Regulatory change projects are the top priority for 2014 attendees at Investit’s 19th intelligence conference, which delivered research on effective change management in investment management and the current state of automation in the front and middle office.

In addition to regulatory change projects (which were referenced by 93% of respondents), the other main priorities were data management (66%) and front office systems (52%).

Investit refers to renewed interest in front office systems as firms look to consolidate systems for greater efficiencies and resolve data inconsistencies. A major driver is to improve support for multi-asset strategies according to Catherine Doherty, Investit CEO, who says the company has been working with firms to design and support multi-asset products.

“After the UK Budget announcement that defined contribution pension savers will no longer be required to buy annuities, there is a great opportunity for fund managers to provide retirement income products. We expect a lot more work to go into supporting large scale multi-asset processes to meet this potential demand.”

A poll of the delegates showed that 64% had the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFM directive) as the regulatory activity causing most concern, followed by central clearing (Emir & Dodd Frank) with 41% and managing operational risk of outsourcing (36%).

The conference was attended by more than 60 senior management delegates from 24 top-tier investment managers and investment operations service providers.