2023 Trend: Investing in Modern Technologies Unleashes the Power of Data

Lisa Masten

Consulting Principal – Data and Analytics

Lisa Masten has more than 20 years of experience in the investment management industry, leading projects and designing solutions in the areas of performance and attribution, data management, market data administration, portfolio analytics, and investment accounting. Lisa leads Cutter Associates’ Data and Performance practice, where she advises and designs operating models, selects systems, and implements business and technology solutions. She also organizes the Implementation practice for Cutter, including leading development of its adaptable delivery framework and project toolkit.

Prior to joining Cutter, Lisa was a Senior Manager at Invesco, where she managed a global team responsible for designing and implementing data, performance, and accounting solutions. She has held roles implementing and supporting processes and technology across the front, middle and back office at multiple asset management firms. Lisa holds a Bachelor of Arts in finance and computer science from North Central College in Illinois.

Kathy McDermott

Managing Director, Research

Kathy McDermott has more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry. Kathy, who joined Cutter Associates in 2011, has authored multiple Cutter Research reports on a wide range of topics. She spent ten years as a consultant for a variety of asset management firms, with a focus on business analysis for front- and middle-office projects. Kathy was previously the senior business analyst, equity trading systems, at Wellington Management, specializing in the firm’s proprietary electronic and basket trading applications. Earlier in her career, Kathy worked for Thomson Financial Services (now Thomson Reuters), supporting FirstCall and PORTIA clients in Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, and Thailand, and later went on to manage PORTIA implementations. She also worked at LongView (now Linedata) as an account manager and then product manager of electronic trading. Kathy earned her bachelor of arts in mathematics from Hamilton College.

Recent research assignments and publications include the following:

Alternative Data and the Expanding Universe of Investment Information
Cutter Benchmarking: Data Management
Cutter Benchmarking: Market Data Administration
DataOps: In Theory and Practice
Enabling Data Analytics
The Evolving Front Office Support Model
Evolving Data Governance: Building a Data Culture
Making Snowflake Part of Your Modern Data Platform
Managed Data Services
Market Data Administration
Order Management Systems
Outsourced Trading: Has the Time Come?
Reference Data Management Solutions

Feb 03, 2023

The following blog post is one in a series of Cutter 2023 Trends that provide insights into industry challenges and considerations for our clients and member firms in 2023 and beyond.

In the past, investment managers talked about the need to modernize their data architecture ─ and meant it. But it’s taken managers time to achieve some level of success, as industry vendors weren’t ready, and this drove investment managers to blaze their own path. COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 forced firms to prioritize the client experience. Now, today’s market volatility is forcing investment managers to prioritize the data and the tools required to work with the data for analytics, decision-making, and risk management. The market downturn has firms reassessing their spending priorities, and despite the current economic conditions in 2023, we expect them to continue to prioritize data management modernization.

Firms want modern data platforms with cloud-based data storage and next-generation tools for data ingestion, cleansing, transformation, and self-service data access. But technology improvements are of no use unless the business drives the implementation of the technology, and firms adapt current data management practices to the modern technologies. While IT resources once controlled ingestion of new datasets and data access, firms are now on a path to use next-generation tools to support rapid ingestion of new datasets and give users access to raw data for analysis.

Meanwhile, asset management clients have grown more sophisticated and demand access to more data and transparency. The work firms did in recent years to improve the client experience provides the digital delivery mechanism for clients to access the data they need.

Data is fluid. Like a river, it has eddies and rapids, and firms must take advantage of that fluidity. We expect that an increasing number of firms will implement modern technologies in 2023 and beyond, and adapt the processes needed to leverage that data.

For more 2023 Trends, read 2023 Trend: Supporting the Client Through Data and Digitization.