Advising
Advising – boards and industry participants on governance, strategy, and execution
Driving
Driving – an informed agenda with a focus on common standards
Creating
Creating – connectivity across the institutional investor landscape in the EMEA and North America
About Us
Daron Pearce is an award-winning industry leader and expert, recognised for his outstanding contribution to the investment industry, commitment to his clients and as an advocate for the end investor. As EMEA CEO of BNY Mellon’s largest business unit and global leader of their Financial Institutions Group, Daron was responsible for the strategic direction and operational delivery of a $1.5bn business, building relationships with the C-Suite of the world’s largest and most demanding institutional investors, including many leading asset management businesses, pension and sovereign wealth funds.
We consult on fiduciary responsibility, data management and global custody/fund administration operational efficiency, working alongside fellow business leaders and with a bench of seasoned practitioners as required.
Insights
Fund Tokenisation
While cash has been digital for some time represented as numbers on a screen, converting physical assets to digital tokens on a distributed ledger now makes it possible to trade and exchange illiquid assets in real time without an
intermediary.
Recent developments in digital asset infrastructure including smart contracts are transforming the fund and wealth management industries pointing towards a future of lower cost retail distribution and discretionary management.
Fund managers are currently testing fund tokens based on secure blockchain technology ready for launch, giving investors unmediated access via a digital wallet rather than a platform or bank while also reducing their own cost base and risk profile and providing competition for ETF’s.
ESG
ESG has never been more popular, yet regulation is still fractured and siloed across geographies. While there are (at least) 13 voluntary codes, there are currently no universal standards for how companies measure ESG.
Data vendors have wildly different ESG ratings for the same companies and many of their claims just don’t stand up to sensible analysis. Now the Biden administration is poised to tighten ESG disclosure requirements while the EU is rolling out a series of mandatory ESG obligations.
Transparency and data reporting will become a global issue. The funds industry needs to prepare for a step-change towards mandatory regulation or risk losing the goodwill of our investors.
Operational Efficiency
While AuM is still trending upwards at a reasonably healthy rate, asset manager revenue continues to stagnate. With margins under continued strain, it is business transformation and operational efficiency that are driving profitability.
To thrive, fund managers must embrace innovation while also minimising risk, simultaneously mitigating ever rising costs and increased operational complexity.
There is an opportunity now to unlock all the available benefits from emerging technologies by understanding how they can positively impact on existing operating models.