Northern Trust Survey: Asset Managers Most Concerned about Managing Rising Costs and Driving Bottom Line Performance amid Global Market Turmoil

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[{"type":"text","content":"\nGlobal survey of 300 investment managers reinforces the value of Whole Office solutions for achieving greater efficiency and resiliency in investment operations\n\n CHICAGO & LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nInvestment managers are most concerned about controlling costs in volatile markets, followed closely by a focus on risk and compliance issues and support for expansion into markets beyond their home country, according to the survey of 300 global asset management firms sponsored by Northern Trust.\n\n\nNorthern Trust today issued a white paper, Driving Growth in Asset Management: Solutions for the Whole Office in 2020 and Beyond, that offers insights into how managers can control costs while increasing their distribution by leveraging technology, outsourcing functions that may not be core to their investment process, and viewing their operations holistically, as a whole office, rather than in silos of front, middle and back office functions.\n\n\n“Driving profitable growth beyond 2020 will require more than finding new streams of revenue or reducing costs,” said Ryan Burns, head of Global Fund Services, North America. “The most successful asset managers are rethinking their operating models from the perspective of their whole office, seeking holistic changes such as outsourcing that can help them grow their businesses.”\n\n\nThe survey, conducted for Northern Trust by WBR Insights, shows asset managers struggling to balance growth strategies with escalating costs and fee pressures: 87% of respondents said their key strategic priority for the next two years will be controlling costs, but nearly as many (86%) also plan to focus on risk, compliance and resiliency and 85% said supporting expansion into new markets was a top priority.\n\n\nManagers are looking at a range of outsourcing options to drive efficient growth and strengthen key processes. For example, 85% of respondents have either already outsourced their trading desk or are interested in doing so in the future. Nearly half (45%) are considering outsourcing data management in the next two years while approximately one-third are considering outsourcing foreign exchange and middle office functions.\n\n\n“Asset managers today want true flexibility to choose the best partners for their investment processes,” says Clive Bellows, head of Global Fund Services, EMEA. “For example, ...

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