It took a huge amount of individual and collective effort to deliver T+1 this year, and now that it has had a few months to settle in, it’s time to reflect on achievements and lessons learned.
A great setting to explore those reflections was the annual Securities Industry and Financial Markets Operations Conference (SIFMA). This year saw more than 1,200 market participants gather to hear from more than 100 speakers on a diverse range of topics—from the impact of T+1 and Federal Reserve decisions on investments to the growing influence of artificial intelligence (AI) and the role of connected data across the investment landscape.
Despite that variety, one theme was constant throughout the program—the influence of technology.
Financial services has something of a love/hate relationship with technology. It has promised to revolutionize the sector, making it more efficient, more effective and more accessible than ever before. And while some of those promises have been kept, the reality is that many digital transformation programs fail to deliver what they promise.
It has been estimated that up to 70% of these transformation programs fail, which makes sense why so many firms, on both the buy and sell side, have historically preferred to stick with their tried and tested (if aging) software systems.
That historical behavior may be changing, however, as conversations at the conference suggest firms are waking up to the fact that legacy systems have almost certainly been pushed as far as they can go.
While the “known risk” aspect of legacy systems may provide greater comfort and security, it is becoming increasingly clear that trying to run a modern business on a 20-year-old system isn’t feasible. And it seems the solution could be the same for both the buy-side and sell-side, with some obvious adjustments.
“This was our first time attending the conference, and it was quite eye-opening to observe that many of the operational challenges faced by the sell-side of the market appear to be similar to those we’ve been helping the buy-side address for years. It feels like they may be two sides of the same coin,” noted Marcela Crossman, Senior Director of Operations – Middle Office at SS&C.
“Regulation, thinning margins, market volatility driven by political and economic uncertainty, demanding ESG obligations, changing client expectations and talent retention challenges—none of these are unique. They’re the same issues we have been helping hedge funds, private equity, mutual funds and family offices solve for years,” she added.
As firms seek to tackle these challenges, the core need to streamline processes and create greater levels of operational efficiency remains. To date, the answer to the efficiency problem has largely been tech-led but as the transformation failure rate illustrates, far from being a catch-all solution, technology—poorly chosen and applied—can make firms just as inefficient, just in a new, digital way.
“We saw a lot of examples of firms that have had their fingers burned by poorly designed or managed transformation programs; and as their buy-side peers have already questioned, they are starting to wonder if technology is the answer to all their problems,” said Marcela.
“As the buy-side firms we have worked with understand, technology is part of the answer— but only where process improvements demand it.”
There are only two options open to firms who are looking to fundamentally modernize their operations. The nuclear option rips out legacy software systems and replaces them with best-of-breed. But with a two to three-year lead time and the discouraging failure rate of such projects, it is a big risk. In addition, the process has to be repeated every five to ten years or so to stay on top of advances in technology.
The other option is to focus attention on particular pain points in the organization, understand their causes through the lens of business process, and then outsource at the right point in the process to deliver the right outcome.
"From many of the conversations we had at the conference and elsewhere, it’s clear that the vendor market is too fragmented, with many providers focusing on only certain pieces of the puzzle. What clients need is a combination of advanced tools and comprehensive outsourcing support,” said Marcela.
She added that instead of trying to tackle these challenges alone, firms are turning to expert partners who can deliver tailored solutions that fit their specific needs, rather than forcing them to conform to what any single vendor offers.
“This is encouraging, as we know from our long-standing buy-side partnerships that many of these problems can be solved in a discreet, efficient and cost-effective way. Technology isn’t always the answer, but underpinned with the right processes, our experience shows that more often than not, it is,” she said.
Despite the historical failure rate of transformation programs, there was a huge amount of enthusiasm across the conference about the need to modernize and all the options available to make that transformation a reality.
“An incremental and targeted approach to transformation—rather than ripping out and starting again—is a much more manageable and cost-effective way to address these collective challenges,” said Marcela.
“And crucially, sell-side firms only have to look at the other side of the investment coin to see live examples of how this approach works and how it delivers tangible, bankable efficiencies to those who buy into it.”
Download our "Middle Office Solutions" brochure to learn about SS&C’s consultative approach to helping firms gain agility and scalability while reducing operational overhead.
