In tandem with the celebration of its 225th anniversary, State Street Corporation announced today the publication of its latest study, A New Climate for Growth: Cultivating Asset Intelligence to Thrive, which outlines a new model for future growth that will allow industry participants to: 1) compete at scale; 2) align technology with ambition; and 3) cultivate the power of asset intelligence.

According to the study, two-thirds (66%) of the 507 global asset managers and asset owners surveyed believe it is becoming more challenging to achieve growth in the current market environment. Interestingly, European respondents are more concerned about regulations governing liquidity risk, with 40% ranking it as one of their top three threats for growth; while 43% of North American respondents deem regulatory attention to investment fees as a top three risk; while in APAC, 41% of respondents ranked the political outlook of key markets as a top three threat for growth. However, only a minority of global respondents feel they have the right strategy, operating model and technology infrastructure in place to reach their full growth potential given these conditions.

While digitisation remains a priority in order to address growth concerns, with the understanding that it has the potential to streamline operations, create efficiencies, and optimise performance and risk management; institutions are struggling to keep pace as the rate of change accelerates, with only 43% stating they are adapting technology quickly enough to support business growth needs.

Based on the research findings, State Street has outlined areas for institutions to prioritise within its new model for future growth:

1)     Compete at scale

a.     Consolidating to compete on cost and capability

b.    Outsourcing to focus on differentiation

c.     Co-investing to access new opportunities

2)     Align technology with ambition

a.     Acquiring to on-board innovation

b.    Integrating systems for a unified view of performance and risk

c.     Expanding distribution with mobile and robo

3)     Cultivate the power of asset intelligence

a.     Marrying advanced digital intelligence with human experience and insights

b.    Building new employee skill sets

c.     Embedding a culture of doing things differently

Jeff Conway, chief executive officer, EMEA at State Street said, “Over the past 225 years, our ability to change has remained constant. It’s what propelled us from a maritime bank to a leading financial services provider. We believe the financial industry is at of the beginning of a new, digital era. In a world where data is the new currency, assets backed by intelligence will change how institutions will deliver on their investment objectives and risk management needs.”

Later this year, State Street will also unveil a new benchmarking tool which will enable clients to benchmark themselves against the research findings and measure their preparedness for the future against their peers.

For further details on the study, please click here.

A New Climate for Growth: Cultivating Asset Intelligence to Thrive is based on a survey of more than 500 asset managers and asset owners globally, focused on these institutions’ priorities for growing their assets, businesses and improving their investment performance over 1-5 years. Based on this survey’s results it highlights key conclusions that outline the strategies and models necessary to achieve these growth aims.

Source: Press release