2024 Trends, Themes, and Predictions: Firm Culture Must Change for Data Governance to Succeed

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.

Kathy McDermott

Managing Director, Research

Kathy McDermott has more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry. Kathy, who joined Cutter Associates in 2011, has authored multiple Cutter Research reports on a wide range of topics. She spent ten years as a consultant for a variety of asset management firms, with a focus on business analysis for front- and middle-office projects. Kathy was previously the senior business analyst, equity trading systems, at Wellington Management, specializing in the firm’s proprietary electronic and basket trading applications. Earlier in her career, Kathy worked for Thomson Financial Services (now Thomson Reuters), supporting FirstCall and PORTIA clients in Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, and Thailand, and later went on to manage PORTIA implementations. She also worked at LongView (now Linedata) as an account manager and then product manager of electronic trading. Kathy earned her bachelor of arts in mathematics from Hamilton College.

Recent research assignments and publications include the following:

Alternative Data and the Expanding Universe of Investment Information
Cutter Benchmarking: Data Management
Cutter Benchmarking: Market Data Administration
DataOps: In Theory and Practice
Enabling Data Analytics
The Evolving Front Office Support Model
Evolving Data Governance: Building a Data Culture
Making Snowflake Part of Your Modern Data Platform
Managed Data Services
Market Data Administration
Order Management Systems
Outsourced Trading: Has the Time Come?
Reference Data Management Solutions

Jan 22, 2024

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.

One data trend we have seen recently is investment management firms recognizing that their current data governance practices are a limiting factor, and the need to involve all employees in data governance as part of their cultures around data for it to succeed.

For years, Cutter’s Benchmarking surveys showed increasing numbers of firms were recognizing data as a strategic asset and placing the proper data governance practices around it ─ that is, until our 2023 survey.

Source: Cutter Benchmarking Studies on Data Management

So, what changed?

Firms didn’t suddenly stop viewing data as a strategic asset. They did, however, start to understand what it truly means to treat data as a strategic asset and realizing that implementing data governance simply as an administrative exercise was ineffective. Data governance floundered because it was perceived as bureaucratic and burdensome.

Modernized data architectures, data analytics usage, and more accessible datasets have exposed cracks in data governance, quality, and accessibility. To move forward, we see firms continuing to modernize their data architecture and adjusting their data governance frameworks where shortcomings exist. We predict that firms will revisit how data domains and governance ownership are defined, move to data product structures, and infuse data governance into their cultures.

Through long-term commitment, executive support, and training, firms will focus on employee data literacy and the belief that all employees must play a role ─ as data creators, data owners, data stewards, or data consumers ─ in creating high-quality, trustworthy data. Without a cultural shift around data, firms recognize that quality data will not flow throughout the firm to support self-service analytics and allow a firm to become data-centric. Improving data culture is the only way to ensure lasting improvements in data management.

Look for our upcoming research on data governance later this year.

To learn more about this topic, or speak with a research analyst or consultant, contact us at [email protected].