Efficiency now, pay later

Trema study shows that systems providers need to offer clients more.

“Itook a look at the private banking space and quite quickly found a huge void,” says Ian Mullane, recently appointed as head of global sales and client relationships at software solutions provider Trema. Unfortunately for Mr Mullane – and the pack of eight rival providers including Charles River, Thompson and Advent – back office systems are not a priority for most wealth managers. “Private banks have not been buying software,” he concedes. And getting them to see the cost benefits of a paperless system is “like herding cats”. Mr Mullane, whose clients include the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Scandinavian house SEB Asset Management, said systems providers need to incorporate tax, scale and individual portfolio compliance capacity in their solutions, plus be able to guarantee a significant return on investment (ROI). Trema conducted a study, verified by IDC Consultants, to determine a 77 per cent ROI for a typical European client, with an 18-month payback period. “Now we can go out to clients and promise an ROI of at least 50 per cent,” says Mr Mullane. He says clients do not have to pay the E1.5m licence fee for a typical off-the-shelf solution until they have generated 50 per cent on this as a result of improved business efficiency.

Mullane: it’s ‘like herding cats’