Deloitte & Touche LLP is conducting a study that will help investment managers compare their firm's costs with similar costs incurred by their peers.
"It's easy to compare revenues or the charges to start a mutual fund," said Adam Schneider, director of investment industry consulting for Deloitte & Touche, New York.
"But it's hard to compare the costs of portfolio management or other things. If an account costs you $1,000 a year in back office, you should know whether that is high or low," he said.
Deloitte & Touche has been doing cost studies for 10 years with about 10 to 15 managers. This year's study includes 24 managers, bringing in new companies and retooling the data.
The study will explore costs in: portfolio management; back office; information technology; business support; and sales/customer service. Cost-per-activity will be measured and compared to the costs of other participating firms. Companies will not be identified.
"This will be unique and valuable because it's function-specific and product specific. The analytical framework takes into account differences in organizational structure, product mix, management styles and operations approaches," Mr. Schneider said.
Results should be available by Sept. 1.
