Respondent Profiles
This report is based on the online survey responses of 112 asset and wealth managers, conducted during the second quarter of 2021 and complemented by a series of one-on-one manager interviews.
*Including technology; human resources; product management; new initiatives; and board of trustees’ secretary
Detailed Results
Following are the detailed online survey results for each question, broken down by location of respondent:
Q1.What are the three biggest challenges your firm faces over the next 12 months?
*Including inability to meet investors and advisers due to COVID; low interest rate environment; negative interest rates; and sourcing
Q2.What are your firm's top three priorities over the next 12 months?
*Including add new team members; increase awareness; improve investment performance; increase capital; improve efficiency with custodian; enhance service quality; and increase assets under management
Q3.Where will your firm focus its technology investment over the next 12 months? Please select your top three responses.
*Including improve client experience and develop software
Q4.How do you expect investor demand for the following assets to change during the next 12 months?
Q5.How do you expect investor demand for the following investment strategies to change during the next 12 months?
Q6.How important is sustainable investing to your firm's strategy?
Q7.What were the top two drivers behind your firm’s middle office outsourcing decision?
*Including ability to focus on internal expertise and leverage external skill sets
Q8.What is the key challenge currently faced by your firm in managing the middle office? Please select a single response.
*Including scale
Q9.What do you see as the next frontier of middle office outsourcing? Please select a single response.
*Including performance calculation
Q10.What is the key benefit of performing middle office functions in-house? Please select a single response.
*Including the ability to monitor service providers
Q11.What is the key challenge currently faced by your firm in managing the middle office? Please select a single response.
*Including time-consuming
Percentages show proportion of respondents that selected each option and will not add up to 100% in the case of multiple selections.
Respondents to questions #7, #8 and #9 are currently outsourcing at least part of their middle office or plan to do so in the near future, while respondents to questions #10 and #11 have no plans to outsource any of their middle office functions.
