More than four of five North American asset managers rely on complex workarounds to support derivatives trading through aging middle- and back-office systems, a poll has found.
A poll conducted by investment management consultancy SimCorp has found 82% of North American buy-side respondents rely on cumbersome workarounds to support derivatives trading, which limits firms’ ability to engage in new product offerings.
A further 52% said their current systems required more than two months preparation to launch a new investment product and 22% said launching new derivatives products took four months or longer. In addition, 4% of firms said current systems did not allow for any new investment products to be launched.
Over one-third of respondents said the accuracy of client reporting was compromised due to the fragmentary, disconnected way that transactions were processed through legacy systems.
SimCorp polled nearly 135 executives from 84 North American buy-side firms.
David Kubersky, managing director for SimCorp, said firms should look to introduce an investment book of record to serve as a single source of information spanning front- to back-office operations.
“This system should offer integrated workflows in managing cash, margins, deliverables and collateral, accurate reporting and the ability to quickly introduce new products to market,” he said.