Investment Professionals Expect to Increase Their Firm's Technology Budget to Comply with the DOL Rule, Finds SS&C Technologies Survey

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Jun 20, 2016, 09:00 ET

Nearly a third of investment professionals are concerned with operational efficiency

WINDSOR, Conn., June 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq:SSNC), a global provider of financial services software and software-enabled services, today announced the results from its survey conducted at the 2016 Pershing INSITE Conference from June 7-8, 2016. The survey found a majority (85 percent) of investment professionals expect that more of their firms' budgets will be allocated to adopting technology that will help them comply with the DOL Fiduciary Rule. In fact, one third of respondents (33 percent) estimate that their firms will allocate 10-25 percent of their budgets for this purpose.

"While the industry is still digesting exactly how to adapt their businesses due to the DOL rule, it's undeniable that firms will need to evolve their advice models and their daily operations," said Dave Welling, Managing Director and Co-General Manager, SS&C Advent. "We are actively engaged with our clients on the challenges and opportunties ahead and how investment in technology can help them grow, scale and run their businesses more efficiently."

When asked about the specific technologies that firms will need to adopt or enhance to comply with the DOL rule, 18 percent of investment professionals reported client portal/document management capabilities will be top of mind. This was followed by billing – fee scheduling and disclaimer support (14 percent), portfolio management and reporting (14 percent) and financial planning (13 percent).

Regarding the business growth challenges keeping investment professionals up at night, 28 percent of survey respondents cited "operational efficiency isn't where it needs to be to reach our business goals." This data point goes hand-in-hand with expectations needed to comply with the DOL rule. According to the survey, more than three quarters of investment professionals (80 percent) expect the DOL rule to specifically impact policies, procedures and technology systems at their firms. Notably, the survey found that 41 percent of respondents expect "substantial changes" when determining the impact on their firms.

The survey also explored how complying with the DOL rule will impact firms' client rosters. More than half (62 percent) of investment professionals believe complying with the rule will affect the makeup of their client base. 58 percent of the Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) polled expect minor impacts to the types of clients they currently serve, compared to 53 percent of independent broker-dealers surveyed.

Additionally, SS&C asked other business growth challenges keeping investment professionals up at night and the majority cited that whether or not their current service model is still a fit for today's more demanding clients (22 percent), while 19 percent cited attracting the right advisor talent to meet growth goals and 17 percent said the DOL rule and regulations are hurting their business, as well as how to operate a robo-platform within their business (12 percent).

Methodology

The survey was conducted via in-person interviews held at the 2016 Pershing INSITE Conference in Orlando Florida from June 7-8. A total of 120 responses were collected from investment professionals, registered investment advisors (RIAs), independent broker/dealers, and senior-level corporate executives. Download a copy of the full survey results here.

About SS&C Technologies

SS&C is a global provider of investment and financial software-enabled services and software for the global financial services industry. Founded in 1986, SS&C is headquartered in Windsor, Connecticut and has offices around the world. Some 10,000 financial services organizations, from the world's largest institutions to local firms, manage and account for their investments using SS&C's products and services. These clients manage an aggregate of over $44 trillion in assets.

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SOURCE SS&C