Buy-side urged to focus on transition for book of record

Asset managers looking to incorporate an investment book of record to monitor overall investment and risk should focus on the specific business goals such a database will offer, an executive with solutions provider Linedata has said.

Asset managers looking to incorporate an investment book of record (IBOR) to monitor overall investment and risk should focus on the specific business goals such a database will offer, an executive with solutions provider Linedata has said.

Paul Westgate, product manager for Linedata, who offer an IBOR product for institutional investors, said the broad-level data offered by an IBOR database is becoming an increasingly sought after operational requirement for the buy-side. But, asset managers should first decide what problems they want to address through the real-time, actionable data an IBOR can produce ahead of full-scale system implementation.

“Firms first need to take a step back and analyse what they are looking to get out of a book of records platform and identify business needs before attempting a massive overhaul,” Westgate said.

In particular, buy-side firms should look to integrate IBOR solutions with their current data systems instead of looking to completely replace existing functionality.

“A fundamental change across the business and the systems it uses would be needed to recognise and effectively use an ultimate IBOR," Westgate told theTRADEnews.com.

“There are practical solutions today that can improve, for example, start-of-day and intraday positions by using data from multiple internal and external sources and offering user-defined position views,” he said.

IBOR platforms, including that offered by Linedata, have become increasingly popular for asset managers to support investment decisions through monitoring risk, trading, reconciliation and reporting data through a central database.

Westgate added that institutional investors can take a practical approach to IBOR implementation, including implementing functionality for real-time transparency before fully employing an IBOR solution.

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