During a recent industry roundtable hosted by FundGuard and Cutter Associates, senior leaders from across the asset management, asset servicing, and technology community gathered to share candid insights into the evolving nature of investment operating models, data strategies, and the role of AI.
What emerged was not just a discussion of trends, but a collective examination of where the industry is headed, what’s working, what’s not working, and how leaders are adapting. Gain a front row seat to the thought-provoking conversations that took place and where the industry could be headed next.
The session kicked off with a provoking question: Does true outsourcing even exist anymore?
The consensus? Not really. So if it doesn’t “really” exist, what does it currently look like? Many of the depictions illustrated a similar picture.
Participants agreed that even in the most outsourced models, firms inevitably find themselves taking on more work than originally anticipated, whether it’s due to gaps in vendor capabilities, misaligned timelines, or the need for greater control and oversight.
“Nothing is ever fully outsourced,” one participant noted. “There’s always going to be some level of oversight. It’s more about what the vendor can’t do and how prepared you are to supplement around that.”
Several attendees emphasized that this oversight often stems from gaps in vendor capabilities, ranging from segmented service teams (pricing vs. NAV vs. income) to slow enhancement cycles and inconsistent support.
“We’re outsourcing more, but getting less back,” one participant noted. “And we still need someone in-house to validate it all.”
The group agreed that legacy, bolt-on-heavy systems often make this worse, driving up internal workload and stalling innovation. Firms cited extensible, API-first platforms as a must-have for future scalability.
The idea of co-sourcing, where firms remain deeply involved in operations alongside external partners, emerged as a sustainable model for scalability, customization, and risk management. Yet, as others noted, if team members must work so closely with their vendor, it raises important questions around costs and resourcing.
How do you approach management and ask for more headcount to oversee work you’ve already outsourced?
The conversation then shifted to the industry’s shift from ABOR to IBOR. This is a journey that has long been framed as transformational, but may now be entering a more pragmatic phase.
Several participants highlighted their experience migrating from legacy accounting systems to modern IBOR platforms, describing it less as a “big bang” revolution and more as a slower, gradual evolution. However, the benefits of that change are clear. Some changes that were noted were improved front-to-back data consistency, better support for portfolio management, and more flexibility for complex instruments and investment strategies.
Yet implementing IBOR remains a nuanced endeavor for some that has various influencing factors to its success. As one participant described, “We were always putting out fires. The conclusion was always, ‘If we had an IBOR, this would be easier.’”
But adopting IBOR doesn’t automatically solve every pain point. While IBOR offers the promise of real-time transparency and data consistency, its effectiveness depends on how it’s implemented and integrated into the broader ecosystem. In reality, some participants admitted they’re still relying on manual controls, spreadsheets, and custom workarounds to fill gaps, highlighting the need for modern, integrated solutions that can handle the complexity of multi-asset, intraday workflows.
How does your Investment Book of Record stand up? Score your IBOR.
The third topic centered on the growing role of AI and investment data platforms and how firms are thinking about the infrastructure required to support them.
While it was clear that enthusiasm around AI is high, most firms are still focused on the foundational readiness such as building robust data warehouses, standardizing sources, and implementing modern platforms.
In the depths of discussions around data management, it was emphasized how critical healthy data is for long-term AI success. Some joked that it would take a year to form any real opinions but the truth rang clear. Without clean and consistent data, AI cannot reach its full potential and therefore is just a buzzword.
That said, participants did share a few targeted AI use cases they’re actively exploring, from automated reconciliations and exposure detection to report drafting and cyber-risk monitoring. Overall, the message was clear: start small, aim for impact, and don’t let the hype outrun your data readiness.
It seemed that one theme threaded through all three topics of conversation. Today’s investment operations are defined by their complexity and success lies in how flexibly firms can navigate it.
Whether through thoughtful co-sourcing, the implementation of IBOR, or laying the groundwork for AI through better data practices, leaders are embracing a mindset of strategic evolution, not static transformation.
Asset managers and their servicers are now rethinking the entire operating model, balancing control and scale, investing in data, and laying a foundation that’s flexible enough to evolve with the industry’s next wave of complexity.
Related Reading
Stop Compromising on Your IBOR
Score Your IBOR
Modern Data Platforms: Firms Don’t Have to Do It on Their Own
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