Welcome to the investment operations content channel sponsored by SEI. Here you will find frequently updated features on future industry trends and operational issues for asset managers globally, with a focus on private equity, private debt, real estate and hedge fund managers.
Founded in 1968, SEI became a US public company in 1981 and is listed on the U.S. NASDAQ stock market under the ticker symbol SEIC. With our corporate headquarters based in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and a significant presence in London and Dublin, our 3800+ employees serve asset managers, institutional investors and financial institutions around the globe.
To help investment managers compete and succeed in an environment of escalating challenges, risks and complexity, SEI Investment Manager Services division provides the sophisticated operating capabilities and services needed to optimise their business performance across key product structures, asset classes and domiciles. Alternative and traditional asset managers worldwide currently entrust over USD1 trillion in assets with us.
An asset manager’s decision to change their operating model and outsource their middle office to a service provider should not be made in haste. From building internal consensus to carefully designing an evaluation process, selecting the best fit for an outsourcing partner is a significant investment.
Digital transformation: Science, not fiction - Science fiction is a beloved and enduring genre largely because of technology’s transformative potential. The best examples leverage this to the hilt and extract as much dramatic tension as possible from the situation.
The amount of data is growing exponentially. According to IDC, there were 16.3 zettabytes of information generated in 2017 alone. In simple terms, if every piece of data were a penny, it would cover the earth’s surface five times over.
In 2017, investors allocated almost USD120 billion into private debt funds, on the back of approximately USD100 billion being raised in 2015 and 2016. To better understand the context into which investors are deploying such large amounts of capital, SEI and Preqin conducted a survey of private debt fund managers in mid-2018.
As discussed in the first part of our discussion with SEI on the potential of natural language processing (NLP) – click here to read – the company is currently in the early stages of exploring how NLP might enhance the way staff and clients interact with data. The aim of this initiative is to increase the overall level of engagement and grant users the flexibility to choose their preferred method of navigating information.
Natural language processing (NLP) is changing the way humans interact with machines in ways that were unthinkable a decade ago. Thanks to huge advances in machine learning, driven and supported by ever-faster computer processing, we are increasingly using NLP tools such as Amazon Alexa, Siri, Google assistant, Cortana, Bixby, and interacting with chatbots from our service providers.
When it comes to technology adoption and innovation, compared to other industries financial services is merely scratching the surface. Dipping its toe in. Engaging in proofs of concept but rarely integrating new solutions across multiple geographies.
Technology continues to infiltrate every aspect of global business. Not a day goes by where the impact of platforms like Amazon, Facebook etc, isn’t felt by those in the asset management industry. The fact is, investor habits are rapidly changing and the way they choose to invest is beginning to mirror the way they use technology to support all other aspects of their lives, from shopping online to algorithms providing recommendations, personally curated to them, on Netflix.
In mid-March, we published the first of a two-part article series with SEI Investment Manager Services on how a top-down, bottom-up solution can go some way towards helping fund managers grapple with regulatory compliance demands as efficiently as possible.
Global regulation has developed like a slow growing but increasingly powerful storm system over the last five years. And whereas big wave surfers welcome such conditions thanks to the epic waves it produces, there are, it could be argued, precious few C-suite executives relishing the equivalent regulatory waves being cast ashore.