The last few years have been turbulent times for all those involved in the financial markets as they come to terms with all the changes in regulation, market behaviour and market practice. In the past, buy-side institutions such as institutional investors, pension funds, asset managers, wealth managers and private banks have tended to be immune from any turmoil. This time is completely different as the changes are more far-reaching and the upheaval is having a significant impact on all financial market participants, but it has come as a particularly major shock to the fund management industry.
Clearly there has been an increase in costs as a result of compliance with the new risk and regulatory regime. Frequently, additional resources are required to meet the extra administrative burdens associated with doing business in the current environment. Undoubtedly these do not fall fairly across the spectrum of institutions involved and become a barrier to entry for new specialist entrants.
One way institutional investors and asset managers can turn this new business environment to their advantage is in the area of FX. These new regulatory changes are a unique opportunity to upgrade their business model, their FX operational processes and improve efficiency to reduce investment costs and improve fund performance.