7th Investment Data & Technology Summit
August 18, 2022
The Fullerton Hotel Sydney
Agenda
09.00-09.15 // Welcome and conference opening
09.15-10.00 // Investment data and technology transformation: COOs in conversation
This C-level discussion will provide a peer perspective of investment data and technology transformation projects that are currently underway:
- Key objectives
- Defining data strategy and architecture
- What comes first: streamlining change projects, avoiding unnecessary overlap and maintaining flexibility
- Vendor selection criteria considerations
- Challenges and lessons learnt
10.00-10.45 // ‘Fabricating’ a decentralised data model
The quest for a centralised model or ‘single source of truth’ has long dominated investment data management, with many data strategies designed to achieve this objective. However, growing organisational complexities are leading some to reconsider a fully centralised approach to data management. This session will discuss interoperability and the trend towards decentralisation along with implications for enterprise-wide data management strategies.
- How are firms coping with growing organisational complexities and system integration challenges?
- To what extent is a ‘federated model’ a pragmatic solution?
- Advantages and disadvantages of ‘data fabric’ and ‘data mesh’ models, which are increasingly mentioned as solutions to manage data across multiple technologies and platforms.
- Data fabric and data mesh models in practice: what are the governance, quality, lineage and implementation considerations?
10.45-11.15 // Refreshments and networking
11.15-12.00 // Data quality: reconciliation, certification and resolution
Keeping track of data quality and consistency across different channels and suppliers remains a significant challenge, while remediation and resolution can take up significant resources. This session will discuss internal and third party data quality validation, resolution and remediation:
- How to ensure that data is consistent across different platforms and systems.
- Identifying critical data elements to focus data quality measurement.
- Best practice entity resolution and how to keep track of changes in data identifiers over time.
- Tools to assist with data reconciliation and remediation.
- Better collaboration: opportunities to standardise requirements for data conventions and investment technology.
12.00-12.45 // Moving up the maturity curve: later stage transformation
This session will look beyond the foundations of a solid investment data and technology architecture and capability to what is required to truly improve investment analytics and decision-making at the front office level.
It will discuss optimum combinations of data sets to inform investment decision making; data exploration and visualisation strategies; real-life ‘sandbox’ projects and advanced predictive analytics modelling tools and initiatives that can help to uplift the quality of investment insights.
12.45-13.45 // Lunch & networking
13.45-14.30 // Unlisted assets: paving the way to uplift exposure and valuation management
Unlisted asset data remains a complicated challenge, but regulatory oversight of valuations is tightening up, and best practice increasingly dictates a whole-of-portfolio view.
This session will discuss how firms can access, gather and manage data in respect of private holdings in order to improve the identification of risk exposures and concentrations in light of the broader portfolios; facilitate regulatory disclosure and uplift investment decision-making.
14.30-15.15 // Hidden treasures: architecture and integration to maximise data value
This session will discuss how firms can derive maximum value from internally-generated datasets, as well as external datasets, by more efficiently capturing, disseminating and combining the insights they hold:
- Data architecture; frameworks and governance foundations
- Data integration: facilitating connectivity between applications
- Internal data: sourcing, storing and employing business-generated data
- Combining internal and external data sets in practice
15.15-15.45 // Refreshments and networking
15.45-16.30 // Standardised ESG disclosure in practice: lessons from Europe
ESG is increasingly recognised as a critical investment priority, however from a data perspective getting an accurate picture of investments remains a minefield. From a reporting perspective, there are no standards; data sets are highly varied, and simply changing a data set can result in a vastly different assessment.
The European Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) aims to improve comparability by prescribing standardised disclosure metrics. Like other key regulations in a globalised financial system, SFDR also appears driving standards beyond its home jurisdiction. This session will discuss key takeaways from Europe with respect to the new regime, practical insights generated by improved comparability and the implications for the Australian market.
16.30-17.15 // Managing for a talent shortage: skills, culture and talent management
As organisations become more data-centric, the investment data and technology landscape is struggling with a significant talent shortage. This session will discuss practical ways in which organisations can attract and up-skill talent to create high-performing analytics teams, while also creating a data culture that supports data governance, instills confidence in enterprise-wide data and supports investment analytics at scale.
- What core capabilities and skillsets are required to project manage, implement change and develop a data culture?
- Who owns data and technology and what’s the role played by IT?
- How can firms attract and retain much coveted data and quant talent?
17.15-18.15 // Drinks and canapes