SimCorp StrategyLab initiates new research programme on best practices in the global investment management industry

Since its establishment in 2008, SimCorp StrategyLab has been working to identify, understand and suggest solutions to issues pertaining to mitigating risk, reducing cost and enabling growth in the global investment management industry. Now, as a part of SimCorp StrategyLab’s research programme 2010-2011,  that research will be taken a step further as it is being applied to individual sectors of the industry. The research teams are formally established and will meet for the first time at the SimCorp Dimension International User Community Meeting in Berlin, 9-10 September 2010.

Distinguished, international academics and high level industry representatives
SimCorp StrategyLab is committed to conducting applicable research of strategic importance for the investment management industry. Consequently the research teams are made up of a combination of distinguished, international academics, industry specialists and high-level practitioners. Team members include professors from renowned research institutions such as INSEAD and Stern School of Business, NYU, as well as senior executives from large international consulting and investment firms including TowerGroup and Nordea Investment Management & Life. Heading up the research for each of the four sector teams are: 

• Investment funds
Professor Martin M. Gruber, Stern School of Business, NYU

• Asset management (notably discretionary asset pools)
Professor Stephen J. Brown, Stern School of Business, NYU

• Pension funds
Professor Massimo Massa, INSEAD

• Insurance funds
Executive-in-Residence and Adjunct Professor of Finance John Biggs, Stern School of Business, NYU

The aim of the research is ultimately to publish four white papers, seeking to convey the current state of knowledge within the four sectors and point the way forward from a management-strategy and public-policy perspective. The white papers will be debating key industry issues for the immediate and medium-term future, as well as present options and recommendations, and are expected to be published throughout the remaining part of 2010 and early 2011.

Important contributions to the industry
It is a guiding perception that global investment management can benefit from the useful insights achieved from SimCorp StrategyLab’s work within each of the four sectors. According to the director of SimCorp StrategyLab, professor Ingo Walter, the need for this kind of research is greater than ever:

“The recent years have been the most turbulent period in the global financial industry since the Great Depression. The industry in general has been forced to take new approaches to managing the issues of mitigating risk, reducing cost and enabling growth. The new context created by the financial crisis calls for research that can suggest new solutions on how various parts of the industry can cope with these crucial issues,” says professor Ingo Walter.

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Enquiries regarding this announcement should be addressed to:
Lars Falkenberg, Assistant Director, SimCorp StrategyLab (+45 35 44 88 00)

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SimCorp StrategyLab SimCorp StrategyLab is a private and independent research institution founded and sponsored by SimCorp. The aim of the institution is to identify ways to mitigate risk, reduce cost and enable growth in the global investment management industry. SimCorp StrategyLab is headed by Mr Ingo Walter, Seymour Milstein Professor of Finance, Corporate Governance and Ethics at Stern School of Business, New York University. www.simcorpstrategylab.com