Rockland, MA (February 5, 2026) – Cutter Associates, a global research and consulting firm for the investment management industry, released the results of its latest Data Management Benchmarking survey that shows how investment management firms measure up against best practices and their peers. The findings reveal a wide dispersion of top data challenges among participating firms.
Lack of data governance/ownership topped the list of challenges, as it did when the survey was last conducted in 2023, with 40% of firms indicating it as their number one issue compared with 38% in 2023. Although firms have made some strides, governance remains a problem as it is foundational and touches every domain. Even with improvements, gaps in consistency, enforcement, data volume, and enterprise scope make it the most frequently cited challenge.
In a push to become more agile and remove friction in data management, firms noted that too many manual processes (36%), legacy technology (27%), a lack of confidence in data (24%), and preparing data for analytics and AI uses (24%) were the next greatest challenges. The percentage of firms selecting legacy technology has increased by 12% since 2023, highlighting how legacy technology and architecture are hindering firms’ ability to advance AI adoption and meet modern business needs.
“Cutter has conducted benchmarking surveys on data management since 2006 and over that time we have seen firms steadily evolve how they think about and support data management,” said Gina McCafferty, Head of Research at Cutter. “Firms have grown more familiar with the processes and organizational structures they need to manage data effectively and as they become more knowledgeable and more adept at supporting data, their expectations have risen. Firms now expect cleaner, high-quality data that employees can access and use more efficiently, and data to support data analytics and AI to drive alpha and operational efficiency.”
There’s some good news, as firms noted areas that are less troublesome now than they were in 2023, namely:
- Difficulty reconciling data from multiple sources (20%, down from 36% in 2023)
- Limited data business glossary and lineage capabilities (20%, down from 36% in 2023)
- Inability to quickly onboard new datasets (16%, down from 32% in 2023)
- Lack of accessibility to required data (9%, down from 25% in 2023)
“These improvements are great to see, but stubborn challenges such as the lack of data governance and ownership, along with the preponderance of manual processes, are slowing the progress that firms can make to ensure data can be accessed, trusted, and distributed at scale,” said Kathy McDermott, Research Analyst at Cutter. “We believe these improvements have also influenced firms’ responses to how they think about and approach data.”
The survey shows the percentage of firms recognizing and treating data as a strategic asset has begun to trend upward again, increasing to 71% from 63% in 2023, when it took a dramatic drop after years of steady increases due to firms evaluating themselves more rigorously, better understanding what it takes to manage data well, and realizing they weren’t hitting the mark. Now, the reversal and upward trend is due to AI use and firms’ realization that they must treat data as a core strategic asset in order to unlock AI’s potential and drive efficiency and competitiveness.
View the report’s Executive Summary here. For any questions, contact Cutter at [email protected].
About Cutter
Cutter Associates LLC serves the operational, technology, and client experience needs of the global asset and wealth management industry, providing companies with the tools and services they need to be successful. With deep industry and domain experience and expertise, Cutter Associates provides global consulting, independent research, exclusive members-only events, process benchmarking, and a vast peer network. Headquartered in Rockland, Massachusetts, and owned by Tokyo-based NRI Group, Cutter Associates offers services in the United States, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, European Union, Singapore, and Asia. For more information, visit us at www.cutterassociates.com and connect with us on LinkedIn.
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