In wealth and asset management, the investment process involves many different functions typically performed by many different people—from portfolio management, trading and compliance through accounting, reconciliation and reporting, along with more specialized activities like data analysis and performance measurement. Among those tasks, there is a great deal of overlap and dependency, and those in different roles carrying them out share a need to view similar information in real-time. For example, an accounting department employee may need to review available funds for payment of fees while a trader needs to know how much cash is available after accounts are reconciled. In most cases, these are two different, unconnected systems.
Specialized systems have evolved to address many different functional needs, which has resulted in siloed operations. The resulting fragmented view of information has a cascading effect throughout operations and hampers timeliness, accuracy and efficiency. The best-case scenario is for users to toggle between multiple systems to do their jobs throughout the day.
To address these challenges, many firms are looking to consolidate their operational platforms. Ideally, by using a single solution with streamlined workflows and firm-wide data consistency. However, transitioning to a single investment operations solution requires time and resources. In many cases, technology resource providers have been focused on “best-of-breed” applications, and as a result, few are equipped to deliver a comprehensive front-to-back offering.
Some firms may also feel reluctant to put “their eggs in one basket” and prefer to choose separate applications, tailored to each need. However, this comes with challenges, like managing multiple vendors, complex workarounds between systems, and higher IT costs and maintenance. A single front-to-back investment operations solution eliminates these challenges with one vendor, integrated workflows, and reduced IT maintenance and costs. We believe is the panacea we should all strive for.
To accomplish this, a single unified investment operations solution benefits from three key aspects:
- Microservices—The building blocks of the unified ecosystem that expose small footprints of functionality and can respond to specific requests very quickly.
- Unified Data—A single source of truth across the platform that eliminates the risk of redundant or inconsistent data among business functions.
- The Cloud—A cloud-based platform offers access to remote employees, in-office employees and even vacationing employees, in a secure, scalable, always-on solution with inbuilt redundancy.
To learn more about how a unified front-to-back solution can connect your office and breakthrough operational roadblocks, download our "Connecting the Office - Breaking Down Technology Silos to Optimize Investment Operations" whitepaper, which includes an example of how SS&C Aloha's single solution profile leads to greater efficiencies and connectedness.
