Executive Summary
Rapid transformation within a large institutional investor is complex and some believe unattainable. Two organizations came together to prove otherwise. UC Investments oversees a $125 billion multi-asset class portfolio for the University of California’s various investment products, including its endowment, pension, retirement savings plan and working capital.
Solovis is a leading fintech innovator, providing institutional investors with a powerful cloud-based platform for multi-asset class portfolio management, reporting and analytics uniquely designed for limited partners. This paper presents key learnings, insights and fundamental considerations that other asset allocators can benefit from as both inspiration and justification for undertaking a technology, data and process transformation journey.
This piece aims to address a rising challenge facing the pension, endowment and foundation industries – how to transition from the legacy technologies that suited the market of the past to a more holistic, agile technology framework that will meet current and future demands.
About The Client
UC Investments
Arthur Guimaraes
COO, UC Investments
Description:
$125 billion Endowment and Pension Plan
Location:
California
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Arthur Guimaraes
COO, UC InvestmentsDescription:
$125 billion Endowment and Pension PlanLocation:
California
The Journey
The continued proliferation of escalating market complexities related to investment data, regulation, servicing needs, alternative forms of investing, outsourced manager relationships and other dynamics mandates innovation for long-term agility and viability.
Concepts covered in this case study include:
- How internal stakeholders must collectively recognize and gain consensus that the status quo is hindering growth and achievement of the organizational mission.
- How and why current industry solutions fall short, including those in three categories: service providers with a technology layer, accounting platforms and performance systems.
- True innovation requires a revolutionary perspective, one that isn’t just a modified version of past mistakes. It must align people, business processes and technology.
- Innovation can be achieved relatively quickly, even within the largest institutions.
The Solution
A successful approach isn’t about finding a single application or single service provider that “does it all.” It’s about an organization’s ability to clearly envision and agree to the desired end state; and then finding a framework that can quickly and accurately pull investment data and processes together, across all asset classes and across all teams, in an intuitive way for all constituents to leverage. With a commitment and dedication to change from both organizations, UC Investments and Solovis were able to accomplish this in one year, proving that even a $125 billion pension and endowment can transform quickly.
The second I saw a drag-and-drop recalculation of an entire investment world with total asset class reclassifications and shifts, I knew that Solovis was not the status quo.
Gain a holistic view of your multi-asset class portfolio to improve operational efficiency and enable better investment decisions
Solovis Portfolio Analytics provides instant insight across your entire multi-asset class portfolio. Improve visibility with one dashboard for modeling, analysis and reporting. Conduct bottom-up portfolio analysis from any angle. Empower users with powerful, easy to-use report writing tools to meet the needs of all constituents.
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Solovis Portfolio Analytics provides instant insight across your entire multi-asset class portfolio. Improve visibility with one dashboard for modeling, analysis and reporting. Conduct bottom-up portfolio analysis from any angle. Empower users with powerful, easy to-use report writing tools to meet the needs of all constituents.
