Building the back and middle offices of the future.

Back and middle offices are often viewed as support functions, but that is changing. For investment managers, achieving operational excellence is now a catalyst for major change.

Options like collective investment trusts (CITs) are gaining popularity as cost-efficient, flexible investment vehicles. Alternatives are moving from purely institutional use to the mainstream wealth market. Firms must rethink their infrastructure to meet rising expectations for speed, transparency, and scalability.

Why is change needed? 

Investment managers face growing complexity: higher transaction volumes, more frequent reporting cycles, and stricter compliance requirements. Old, paper-heavy workflows aren’t suitable for today’s environment. To compete, firms must replace manual processes, prepare for high volume, and prioritize clean and connected data.

This is important for two reasons. First, it helps reduce risk. Second, it improves the experience for everyone in the investment ecosystem.

Priorities for modernization

• Digitize onboarding and subscription processes. Replace manual paperwork with automated workflows tied to AML/KYC compliance. This reduces friction and accelerates plan implementation.
• Enable real-time data transparency. Sponsors and fiduciaries expect normalized, cloud-based datasets across CITs, mutual funds, alternatives, and other vehicles. Moving away from batch files and FTP transfers is now table stakes.
• Prepare for volume. CITs and semi-liquid structures like interval funds often require transfer agency capabilities and standardized subscription documents. Uniformity and automation across pre-trade, trade, and post-trade activities will determine scalability.
• Unify data for better decisions. Consolidating platforms and creating unified data lakes can improve compliance and deliver a consistent user experience, something clients increasingly demand.

The bottom line

Back- and middle-office modernization isn’t a one-time project—it’s an operating model. Firms that automate, standardize, and unify data will position themselves to serve clients with confidence, at scale. Better control enables managers to focus on outcomes, not operations—and that’s the real value of strategic growth.