Peri Simpson, Finance Manager at Seilern Investment Management.

Sara Benwell: What are some of the challenges that fund operators face when it comes to staying competitive in the current economic climate?

Peri Simpson: We have built our business around people and without our people and the fantastic culture that we have we would lose motivation to keep our heads above water and stay focused. This focus on culture is also a way to avoid any form of style drift, which is the cardinal sin for any fund manager.

It is easy to lose focus of your core principles and investment philosophy when times are challenging, but we have an investment philosophy that we put at the heart of what we do, and it is designed to sustain us during these periods of volatility.

"Stick to your knitting, stay focused, have a clear plan, and ensure that this message is communicated to all staff."

Sara: How can fund operators take steps to break down some of these barriers?

Peri: Stick to your knitting, stay focused, have a clear plan, and ensure that this message is communicated to all staff.

Sara: How can fund operators improve operational expenditures?

Peri: We align our costs to our business strategy and ensure that we continue investing in areas where it is necessary to help the business during tougher moments.

"Morale is linked to the needs of staff and their ability to perform their job to the highest standard so is very important to the business."

We also assess the costs between the ‘nice to have’ versus what we ‘need’ to minimise operational risk. On top of this, fund operators should continue to discuss the needs with heads of departments and map out the priorities in terms of cost versus morale; morale is linked to the needs of staff and their ability to perform their job to the highest standard so is very important to the business.

Sara: What role does technology and automation innovation play in improving expenditures and increasing competitiveness?

Peri: Technology is extremely important and can be used to drive efficiencies in the work we do.

We have just embedded a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) and financial planning software, which has allowed us to report to the board much quicker and provide information in real terms to business leaders, enabling us to make quick decisions should we need to.

 

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