The operational model of investment managers is gradually becoming more elaborate due to changes in compliance regulations and numerous 3rd party fund service providers being used by the industry. Multiple jurisdictions, master-feeder structures, a wide range of custodians and sub-custodians, a variety of instruments, outsourced services (e.g. management company and administration) all contribute to the ever-increasing complexity. In this industry, the most valuable asset of any investment manager is their data.
It is quite common for investment managers to rely primarily on data received from partnered 3rd parties. Administrators provide a dataset for each calculated NAV, but usually, these files end up only as historical entries in a server, rather than being actively leveraged for operational advantages. A data warehouse has become a “must–have” component for fund managers with a complex product setup and/or multiple/out-sourced administrators with different IT solutions and reporting formats.