Funds Industry Report - Flipbook - Page 32
Pete Townsend Norio Ventures
They are now asking, "How can I trust that
We’ll need to look to reuse, to retrain, to give
you can see what I can see and vice versa?
people new capabilities as technology is
How can I stop reconciling to everyone else,
moving incredibly quickly.
because we all have the same distributed
record, without everyone knowing my busi-
If we don’t move faster, Ireland is going to be
ness?
on the receiving end of it, and it will be done
to us here if we don't move quicker to
Having that trust, that knowledge, and that
embrace new business models.
transparency is a big deal. That is where
things are headed in the nancial markets.
The funds industry is so well-established in
Ireland. So many people have jobs and
The number one area due for transformation
career-advancing opportunities based on
is in investor recordkeeping, as there are so
existing business models. Without a well-in-
many duplicative functions across the indus-
formed vision on the future of the funds
try.
The originating investor has a record,
industry, there is little incentive to change,
their advisor has a record, a third-party
especially with the long-standing leadership
distributor has a record, a fund platform has a
of the funds industry across multiple rms
record, all from one transaction. Then, the
approaching the last 5-10 years of their
transfer agent has a record as well, if not mul-
careers.
tiple records.
With institutional investors,
add a front ofce and all of their service
Furthermore, being an operationally-focused
providers to the list of recordkeepers.
industry, most of those with strategic business model and technology responsibilities
That's at least ve copies of the same transac-
for Ireland’s biggest funds industry employ-
tion, the same holding, but it can all be mutu-
ers are based elsewhere. They're in the major
alized as one record, and then distributed
centres, driving this change forward, in
securely.
places such as New York and London.
Technology change has taken over and we
This duplication keeps people in jobs, but
must not get left behind.
with where we’re headed, those roles will no
longer be necessary. A conservative estimate
There are huge opportunities to leverage this
points to at least 10% of roles in the funds
change in Ireland, but it requires a conscious
industry in Ireland being at risk in the
effort and it requires discipline. We must be
medium term, and that’s just with transfer
focused and we must be in it for the
agency.
As transfer agency is the ‘least
long-term. All of us who have worked in the
common denominator’ of the funds industry,
funds industry in Ireland for a long time want
its transformation will enable the majority of
there to be something left to hand over to our
middle and back ofce operations to follow
kids – let’s get started.
suit.
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