A group of money managers and other market players have teamed up to develop and launch a money management operating platform, aimed at streamlining middle- and back-office operations.
Pacific Investment Management Co. and Man Group are collaborating with financial services firm IHS Markit, custody firm State Street, technology firm Microsoft and management consulting firm McKinsey to form technology-led company HUB.
The company intends to build a cloud-based operating platform, aimed at providing flexible and modular solutions across middle- and back-office functions. The platform will also aim to reduce costs and mitigate risks for money managers.
The platform will be open and available for other managers and the firms plan to have it ready for launch early next year, a spokesman for IHS Markit said. The ownership structure and financial terms were not disclosed.
"Through this partnership, HUB will combine modern technology and infrastructure to streamline our middle- and back-office functions, and feed data to every part of our business including distribution and analytics," said Emmanuel Roman, CEO of PIMCO, in a joint news release. "This technology platform forms a core component of our broader strategy, which combines technology with portfolio management and client service excellence to provide investors with investment solutions."
Man Group has invested heavily in developing its own proprietary technology infrastructure, CEO Luke Ellis said in the same news release. "Collaborating on this initiative with such great partners has allowed us to leverage our expertise with a view to helping transform the asset management industry's operational architecture, which ultimately allows for better servicing of clients' needs."
