Author

With average industry margins falling from 34 to 31 percent over the past decade, and most experts forecasting a continued slide to 20 percent over the next five years, it’s critical for asset management firms to foster productivity in conjunction with improving operational efficiency. Last year Seismic surveyed over 100 individuals from 37 asset management…

A few months ago we looked at Accenture’s Banking Technology Vision 2017, and of the report’s numerous highlights, those centered on AI were particularly noteworthy: Seventy-nine percent of respondents agree that AI will revolutionize the way banks gain information from and interact with customers Twenty-nine percent believe it is extremely important to offer their products/services…

Asset managers are under the gun to adjust their operational models and expand margins in the face of prevailing headwinds. This isn’t some 2016 narrative; it’s language adapted from a FundFire article published today. In the piece, a survey commissioned by State Street and conducted by Longitude Research cites that 66 percent of institutional investors…

It’s been quite some time since we directly discussed the status and fate of the DOL’s fiduciary rule. A lot has changed over the past eight months, particularly due to the policy positions of President Trump’s administration, and yet, as the DOL and the SEC make decisions on the massively complex regulation, much of the…

On October 2 hundreds of Seismic customers will converge on downtown San Diego for Seismic Shift, the annual three-day conference for platform best practices, new product announcements, and networking. But you already knew that, and you want to go, but first, you have to sell the dream. We get it, which is why the following…

The evolution of banking is at a major inflection point. With the groundwork for diminishing returns in play, it’s imperative for banking institutions to consider new technologies and digital pathways that will allow them to compete in an age of low rates and, more critically, provide current customers with an efficient, omni-channel experience. In a…

In an interview with FundFire last year, Amanda Tepper, president of AM 20/20, a consultancy, said of RFP responses, “You really need to be paying attention to what you are doing. The more rote you are, the more likely you are to make a mistake and to have wasted a lot of time. Quality matters…

It’s August. The oft-celebrated dog days of summer are in full swing, so let’s be honest with ourselves. Most folks are on vacation doing absolutely nothing productive, and those who are actually in the office, presumably reading this post, probably aren’t doing a whole lot either. No. That’s unfair. They are, but not really. Hey,…

Let’s talk sales enablement. Let’s talk fintech. Let’s talk about the potential of both within banking. And make no mistake; they are not mutually exclusive. EY recently released a pair of reports on the rise of fintech and how its growth can be nothing but beneficial for banks and their clients and customers. The caveat,…

Risk: An innate characteristic of asset management that all firms must measure and mitigate. How this occurs and to what extent it can occur is a topic of interminable discussion among managers, analysts, and regulators alike, particularly since 2008. For example, the SEC’s amendments to rule 204-2 and Form ADV, among others, aim to provide…