Press Release
New York Executive Roundtable Reveals Number One Concern of Investment Management Firms in Client Reporting
Vast majority of roundtable attendees surveyed agree that customization of client reports is a key priority
JERSEY CITY, NJ – October 16, 2007 – Executives from many of the industry’s largest financial services firms gathered at the New York Yacht Club last month to discuss best practices in client reporting for institutional investors and private clients.
The Client Reporting Executive Roundtable was hosted by DeskNet Inc., a leading provider of enterprise customer communications software for the financial services industry. The event, which followed a highly successful Roundtable held in Boston earlier this summer, underscored industry trends that are driving the adoption of solutions for automating the production of high-quality, custom investment management reports. A survey of Roundtable participants revealed the following:
- 96 percent said that customization was a pain point in client reporting.
- 67 percent reported that handling client reporting volumes and delivery schedules was a key issue.
- Only 38 percent have deployed a system to support client reporting.
The Client Reporting Executive Roundtable included presentations from Citisoft, a specialized business and systems consulting firm that focuses on investment management; Standard Life Investments (SLI), a global investment management firm; and DeskNet.
Ben Keeler, Director at Citisoft, focused on key trends in client reporting, including the proliferation of complex investment products and new asset types and their affect on client reporting. Firms face the challenge of not only supporting their existing business, but also building flexibility into the client reporting process to prepare for future change and growth. “Leading firms can’t scale unless they proactively address their problems in client reporting. It's essential that they align people, processes, and technology,” said Keeler. “Taking an opportunistic view at the client reporting challenge can help drive revenue, reduce cost and risk, and enhance a firm’s service level through high-value communications.”
Brian Reid and Elaine Cowan of Standard Life Investments spoke to the expectations, challenges, and realizations companies face in transforming a highly manual process and delivering an automated client reporting solution using DeskNet’s ContentWelder™ client reporting platform.
Roundtable participants viewed the event as a forum to share ideas with colleagues in the client reporting community and learn more about the benefits and trends of automated solutions. Executives were given the opportunity to speak with other firms using automated client reporting systems, enabling them to understand how their peers are maximizing the technology to create high-quality, customized client communications.
Brian Fitzsimons, Co-CEO of DeskNet, added, “We were very pleased with the response DeskNet received from the New York roundtable event. Our attendees included some of the industry’s most highly regarded investment management firms, and each participant contributed to the success of the event. We’re looking forward to our next Client Reporting Executive Roundtable in 2008, as DeskNet continues to provide an important educational forum for the client reporting community.”
About DeskNet
DeskNet Inc. is the leading provider of enterprise customer communications software for the financial services industry. DeskNet’s ContentWelder is the most advanced solution available to automate and manage the production of high-quality, custom investment documents for institutional investors and private clients. The industry’s leading investment management firms rely on ContentWelder as a global enterprise platform to deliver the advanced workflow solutions that enable custom client reports on demand, while providing the needed transparency into the process. DeskNet’s clients include top financial services firms such as T. Rowe Price, MFS Investment Management, INVESCO, PIMCO Funds, Standard Life Insurance and many others. For more information, visit www.desknetinc.com.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Jeff Ketner
KetnerBarnes Inc. (for DeskNet)
jeff@ketnerbarnes.com
(512) 794-8876
David Mead
DeskNet Inc.
dmead@desknetinc.com
(201) 946-7080 ext. 1018
ContentWelder is a trademark of DeskNet Inc. All other trademarks are properties of their respective companies.
