Digital and data at the heart of client experience

07/03/2022

More than ever before, buy-side companies and their clients now need to access reliable and, as far as possible, real-time information to monitor their activity and support their investment decisions.

Therefore, effective data management across the entire investment value chain is a prerequisite for a seamless client experience, both for asset managers and for their own clients.

In a context of soaring digitalisation, client experience now necessarily involves digital interfaces requiring efficient data administration and delivery. It is thus necessary for asset servicers, as well as for their buy-side clients, to be able to offer:

  • The right technical solutions, in terms of data sourcing, aggregation, processing and storage, but also in terms of processing/delivery/consultation interfaces both at front-office (i.e. client interface) and back-office (i.e. employee interface) level;

  • The right degree of autonomy in data management according to the client's needs and "technological maturity";

  • The best process reviews to optimise the fluidity and interactivity between teams and tools.

Concrete solutions to better manage your data

In terms of data storage, aggregation and processing, the reliability, security and scalability of the systems used are the cornerstone of a successful data management strategy. In this respect, SGSS relies on the robust infrastructure of the Societe Generale group. Clients benefit from the capabilities and resources of an international banking group, including Big Data and data lakes, which are necessary for the efficient storage, aggregation, and processing of an ever-increasing volume of information.

When it comes to data sourcing, portfolio managers need to be able to base their investment decisions on a wide range of information, be it market, reference or ESG1 data. To do so, they must be able to access many specialised providers in sometimes fragmented international markets, which is not always an easy feat. Tosupport clients in this process and to provide them with the flexibility they need for their business, SGSS has developed close relationships with the majority of the recognised data providers in the investment industry. Clients thus benefit from privileged and easy access to numerous providers for obtaining the data essential to the steering of their activity.

In addition, the solutions offered by SGSS allow clients to integrate their own data, whether produced internally or provided by third parties with whom SGSS does not necessarily have a direct link. They can thus build their investment strategies on reliable data from potentially multiple sources, which they keep control of and, if they wish, easily integrate it into their own information system thanks to a complete range of APIsdeveloped and made available by the SGSS teams.

With regards to data processing, delivery and consultation, a single interface is a major asset for portfolio managers, offering greater operational efficiency and better risk control. SGSS provides its clients with SG Markets, Societe Generale's BtoB online services platform, which grants access to all the solutions offered by SGSS (local  and/or global custody, fund services, etc.) and by the Group, as well as to ad hoc data. This centralised access to data makes it easier and more straightforward to obtain the information and functionalities needed via a single, ergonomic user interface, offering speed of execution and ease of use. Thanks to advanced "dashboard" type functions, SG Markets users can also enrich the use value of this data via autonomous customisation, modelling and visualisation functions. Finally, as part of a "transparentising" approach, the SG Markets user interface is the same for both clients and SGSS teams, allowing seamless exchanges around a common reference system and language.

Digital and data, at every stage of our clients' journey

Beyond the functionalities specific to the core business of asset servicers and professional investors, data and digital technology must also enable the implementation of complementary tools, capable of continuously enriching the client journey and experience. These improvements can be made both in the day-to-day management of the client relationship and via complementary business solutions with high added value.

In order to optimise the management of its clients' requests and their experience, SGSS has developed a number of digital tools, available via SG Markets, that make interactions between them and its teams more seamless. These include:

  • RFP e-Response, which allows SGSS responses to requests for proposals to be viewed online and downloaded easily, quickly and securely.

  • The eSign solution, which allows contracts and other documents to be signed in a quick, simple and intuitive digital workflow.

  • MyCases, which automatically routes client requests to the right person within SGSS to speed up processing and save time.

SGSS also applies new digital technologies, such as RPAand OCR4 , to optimise its own client data management processes. These technologies allow for the automation of some of the document and request processing operations, which represents real-time and productivity savings for both teams and users, and thus improves client satisfaction and experience.

SGSS also offers add-on business solutions that enhance its core offering by leveraging data and technologies such as artificial intelligence. Ultimately, they aim to enable our clients to improve their operational efficiency, risk control and, in so doing, their financial and commercial performance. As an illustration, we can mention in particular:

  • Fund Alerts, a real-time alerting tool on fund activity (subscription/redemption orders and inflows/outflows at market closure), based on a system of fully customisable thresholds, which sends portfolio managers notifications via SMS, email and/or SG Markets if the set thresholds are exceeded.

  • AutoExplain, a solution for the automatic drafting and production of fund factsheets that can be fully customised (textual content, graphics, etc.) using natural language generation technology.

In the end, digital and data are great tools that can act as wonderful catalysts for the overall client experience, provided that the companies in question have the resources and knowledge to leverage them efficiently. Effective data management requires a perfect balance between tools and people, and it is the ability to put this delicate score to music that makes all the difference when it comes to client experience.

1Environmental, social and governance
2Application programming interfaces

3Robotic process automation

4Optical character recognition

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