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Environmental Management in Organizations
Environmental issues can present some daunting operational concerns for all types of organization, whether in the private, public and voluntary sectors. Managing them requires environmental professionals with a working knowledge of the rapidly developing body of regulatory measures.
This new edition of Environmental Management in Organizations provides all the management tools, performance measures and communication strategies that organizations need to manage their environmental responsibilities effectively. Leading experts on each topic provide focused explanations and clear practical guidance, as well as setting out the context and the key environmental and management drivers.
This edition significantly updates the original handbook to take account of developments in the environmental agenda, including new dedicated chapters on climate change, energy, transport, biodiversity and chemicals. Published with IEMA.
eBook
Fintech: Data - Using big data to boost human relationships
The ability to contort data to reveal strategic insights and deliver tangible benefits to relationship managers now presents banks with a key strategic advantage.
Trade Publication Article
Outsource of concern
The systemic risk resulting from outsourcing remains firmly on the agenda of UK regulators. In a letter to CEOs in December 2012 the Financial Services Authority (FSA) (now succeeded by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority) asked asset managers to examine contingency plans for outsourcing arrangements. An event to facilitate an exchange of views from both service providers and asset managers is expected to follow. An FSA spokesperson said that its aim was to pose the question rather than to be prescriptive: The letter was sent out in a general context saying the CEOs must exercise due care and diligence and that the responsibility to adhere to the FSA's general principles remains with the asset manager regardless of whether the function is outsourced or not. The fact that outsourcing is now into its second generation means that generally in-house capability is long gone -- step-in rights, where the asset manager retains the right to step in and take functions back in-house, are only workable when the outsourcing process is in its early stages.
Trade Publication Article
Seize the data
More stringent regulatory demands for reporting and transparency mean that data management has moved to the top of the priority list for bank compliance teams. But far from being a series of onerous boxes to tick, the change also represents a unique opportunity to change the way that data is perceived and to recognise the benefits of good data management as a distinct area. The need for such regulation and internal governance is clear. Mike Atkin, managing director of the UK's Enterprise Data Management Council, a financial industry organisation, says that simply speaking, the drivers behind the various regulations are: the need for transparency, market surveillance, the need to control systemic risk and the need for financial stability. But the actual data itself is the first issue: new data sets need to be created and common standards need to be applied, and, secondly, new and old data needs to be consolidated to avoid replication and reduce the potential of data dunn and confusion.
Trade Publication Article
Breakdown cover
In June 2012 millions of customer accounts at RBS and its subsidiaries NatWest and Ulster Bank became inaccessible after the bank lost the ability to process payments. An upgrade to the bank's batch processing system caused an overnight failure, triggering the problem. The bank's inability to revert its system to its pre-upgrade state compounded matters. In August US market-maker Knight Capital lost $440 million in 40 minutes due to the installation of trading software that then sent incorrect orders into the market. It also had a ripple effect on other institutions using automated algorithms. Such failures mean that instead of looking at business continuity and disaster recovery as distinct areas, there is a new emphasis on how to include resilience in the IT infrastructure itself. The issue, then, is robust management of the firm's processes, which demands in-depth understanding of a firm's core infrastructure, the critical functions it supports and the data that sits on top.
Trade Publication Article
HOW TO... CHOOSE A TECHNOLOGY PROVIDER
The days of point-to-point data linkage between funds, custodians, other third parties and vice versa are long gone. Today's systems need to access and mirror that of the counterparty in question as close to real time as possible. The technology vendors that sit between funds and custodians or other third parties are essentially super-information translation highways, able to decipher and transmit data to the right place and receive it back again -- all in good time. Meanwhile, for custodians, the technology acts as a bridge between several accounting systems so as to present data to their clients in a single cohesive format. Asset managers, although unlikely to need real-time data, need to make lots of information streams tie up at the same point, for monthly reporting for example. Indeed with big institutional managers increasingly outsourcing the middle and back office, they want a provider that can give them time and efficiency savings through this standardization.
Trade Publication Article
Expanding horizons
In the institutional world outsourcing custody is standard practice and has become in part commoditised. However, the combination of more complex operating models, esoteric investment mixes plus both client and regulatory reporting requirements have thrown the market open to a move up the outsourcing value chain. Toby Glaysher, head of global fund services in Europe at Northern Trust, comments that there has been a seismic shift in the outsourcing industry as far as institutional managers are concerned and not only the custody but also parts of the middle office are now routinely outsourced. Mario Mantrisi, head of innovation and product development at KNEIP, said cost is a driver; margins are increasingly pressed and there is pressure on the fee side coming from both the investor and the regulator. Asset managers are thus looking for cost efficiencies and one of those is having a fixed outsourcing fee rather than as a percentage of the fund's management.
Trade Publication Article
Operations and Technology: Private banking business enters JP Morgan mix
Service providers have increasing contact with distributors as complex products and open architecture mutate the form of the basic value chain. But distributors rarely pay for the services provided, leaving the manufacturers to pick up the tab. A good thing too, according to Richard Warne, head of relationship management for JPMorgan Worldwide Securities Services in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He thinks that the whole industry would do well to remember that distributors bring in the sales that make the whole investment world go round. Mr Warne compares the situation in Europe, where fragmentation is as much down to language and cultural differences as it is to having differing historical systems and investment preferences, to that in the US where the NSCC (National Securities Clearing Corporation) acts as a central depository for share dealing.
Trade Publication Article
OpTech Section: Operations and Technology - Schroders ensures timely data flow for clients
As private banks and their clients become established as significant buyers of not only funds of hedge funds but also single- strategy hedge funds, how can their needs best be met by fund service providers? Clearly, the needs of private banks go way beyond simple fund valuations, as they need to ensure investors' comfort levels are maintained and that information flows to them are timely and accurate. Many private banks have struggled to keep up-to-date with the technological requirements of their customers. As a group, they have been slow to implement systems to support clients and customer service. At the same time, it has been important for them to keep an eye on the technology needed to administer and analyse portfolios.
Trade Publication Article