Although asset managers are looking to leverage digital-first outsourcing providers, native cloud platforms and data management core competencies to continue moving forward amid the global pandemic, data consistency issues are holding up progress.
Indus Valley Partners, a provider of tech solutions & services to the buy-side, surveyed over 60 asset management CXOs at its virtual Mindmeld conference in May, representing $3 trillion in AUM. Over half (53%) highlighted that consistency of data was their biggest challenge, rising to 90% in funds focused on private assets (private credit, real estate and real assets).
In addition, 100% of funds admitted that they do not yet have a 360-degree view of deals within their fund due to the absence of a single golden source to watch deal terms, structure, covenants, financials, KPIs, compliance testing results, and more. A further 58% of respondents claimed that their firm did not have a centralized golden copy to manage portfolio, counterparty and other legal entity datasets.
Looking ahead, it seems that these data management gaps will be a top priority in future, with a substantial proportion (38%) of firms planning to invest in data science and insights in the future, while 35% said they would devote capital to foundational platforms in order to accelerate their journey towards some of the more advanced stages.
Data governance, maintaining a golden copy of data and enabling self-service for users were cited as the three key areas of focus for data platform initiatives in 2020.
