More than half (54%) of respondents spend at least 10 hours a week managing documents for alternative investments, while 46% spend less than 10 hours a week. The time that firms spend managing alternatives tends to be spread evenly over three tasks: document collection, data extraction and reconciliation, and data delivery into accounting and reporting tools.
As noted previously, when it comes to time and effort spent managing alternatives, smaller firms may shoulder a bigger burden relative to bigger operations that have large, dedicated teams, says Loughrey. “The amount of time it takes to manage alternatives is outsized to their place in most client portfolios, so it becomes a front-and-center operational challenge for these firms.”
Most respondents (66%) have at least two people on staff who are involved with client reporting or managing alternative investment workflow. Larger firms with AUM of $1 billion or more are more likely to have 10 or more people on staff devoted to these tasks.