Acuiti has launched the Asset Management Expert Network, focused on global derivatives markets.
Acuiti Expert Networks will provide senior executives with a virtual forum in which they can gauge sentiment and benchmark approaches to common challenges.
The network will comprise senior derivatives-focused asset management executives from global firms.
Each quarter, members of the network will have the opportunity to pose questions anonymously to their peers.
These questions will be sent to the network and aggregated in a quarterly report, which provides an analysis of attitudes and approaches to the challenges that the network is facing.
The first quarterly report covers barriers to growth, headcount, approaches to key regulatory reforms, and how asset managers view the landscape for third-party technology provision.
The first inaugural report found that asset management executives see the greatest opportunities in new trading strategies and investment in technology, and that cost bases are the main challenge of the moment.
In addition, the report also found that active account proposals in EMIR 3.0 are already having an effect on firms’ Euro swap holdings, while network members are divided on T+1 settlement, with some fearing it will cause operational complications. Tokenisation is seen as a promising collateral management tool, but many still perceive it as an immature solution.
Ross Lancaster, head of research at Acuiti, says: "After a challenging 2022 and first half of 2023, asset managers have continued to grapple with the unpredictable market conditions caused by rising interest rates.
“These shifts have led to reviews of asset allocation and trading strategies, as well as an increased focus on risk and collateral management. As many asset managers look to change how they position in markets, there is also a need for investment to support the systems needed to put this into place as efficiently as possible.”
He adds: “In this report, we take a look at approaches to these challenges and also provide the first input for our sentiment index, a quarterly measure of how asset managers are feeling about their business prospects for the quarter ahead.”
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