Process automation levels at US asset managers are improving, but progress in eliminating manual procedures remains slow, according to this STP/T+1 business update prepared by CapCo on behalf of the Securities Industry Association.
Equity processing was found to be "quite automated" at firms, with the exception of order delivery, NOE receipt and NOE processing.
In contrast, trading in corporate bonds is mostly manual, with roughly the same FTE count as equities to process much lower volumes. These trades typically have much higher value and so carry more risk. Once trades are in automated form (at confirm process), level of automation was found to be fairly high in downstream activities.
Corporate actions and new account set-up are still highly manual.
The survey found operations and technology projects are not always a high priority for senior management within the industry, and so implementing change can be difficult.
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