Understanding Investor Services

Dearbhaile O’Hare is the head of training at Information Mosaic, the global leader in post trade software and analytics. As an Accredited Training Provider (ATP) for the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment (CISI), and a certified associate trainer, Dearbhaile has spent the last six years immersed in the investor services industry. She is acutely aware of the steep learning curve faced by anyone who is new to this sector. That is why Dearbhaile and colleagues at Information Mosaic have written the “Beginner’s Guide to the Investor Services Industry”. Written to help demystify the investor services industry and explain the basics to newcomers, outsiders, and even incumbents within the industry, who are not experts in investment related matters.

Who is Information Mosaic?
At Information Mosaic we work with 60 of the world’s most influential financial organisations, looking after their post trade software needs. Be that automating securities processing or devising and delivering analytic solutions,we enable banks to identify,measure and mitigate risk and increase their operational efficiency.

We find ourselves working with a myriad of people in investor services from operations staff to compliance officers. And frankly, over the years, we have seen a real need to help explain not only our software but also the broader investor services industry.

Industry is looking for greater transparency, but it is complicated
The multi-faceted and constantly evolving nature of the investor services industry presents an extremely steep learning curve to anyone who is new to this sector. Often, people with years of experience within this industry may find themselves in a position where they know the function of their own firm or department very well but, as specialists, they may struggle to understand their overall place in the grander scheme.

The specialist nature of this industry may also create the impression to observers and newcomers that incumbents speak a mysterious language all of their own. Scarcely a day passes by where we don’t hear about a new acronym or specialist term created by the industry.

Step-by-step guide
For such a complex industry there is surprisingly little reference material available about post-trade processes. It is after all, where most of the most valuable market data is stored. So we have taken it upon ourselves to create a simple, accessible guide with each chapter covering a progressively deeper dive into the investor services industry. We have been overwhelmed by the positive reactions from clients and academics that we have shared it with, and so have decided to make it available to all.

We have worked to make it an easy to use reference e-book. It covers chapters on financial instruments, the trade lifecycle process, the markets and their participants, electronic trading, asset servicing and corporate actions, as well as including an industry jargon buster.

New regulation means we need to understand the whole picture
The financial services landscape is undergoing unprecedented change right now, as new regulations come to fruition. Although the goal of this regulation is to make banking more transparent, in reality it can place added pressure on banks as they struggle to comply with the dramatic increase in data tracking and reports they are now being asked to deliver.

This has really heightened the need for management to understand the broader industry; firstly to gain a better understand the risks inherent in their business, and secondly to make well-informed investment decisions to lower that risk, as well as comply, and even get ahead of this new wave of regulation.

Dearbhaile O’Hare is a co-author of The Beginners Guide to the Investor Services Industry and head of training and documentation for Information Mosaic, the global leader in post trade software and analytics.

The e-book is available to buy on Amazon for £12.70

Dearbhaile can be contacted on: at +353-1-2415200 or email ClientTraining@InformationMosaic.com

For more information visit: www.informationmosaic.com or follow us on Twitter @infomosaic