Blog
Benchmarking – you won’t see the bumps in the road ahead if you’re looking into the rear-view mirror
Many, if not most, outsourcing contracts now include benchmarking clauses, giving the client an opportunity to compare how their supplier is performing against the market from both a cost and service perspective after a specified length of time.
Some people like change. Most don’t.
The key drivers for change in our industry have remained constant for a number of years; regulation, cost-control, operational efficiency and the need to stay ahead of one’s competitors. In addition there are a multitude of organisation-specific reasons for implementing change, meaning change is something that all organisations have to deal with, and for many it seems like it is constant.
Outsourcing – ‘Why Worry About The Other Guy?’
There have been examples of outsource arrangements that have terminated when they need not have done. They represent relationship and commercial failure. One mark of a win:win arrangement is one in which the parties can innovate together. Not many actually do that effectively even when the opportunity is there, so why not?
The end of the AMC is nigh…. (and probably not before time!)
The ubiquity of the annual management charge (AMC) has permeated throughout the Life, Pensions & Funds Universe since my initiation into the Industry some twenty-five years ago.
There is no general consensus on how to document an operating model
The objective of documenting the operating model is to communicate how the business works, or will work, both operationally and technically. A good operating model diagram will also serve to identify operational bottlenecks; uncover responsibility gaps or risks; or highlight fragmentation of data management, systems or functions.
Legacy books – the elephant in the room
Almost every business has to accept that some of their products or services will reach a “legacy” status at some point - where they are closed for new business - and the focus has moved on to other live products. Few organisations deal with the legacy book effectively or efficiently, which is unlikely to be a suitable outcome for clients.