In advance of the event, Delano spoke with Tarne Bevan, business manager, Europe, M&G Investments. She speaks on the “Scalability of operations and the role of technology” panel, at 4:10pm.
Aaron Grunwald: What do you want the audience to get most from the “Scalability of operations and the role of technology” session?
Tarne Bevan: Some practical insights to consider if beginning the journey to leverage data and technology to a greater degree in your business. To think carefully about what aspects of your business might require different principles and considerations. For example, is it related to the product proposition, i.e., crypto/tokenised assets, is it to scale operations across jurisdictions, is it to improve workflow, is it to improve decision-making. These will affect how you plan for change/implementation and solution selection, and will guide on any trade-offs that might be needed.
From your point of view, what is the biggest scalability challenge that alternative investment fund managers are facing?
The variability in sources of data/information and the skills needed to design, select, execute and manage on an ongoing basis any data and technology solutions. The nature of the assets in funds, i.e., real assets vs financial vs digital, the volume of regulatory change and keeping on top of costs add to these challenges.
How scalable can private market funds be? Won’t private market funds always retain a ‘bespoke’ quality about them?
Yes, probably. But you can also argue that public market funds aren’t all managed in exactly the same way either, and when it comes to the scalability of the corporate and operational aspects, it will differ depending on business model, size, geographical footprint and jurisdictions, whether part of a larger corporate group which may dictate more than a smaller independent business would need to deal with. Markets evolve quickly and there are many solutions and learnings to be taken from more mature markets/asset classes than 20-30 years ago. The key is focusing on marginal benefit, sequencing, integration/interoperability and data management/governance.
Aside from your own talk at the Alfi event, which session are you most looking forward to hearing, and why?
On the 22nd, I’m looking forward to “GP perspective: translating trends into investment strategies and returns” [editor’s note: at 9:50am] because I’m keen to see how the new regime and cycle we’re moving into will evolve investment strategies. On the 23rd, “The future of alternatives in 2027” [at 2:50pm] for much the same reason.