As we celebrate our crystal anniversary, commemorating the launch of our Toronto office in 2001, Eagle’s growth in Canada reflects our “all in” commitment to the markets in which we operate.

Joel Kornblum, Head of Partner Relations and Client Solutions

Canada’s financial and capital markets landscape has always had a reputation for stability and prudence, yet that should not overshadow the financial innovation that regularly comes out of the country. Let’s not forget that Canada produced Nobel Laureates Robert Mundell, the father of the “Euro” and supply-side economics; Myron S. Scholes, the architect of the Black-Scholes model for valuing options; and William Vickrey, one of the first to apply game theory in understanding auctions.

As Eagle has been active—and present—in Canada for 15 years now, we have witnessed firsthand the innovation and collaborative spirit that is quite unique to the country. We also recognize how valuable our clients in Canada have been in helping shape our product set to meet the evolving demands of the global marketplace. With relationships that go all the way back to 2000, we continue to build upon a network of leading asset managers and pension funds in Canada that count on Eagle to understand their distinct market and facilitate efficient growth.

Read More…

Brexit provides an example of how a managed services offering is helping clients manage and optimize their investment data to navigate market events

Liz Blake, Global Head of Front Office Services, BNY Mellon Technology Solutions

In the days leading up to the UK’s historic referendum to leave the European Union, polls were in a dead heat with a slight edge towards those that intended to vote to remain in the EU. When investors woke up to news that Britain actually voted to leave, it triggered a wave of selling around the world that resulted in the largest two-day sell-off on record with global financial markets losing some $2 trillion during the trading sessions that followed.

While the results took many investors by surprise, for the clients signed up with the Front Office Services Group (a group dedicated to the managed services around Eagle’s enterprise data management and performance solutions), the Brexit vote provided a case study to demonstrate the role of our managed services offering in helping clients prepare for the unexpected. For a managed services team, success may be best reflected in the ability of the front office to focus unencumbered on the markets, rather than worrying about the accuracy and availability of critical data or the firm’s ability to easily move into new investment types.

Read More…

Eagle’s July webinar with WatersTechnology highlighted how buy-side investment firms are increasingly investigating not only stand-alone software solutions but also managed services and fully outsourced alternatives to replace outdated portfolio management and accounting technology

Mike Maltby, Head of Market Strategy

In July, Eagle participated in a WatersTechnology webinar discussing best practices around legacy system replacement and the critical role portfolio management and accounting systems can play in supporting business growth. One of the key takeaways from the webinar was the growing tendency among buy-side firms exploring new solutions to pursue a “dual-track” RFP process. Increasingly, asset managers will simultaneously weigh both the costs and benefits of choosing either a hosted software solution—including possible managed services—or a fully outsourced alternative that hands off the entirety of the day-to-day management to a third-party provider.

The webinar featured Prescient Chief Operating Officer, Craig Mockford and Desjardins Senior Advisor, Mario Coulombe in addition to myself, while WatersTechnology Editor in Chief, Victor Anderson moderated the discussion.

The webinar highlighted the extent to which buy-side firms are operating with sub-optimal and outdated technology as well as what the business ramifications can be when vendors either begin to sunset older systems or fail to reinvest in mission-critical technology. Over 40% of the more than 250 viewers that attended the webinar indicated that their own organization is currently running an outdated or obsolete portfolio management or accounting system, and over a third cited that legacy-platform and vendor risk represent the greatest challenges to growing their business. In discussing a starting point to address this threat head on, Prescient’s Mockford noted that for his firm, the initial objective was to understand all of the possible alternatives by sending out RFPs to key software vendors as well as the top outsourcing solution providers.

Read More…

Marc Rubenfeld, CIPM, Head of Eagle Solutions for Europe, Middle East, and Asia-Pacific

Eagle Investment System’s Marc Rubenfeld, in an article published in Australia’s Financial Standard, explores the growing trend of superannuation funds building in-house investment teams to assume greater control and deliver greater cost efficiencies to their members. The article, “The Superannuation Funds Insourcing Equation”, highlights the technological considerations that need to be addressed and the capabilities needed to support the insourcing of asset management.

With two-thirds of Australia’s superannuation funds planning to bring asset management in-house in the next 10 years, Rubenfeld explores some of the reasons behind this growing trend including cost reduction, an increase in fund sizes and the desire for funds to get closer to their assets. He writes that “if institutions overlook the technological demands, the desired efficiencies, cost savings and member benefits will quickly be lost in transition”.

Download the full Financial Standard Article