Outlook 2021: Accelerating Strategic Initiatives in Asset Management

Each year, we think collectively about the trends that we believe will shape the year ahead for our clients and the industry. Usually, these trends offer up more questions than answers and this year's outlook is no different. We hold no crystal ball and cannot say much with certainty, buy what we do feel confident in is that the pace of change in our industry is accelerating.

For decades, asset managers operated on the same systems, followed the same processes, and worked with the same providers. But in a year plagued by economic uncertainty and challenging markets, we were surprised to see an increased interest in strategic change initiatives. In some cases, this was cause and effect, but we believe it underscores the scale of change at play in our industry and is a bellwether for the year ahead. If 2020 was any indication, asset managers will be embracing big picture change as they lay the groundwork to harness the power of new technologies and investment strategies.

Download the paper by filling out the form on the right to get our take on:

• The evolution of front to back services and where the industry is headed
• How a new breed of asset management mergers and acquisitions is helping firms achieve economies of scale
• Changes to technology, operations, and the workplace brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic
• Why data hubs might offer the next generation data architecture
• How regulatory change is altering the asset management landscape in Europe
• Whether 2021 will be the year of middle office outsourcing in Canada
• A look at the long overdue reckoning of diversity efforts in financial services