Why do Scalable Investment Operations Require a Stronger Accounting Core?
Across asset management, personalization is becoming a defining client expectation.
Institutional investors want mandates tailored to their objectives, wealth channels expect portfolios that reflect client level constraints, and reporting and servicing models increasingly need to adapt to specific investor requirements.
This shift was the focus of the March 2026 InvestOps panel hosted by FundGuard titled “Creating Operational Alpha.” Leaders from Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Harris Associates, Sagard, BlackRock and Linedata shared how their organizations are responding to rising demand for personalization while maintaining scalable operations.
A consistent message emerged from the discussion: personalization is not the problem. The real challenge is whether the operating infrastructure underneath the business can support it.
For many firms, legacy infrastructures still reflect a fragmented, reconciliation driven operating model that is now under pressure.
Personalization Has Moved from Distribution to the Entire Operating Model
Historically, customization existed primarily at the front of the investment process: distribution teams structured mandates, portfolio managers adjusted exposures and operations managed the downstream complexity.
Panelists noted that this dynamic is changing.
Client expectations now extend well beyond portfolio construction. Investors want more transparency, more tailored reporting and more direct interaction with their managers. Personalization now touches the full lifecycle of the investment product and operations can no longer simply absorb that complexity after decisions have already been made.
Instead, operations increasingly participates earlier in product design and mandate discussions so firms can assess operational impact before new offerings launch.
Several speakers described the importance of having formal governance structures, such as investment or product committees, where operations, legal, and client service participate in evaluating new ideas. These forums help determine whether new client requirements can be supported through existing operating frameworks or whether they introduce unacceptable operational risk.
This shift reflects a broader change: investment operations no longer serves just to support the business, but to help shape how the business scales.
Standardization is the Foundation for Personalization
A major theme from the panel was the importance of strengthening the operational core before expanding personalization.
In recent years, many organizations pushed aggressively toward standardization. Today the industry is talking more about personalization, but panelists emphasized that these goals are not in conflict.
In practice, the most effective approach is to standardize the core infrastructure and allow flexibility at the edges.
Several speakers highlighted the importance of standardized data models and operating workflows as the foundation for personalization. When core data structures are consistent and reliable, firms can support tailored reporting, client servicing models and new product structures without introducing operational fragmentation.
One panelist described a very clear approach for their organization: first create standardized data across the platform, then allow teams to deliver personalized outputs on top of that data foundation.
This model allows firms to deliver customization to clients while maintaining internal control. Without that standardized core, personalization quickly becomes operational drift.
Configuration Enables Scale. Customization Creates Fragility.
Another important distinction discussed during the panel was the difference between configuration and customization.
Customization often requires altering systems or processes to meet a specific request. These changes may work in the short term, but they introduce complexity that is difficult to maintain as the business grows.
Configuration is fundamentally different.
Configuration means adapting workflows, reporting outputs, or service models within a controlled operating framework. The underlying data model and accounting logic remain consistent.
Panelists noted that modern technology platforms increasingly support this approach. Flexible architectures allow firms to adjust processes without rewriting core systems.
This distinction becomes critical as firms expand across asset classes, jurisdictions, and client segments.
Customization fragments infrastructure, whereas configuration allows scale.
Operational Alpha Emerges When Automation Removes Friction
The panel also explored how automation is transforming investment operations.
Several speakers described how automation of reporting and performance processes has significantly reduced the time required to deliver client outputs. Tasks that previously required hours or days can now be completed in minutes.
But the impact extends beyond efficiency. When manual reporting and reconciliation work disappears, operations teams gain the capacity to contribute more directly to the investment process.
Operations professionals can engage earlier with portfolio teams, they can support analysis and client servicing more effectively, and they can help the firm onboard new mandates faster and respond more quickly to changing client demands.
This is where operational alpha begins to appear - not simply through cost reduction, but through the ability to redirect operational expertise toward activities that improve investment outcomes and client experience.
Governance Becomes Essential as Complexity Grows
While technology and automation enable scale, panelists emphasized that governance plays an equally important role.
One recurring issue across organizations is the gradual accumulation of manual exceptions. A client request leads to a new report, a service adjustment introduces a one off process, and over time these exceptions create operational risk and long term inefficiencies.
Several panelists stressed the importance of formal review processes for any new manual workflow or operational change. These governance mechanisms ensure that client responsiveness does not come at the expense of control.
Equally important is cultural transparency.
Many firms discover hidden processes built informally by teams trying to solve immediate problems. Bringing those processes into the open and integrating them into a standardized operating framework is essential to maintaining resilience.
As personalization expands, the firms that succeed will be those that balance responsiveness with discipline.
The Next Operating Model Requires Unified Infrastructure
The discussion ultimately returned to a structural issue facing the industry: personalization, product complexity, transaction volumes and data requirements are all increasing.
Yet many firms still rely on operating infrastructures built on fragmented books of record and disconnected platforms.
Panelists highlighted the growing importance of integrated technology environments where data, workflows, and operational visibility are unified across the organization.
It is now increasingly the case that investment operations are moving toward platforms that support multiple asset classes, multiple service models and multiple client requirements while maintaining a consistent accounting foundation:
- Real time visibility into operational workflows and risk, with operating models
- Operating models where technology enables flexibility without sacrificing control.
In other words, toward a modern system of record for investment operations.
Operational Alpha Depends on the Strength of the Foundation
As the panel made clear, personalization is not slowing down, and the firms that succeed will not be those that manage complexity through more manual processes or disconnected systems. They will be the firms that build operating infrastructures capable of supporting flexibility without losing control.
That requires stronger data models, clear governance, configurable workflows and unified accounting infrastructure that serves as a single source of truth across the investment lifecycle.
Operational alpha ultimately comes from the same place as investment alpha: from building the right foundation.
Investment firms cannot scale personalization on fragmented infrastructure. See how FundGuard’s AI-powered, cloud-native accounting platform unifies books of record and enables real-time investment operations. Request a demo.