Asset Allocators Are Spending Nearly One Third of Their Time on Tasks That Could Be Automated or Streamlined, Shows New Report by Backstop Solutions Group and Mercer
Joint study identifies opportunities for institutional investors to help improve daily work processes.
Backstop Solutions Group, the industry’s leading cloud-based productivity suite for institutional and alternative investors, and Mercer, a global leader in redefining the world of work, reshaping retirement and investment outcomes, and unlocking real health and well-being, and a business of Marsh & McLennan, announce an original research report, “The 2020 Institutional Investor Productivity Study.”
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The detailed results will be released at Backstop Beyond, Backstop’s annual conference for the institutional investment industry – to be held virtually this year on October 27th and 28th.
Over 200 respondents working at institutional investment organizations were surveyed about the tasks on which they spend the most time and if they are satisfied with the technology solutions currently in place to help in accomplishing those tasks.
A key finding reveals that allocators spend approximately one third of their time on tasks that do not add value to the investment process and that could be automated or enabled with better technology.
“Decision makers within institutional investment companies are taking time away from making crucial investment decisions, as they are currently dedicating too much time on non-core tasks that can be streamlined with technology,” said Clint Coghill, Chief Executive Officer, Backstop. “Using the right cloud-based and mobile-friendly solutions can free up bandwidth by eliminating manual tasks and allowing investment teams to focus on high-value work that requires their specialized judgment, expertise, and experience. There is a clear opportunity for asset allocators across the industry to help improve the alignment of their people, processes, and technology in order to be more effective.”
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Moreover, the survey shows that allocators are spending their time on these lower-value tasks that also don’t match their level of education, skill or experience. These professionals are spending 30 percent of their time on relatively lower-value tasks that could be streamlined, automated, or augmented with technology solutions. As a result, they are spending just 50% of their time meeting with or conducting due diligence on new and existing managers, which are critical, core tasks that allow allocators to piece together an investment worldview and act accordingly.
This is reinforced by survey data that demonstrates that 75 percent of respondents are either indifferent or dissatisfied with the technology functionality currently available to them. Ultimately, 65 percent of respondents reported thinking that “there must be a better way to do this” within the last week, which suggests that this issue is constantly top of mind, and they would genuinely and enthusiastically welcome tools, solutions, and systems that can help them address this issue.