfolio management, 19% for trading, 13% for research and 12% for post-trade operations. Managing Director and Analyst/Associate/AVP were the most common job titles reported (each at 33%), with the remainder of participants reporting their job title as C-Suite (21%) or Director/VP (14%).
In comparing this US data against the overall data, the participants overall cited operational expertise, great efficiency, cost and technology as their main drivers with provider location ranking fairly low on that list. Among US-based participants, however, location ranked a bit higher as an important consideration. When asked to rank which areas influenced the decision-making process the most when choosing new technology, US-based firms ranked ease of integration highest on the list, while ease of use ranked last. Similar to our overall results, participants cited initial cost, loss of control and internal resistance as the main inhibiting factors to outsourcing more functions.
Most participants reported having outsourced in the past, and 51% said that they had already increased their outsourced functions. Of those who have outsourced, 37% rated their satisfaction as being met as anticipated, and another 37% rated their satisfaction as better than anticipated.
To read more about this research, download the "Outsourcing Middle- and Back-Office Functions: An Assessment of Perceived Experience" report.
