Olmstead Blog

My previous blog highlighted how transforming into a data-driven organization requires access to high-quality information from across the enterprise. Data accessibility is a top challenge because data is often spread across multiple data stores that use different technologies. 

Olmstead and Seismic Collaboration Poised to Consistently Accelerate Client ROI

Olmstead Associates is pleased to announce its data and consulting partnership with Seismic, the market leader for sales enablement platforms. In support of Seismic implementations and growth for asset management clients, Olmstead has developed tools and an approach that optimizes implementation, resulting in increased ROI and scalability. Refined from over 10 years of managing client communication solution evaluations and implementations, Olmstead has created best practices around implementation playbooks, distribution data models, APIs, and Data Readiness assessments.

In continuation of the Digital & Data-Driven Asset Manager Insight Series and in response to inquiries from our our clients on “how do we become data-driven?” we address the critical success factors at both the executive and the execution level.

Asset managers see the potential for data science to generate alpha and increase sales but many struggle to achieve results. Investment models, alternative datasets, predictive lead generation analysis, marketing campaigns, client content, and more will continuously evolve as asset managers search for the winning or differentiated formula. 

To become a data-driven asset manager, firms must attract a new data savvy workforce. Our industry has always enjoyed the success of being able to recruit top talent from colleges. Recent graduates have gained experience creating data solutions using Python, big data, statistics, and the cloud and are perfectly prepared to help us achieve our ambitious data strategies. However, there is one big problem – our data platforms are not ready.      

How does the asset management industry adapt and thrive in the age of digital disruption? In an upcoming series of Olmstead Insights focusing on Digital & Data-Driven Asset Management, we will explore the critical role data plays at the heart of the digital transformation.

In a recent conversation with an executive from a leading client reporting provider, the discussion turned to Olmstead's latest blog on the subject "Data Tax." The executive revealed that they frequently experience a drag of at least 25% on their projects due to data issues. The conversation highlighted an interesting tension that every investment manager must face when embarking on client communications and sales enablement projects – how do you identify and address looming data pitfalls and sinkholes without overly delaying the delivery of business benefit? 

An investment manager is a complex web of data. In a data-intensive industry, few firms have mastered their reference data to create a single view of their “data truth” and even fewer firms have solved the single data platform to meet the needs of front, middle, and back office, distribution, and corporate functions. With data science being added to the mix, the data landscape has become increasingly more complex and also exciting, elevating data from operational efficiency to alpha generation. With data at the heart of all investment business functions, an under-performing data platform impacts business results.

Stephen Alepa, leader of Olmstead's Client Experience and Engagement center of excellence, chaired the Client Reporting & Communications Forum at the TSAM Boston Conference. Topics included:

There has never been any greater need for Investment Management firms to optimize the management, delivery and reporting of their enterprise data. Firms are being driven to reconsider their business models and adapt architectures and IT systems to accommodate several new factors affecting the industry.  All these factors, be it product innovation, the shift to passive, new regulations, raised client service expectations, or fee compression, converge on one thing - Data.