Jon Chandler
Director, Research
Jon Chandler has 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to joining Cutter Associates in 2014, Jon was a senior business analyst for State Street Global Advisors (SSGA), where he was involved in a number of projects for the front and middle office, including UAT design and execution for an order management system (Fidessa IMS), the implementation of a web-based due diligence platform (FundInsight), and an enterprise solution to support blended benchmarks. Prior to his project roles, Jon was a principal in fixed income trade operations at SSGA. He has extensive experience with post-trade operations and applications, such as OASYS/CTM, PORTIA, MBSExpert, and FailStation. Jon earned a bachelor of arts in history from the University of Florida and an MBA from Northeastern University.
Recent research assignments and publications include the following:
- Alternative Investment Systems
- Cutter Benchmarking: Alternative Investments
- Cutter Benchmarking: Derivatives and Collateral Management
- Cutter Benchmarking: Investment Risk
- Cutter Benchmarking: Performance Measurement and Attribution
- Derivatives and Collateral Management Solutions
- Execution Management Systems
- Managed Data Services
- Order Management Systems
- Outsourcing Solutions
- Performance Measurement and Attribution Systems
- Portfolio Analytics Solutions
- Private Debt
- Risk Management Systems
- The Evolving Front Office Support Model
Lisa Masten
Consulting Principal – Data and Analytics
Lisa Masten has more than 20 years of experience in the investment management industry, leading projects and designing solutions in the areas of performance and attribution, data management, market data administration, portfolio analytics, and investment accounting. Lisa leads Cutter Associates’ Data and Performance practice, where she advises and designs operating models, selects systems, and implements business and technology solutions. She also organizes the Implementation practice for Cutter, including leading development of its adaptable delivery framework and project toolkit.
Prior to joining Cutter, Lisa was a Senior Manager at Invesco, where she managed a global team responsible for designing and implementing data, performance, and accounting solutions. She has held roles implementing and supporting processes and technology across the front, middle and back office at multiple asset management firms. Lisa holds a Bachelor of Arts in finance and computer science from North Central College in Illinois.
Julie Snogren
Director, Consulting
Julie Snogren joined Cutter in 2021 and bring extensive expertise in performance and attribution - from oversight, calculations, monitoring, and managing the regulatory environment to automation of reporting and customizing reports for complex portfolios. Her experience includes deep dives into investment approaches that explain manager decisions that drive investment results. She has worked with equity, fixed income, multi-asset investment, and alternative portfolios, providing a solid understanding of the fundamental drivers of returns across a range of markets.
Julie’s experience in various roles also involved substantial emphasis on independent research, and the creation of communication materials and presentations. In Julie’s most recent role as Vice President, Global Performance Measurement, at Brown Brothers Harriman, she led a team of analysts that supported the global client base for all performance and attribution needs. She worked on various products across the fund range, including 40 Act, ETFs, UCITS, institutional/separate accounts, and alternative portfolios. Her accomplishments in this role included initiating and leading RFPs, resulting in the implementation of SS&C’s Sylvan Application. Other successes in this role included product roadmap enhancements and efficiencies to the workflow that increased current client adoption of performance services from 14% to 40% and increased new client onboarding by 68%.
Prior to her role at Brown Brothers Harriman, Julie spent 12 years in various roles at Oppenheimer Funds, where she led the Performance Measurement team. She ran the production of alternative product financial statements, utilizing GAAP, FASB, GASB, and Insurance accounting standards inclusive of the audit coordination/completion. Julie also spent time in several analyst roles in fund accounting, which gave her the opportunity to be the lead on multiple high-profile projects, involving the creation of GIPS requirements, designing the accounting workflow for newly acquired institutional products, and the successful start-up of several commercial paper conduit portfolios.
Julie holds a bachelor of science in accounting from Columbia College and a Graduate Certificate of Advanced Study in Management from Northeastern University.
The following blog post is one in a series of Cutter 2024 Trends, Themes, and Predictions that provides insights into industry challenges and considerations for firms in 2024 and beyond.
A number of English words sound worse than they really are. You know, words like crudivore, mugwump, or polyglot. But if you dig into what these words actually mean, you might be surprised. They may mean something much different than what you initially had in mind.
Here’s another word you’ll hear in 2024 that might sound a bit crude, but really, it’s not ─ outsourcing! Outsourcing doesn’t mean what you think it means. The options now available to you in the market have changed considerably since outsourcing was first introduced to investment management. And your firm’s performance practice is one area where outsourcing will offer opportunities in 2024.
At one time, outsourcing was a broad, lift-and-shift arrangement, but today this has changed, with some services becoming more modular. For example, rather than outsourcing your entire performance practice, you might consider outsourcing components of performance measurement.
And since the lines between software and service are blurring, a provider once known for software might now also offer services alongside technology like data collection and calculation, integrity and tolerance checks, and data dissemination. These services would then help you augment your own staff and free up capacity to focus on either analytics or other strategic priorities related to your performance practice.
And let’s face it, plenty of areas within performance measurement require more attention today, and opportunities are now emerging with AI if you could just find the time and resources to explore them. For example, imagine if you could leverage AI to provide better insights for performance and attribution analysis. While this may not happen in 2024, firms with the capacity to think more strategically will at least begin to explore what’s possible.
More asset managers are increasing their allocation to alternatives and other complex assets, and asset owners have been trending toward insourcing asset management. These trends present a variety of challenges with staffing and the infrastructure needed to support new investments. And because these challenges place even greater strain on the operating models at many Cutter Research member firms, more of the firms that we speak with will begin to assess their options. We expect some firms will look at their options for performance measurement, including outsourcing.
Of course, outsourcing certainly comes with risk and some functions within your performance practice might not work for this type of arrangement. Attribution, for example, is one area where many Cutter member firms have firmly stated that outsourcing would not work. But plenty of other areas within performance measurement will benefit from outsourcing, and firms can mitigate some of the risks associated with outsourcing with proper due diligence and the right oversight model.
In 2024, some firms will rightly choose to invest in necessary improvements such as new performance measurement and attribution systems or upgrades, while others may not be as willing or able. Still other firms may instead see benefits in passing their technical debt to a service provider or partnering with a software provider that can also provide managed operational services. These providers bring agility, expertise, and scale — and the help that your firm might need to adapt to a rapidly changing industry.
To learn more about this topic, or speak with a research analyst or consultant, contact us at [email protected].