This year's TSAM focused on the increasingly important topics of data management, outsourcing and client-servicing technology. Delegates, speakers and exhibitors gathered to share their thoughts on identifying the key developments, trends and challenges for 2010. Cognito spoke to some of the attendees after the show.

Speaking on behalf of Citisoft, a leading investment management consultancy, David Roy, management consultant told Cognito: "There is high demand among the investment management community for domain expertise with the continuation of operational re-design and platform rationalisation throughout the middle and back offices. We see more businesses increasing their expenditure on new technology, primarily in the alpha generation, distribution and client servicing functions." Specifically, Mr Roy noted data management's prominent role in all these improvement areas. "These projects can be a real challenge unless approached and managed appropriately. Data must be seen as an enabler not a disabler.  It was encouraging to see evidence at the event of how this universally challenging area is being tackled."

Building on this, Peter van Kleef, president & CEO, Lakeview Capital Market Services highlighted: "Every business has its core expertise. Many companies now realise that it is proving successful to recruit the know-how actively and outsource important aspects of business operations. Fundamentally, this saves time and reduces costs. In addition, the overall risk is reduced because the supporting infrastructure is kept to a minimum, which is also very attractive."

"Data management outsourcing and application hosting were very popular cost cutting measures even before the financial crisis" added Danielle Newland, product manager, Eagle Investment Systems. "Despite this, those who buy into data management projects are still largely concerned that they might lose control of their data during the process. People are now talking about how to get the most out of their solution, both from a financial and control point of view. We are yet to see the ‘wave' of regulation anticipated in the wake of the financial crisis, and as a result there is an air of hesitancy in terms of institutions bankrolling data management projects. However, with GIPS 2010 and other regulatory developments just around the corner, people should be looking forward and anticipating what measures would be best to implement before this occurs."

The schedule of presentations, panel discussions and roundtables covered further topics of interest to the buy-side such as systematic trading strategies, portfolio management and OTC derivatives. TSAM annually hosts over 500 delegates and up to 40 exhibitors in London. TSAM North America is scheduled to be held in New York in September 2010.

Uday Singh, CEO, Osney Media, said: "TSAM is well positioned to provide a stimulating environment for the biggest names in the buy-side to get together and reflect on the past 12 months and, importantly, to plan for the future. Given the topics that have been at the forefront of this year's event, it will be interesting to see the changes and developments in this industry throughout 2010."

Another great event!

Asset managers remain cautious despite markets rebounding

TSAM, Europe's largest buy-side technology and operations event, is due to be held this year on 9th March at the Brewery in the City of London. Cognito is the official PR agency. The conference will bring together high profile players as they overview how they have ridden out the worst of the recent financial crisis; emerging stronger, better and wiser. Attention will also be drawn to where the buy-side should focus its efforts in order to stay afloat and sustain growth.

Among this year's 65 speakers are Mark Holt, head of technology for Systemic Trading at BlueCrest Capital; Colin Close, president, Netik LLC; and Martyn Cuff, managing director at Allianz Global Investors Europe. Cognito caught up with them before the show.

The event will address how the buy-side will emerge and progress in 2010. Mr Holt, BlueCrest Capital, reflects on his presentation: "Without the developments in electronic trading over the past decade, buy-side trading would not exist at its current output or scale. The progressive disintegration of investment bank proprietary functions and the technology available for market access has created an inevitable momentum to move more trading activity to the buy-side. Indeed, electronic trading is helping to naturally restructure the finance industry; a process that is far from over." During his address on the anatomy of a systematic trading strategy, he will talk delegates through the generation, implementation and execution of various systems and strategies.

Speaking about data management and the implications of outsourcing, Mr Close, Netik, said: "It is important we don't assume the crisis is completely over and that some of its' characteristically complex investment practices are not resurgent. They are. For example, hedge funds are back with the additional twist that multi-strategy funds are emerging as attractive products. Even securitisation is not dead with CDOs and CLOs quietly returning in evolved, lower leveraged form. Therefore, huge complexity remains in the middle and back office at a time when the regulators and money-owners are demanding better operational processes and more transparent reporting. For buy-side firms to satisfy these demands in 2010, they are investing in prerequisite enterprise data management solutions and using these to enhance reporting and enable the outsourcing of investment operations processes in order to achieve the best practice that is expected of them. Their ability to attract assets will increasingly depend on them demonstrating success in such initiatives." 

The conference will also examine the rapidly changing business environment. Speaking about its impact upon risk, Mr Cuff, Allianz Global Investors Europe, added: "Risk and cost management are going to become progressively more important throughout 2010 and beyond, changing the balance of the environment we have grown used to pre the financial crisis. Products are going to retain their importance, although a product push alone is not good enough, with instead, clients also wanting a tailored solution-based approach. In terms of where these products and solutions come from, we can expect to see continued globalisation. This is not just European and US fund management companies going into developing markets but there are early signs that companies in countries such India and China are interested in moving into mature investment management markets."

Organised by Osney Media, the event will showcase speakers throughout ten individual streams and delegates will be able to meet over 40 solution providers who are exhibiting on the day. Come and see for yourself!

For more information or to enquire about a free press pass email adam.honeysett-watts@cognitomedia.com

As official PR partner of this year's TSAM North America, Cognito had the chance to attend sessions and panels at the event and hear from industry experts on the most current and important issues surrounding Client Reporting, Data Management, and Performance Measurement. 

TSAM's inaugural event was a resounding success. In addition to the informative and thoughtful sessions, attendees enjoyed great conversations, a chance to learn from colleagues, and an opportunity to discuss the best new solutions for the asset management industry.

To see more photos, please visit http://picasaweb.google.com/jessica.kleinman1. 

Ben Keeler, Director, Citisoft, chairing the Client Reporting Stream, one of the three topic streams at this year's TSAM North America.

Jeff Schwartz, Managing Director, MPI, who chaired the Performance Measurement topic stream for the day. 

Vendor turnout at the event was also very good - here, see representatives from MoneyMate in front of their booth.

• When determining whether or not to outsource, the level ofcomplexity of operations is often the main issue to consider - if acompany has a large volume of work that utilizes consistent processes,outsourcing can improve efficiency and effectiveness. However, if thereare many exceptions to the process, outsourcing can complicate mattersand cause problems.
• Component outsourcing is on the rise, as it gives companies a wayto target specific weaknesses in their organizations. When companiesneed a solution to a specific problem but do not want to commit tooutsourcing full-throttle, component outsourcing is often the best wayto identify and improve weak points.
• Cost can be a benefit of outsourcing - it is a variable ratherthan fixed cost and is thus appealing during tougher economic times. Inassessing costs, the first step is to understand cost and coststructures, then to understand pricing models. Third, assess thecomplexity of asset mix. Ultimately, this will help companies come upwith a structure that suits the business model.
• Outsourcing can't fix problems automatically - if you have aproblem today and you outsource it, it's still a problem. Outsourcinggives you access to expertise and economies of scale, but problemswon't be solved on day one.

11:45am - Following the panel on data quality management, Loretta Mock and I caught up with panelist Ronan Brennan, CTO of MoneyMate, to get his insight on some of the topics raised in the panel discussion.

LM: What was the most important point that was discussed in the session?

RB: Ownership, definitely - implementing a data quality ownership framework, and within that, identifying the right owners at the right levels.

LM: Do you agree that ownership is the key to success?

RB: Yes, at MoneyMate, that's our philosophy as well. If i"m going to build a dataquality initiative, the first thing I need is a steering group or a Data Czar. Companies are realizing that the quality of information givento the sales team and to clients is very important. There is a definite negative impact when you have bad information - it affects the bottom line.

The core thing that came across in the panel was if you aregoing to build a quality initiative, make sure you get the ownership right.Make sure originator of data is forced to take ownership of that data. There should also be a feedback loop inbuilt into the process, so that people  downstream only receives correct information.

Also, C-level people must accept quality as an issue. One person or a steering groupapplies the process and owns the quality within a company.

LM: What else is important to know regarding the ownership process?

RB: You don't want internal oversight to take ownership - it's not good enough.It is essential that the originator of the data must be responsible. Information pervades a businessso quickly - it gets out there and can't control it. Thus, you need to have control of the process from the outset.

LM: How does this relate to the sales process?

RB: A sales person must have confidence in the information he or she gives gives to the customer. My reputation is at stakewhen I provide inaccurate information - I lose confidence in the process, I could even leave the company, for example. If the sales team has no confidence in the data, inflows will definitely be affected. Customers will feel the impact, and when things are moving inthe wrong direction, you have a problem.

Data is crucial to reputation of company and its sales people.

 *****

MoneyMate is a specialist provider of fund data management services to the global asset management community. They work with senior Marketing and Operations executives in global asset management companies, and clients include JP Morgan and Schroders Investment Management.

9:02am - The room is becoming quite crowded - it's good to see such aturnout at the inaugural TSAM NA event! Not only should today beinteresting and informative, but it's definitely a great networkingopportunity.

9:05am - Heike from Osney Media just gave an intro encouraging peopleto really communicate and participate in the discussion around clientreporting. People are seated at round tables to encourage conversationand discussion, which will then be reported back to the entire group.It should be interesting to hear what all these teams of industryprofessionals come up with!

9:10am - Ben Keeler, Citisoft, gives introductory remarks. He highlights the importance of client reporting, as well as how it can sometimes be difficult to "sell" it within an organization, as everyone knows it is necessary, but no one is ever sure who should be responsible for it. According to Ben, client reporting is still quite a timely topic, and Citisoft is seeing a significant amount of activity in the space.

Ben also offers a few questions to consider throughout the day: Does your firm have appetite to have client reporting supported oroutsourced to service provider? Is there a movement to push technology closer tofirms? Is there now closer integration between service providers and investment managers?Are you comfortable outsourcing to third party service providers? Areyour requirements generic enough to outsource?

9:35am - Patrick Moore, MetroWest, presents on using effective communication in volatile times

A year ago, when Lehman failed, there was an intense demand for good communication, as people were acting irrationally. One of the lessons of that time was to use communications effectively and efficiently to fulfill the objectives of an investment manager, which are to add value abovewhat people can get for free and to do it in a consistent fashion thatinstills confidence - so when there is volatility in the marketplace,your client will trust you.

Client reporting can help communicate that poorshort-term performance will be recoverable when market conditions normalize.Delivering this message can enhance client decision-making, resulting inmeasurable value-add in portfolios. Projected expertise in affectedmarkets instills confidence, leading to expanded assignments, etc.

Reporting can keep clients on board and focused on the strategic game-plan.  An example here is when ratings agencies have issued widespread downgrades.Transparency in communicating behavior to clients provided a platformto advocate continued holding of downgraded issues to realize a closeralignment of pricing and fundamental value.

These measures taken last year have paid off - in 2009, investor sponsorship has returned,especially in high-yield. The market hasn't seen any flights to safety this year,and those areas that were hard-hit last year have experienced recovery.

On September 15, the buy-side community will gather at the Hyatt Regency in Jersey City for the inaugural North American Technology Solutions for Asset Management Convention (TSAM.) TSAM is the premier buy-side technology and operations convention in Europe, and with its foray into the US, the event is expected to draw a wide audience, including Chief Operating, Technology and Information Officers, and delegates responsible for IT and Operations. Throughout the day, delegates will deliberate and discuss the major operational issues facing the industry: Client Reporting and Servicing, Performance Measurement and Attribution, Tactical IT Governance, and Data Stewardship Models and Techniques.

TSAM's unique roundtable format will be a highlight of the event, as it allows for vigorous debate among speakers and attendees, who will engage with each other to address the fundamental front-, middle-, and back-office issues facing the industry today.

The Speaker and Advisory Panel includes Timothy Cahill, Massachusetts State Treasurer, Jack van Wyk, Global Head of Client Reporting and Senior Director of Client Services Operations for Barclays Global Investors, Subhra Bose, Global CTO of Credit Suisse Alternative Investments, and Jacqueline Allard, Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer for MFC Global Investment Management.

For more information on TSAM North America, please visit www.tsam.us and for registration, please visit www.tsam.us/event_book.asp.