A recent industry article discussed the factors that drive consultants’ due diligence when evaluating investment managers. In addition to the usual focus by consultants on investment performance, attribution, risk management, and compliance, another area that was cited in terms of consultant due diligence was disaster preparedness, recovery processes and procedures.
In the wake of hurricane Sandy and other environmental calamities, investment consultants are now savvy to explore the individual investment management firm’s own capabilities with the fundamental question in mind being whether or not the firm’s business continuity plans are adequate to maintain ongoing operations in the event of a disaster.
That’s where the Cloud comes in. By selecting Cloud-based solutions for mission-critical systems, investment managers can eliminate business risk and excel over their competitors with regards to consultant RFPs. In addition, Cloud-based solutions also help with other key areas of consultant due diligence such as compliance, since mission critical systems for compliance, trading, reporting and other areas are also cloud-based in this model. By utilizing Cloud-based solutions, investment management firms can gain a competitive advantage over their less nimble peers and also demonstrate a culture of compliance and transparency.
