Limina IMS

Automation of operation checks ISN'T making people redundant. And we have the data to prove it. Managers who adopt an "instruct and oversee" approach to investment operations are seeing the number of issues found late in processes reduced. "Instruct and oversee" is an approach to automation, where operation teams are telling a system what to check ("instruct" - instead of performing checks. Any issues that happen are highlighted by the system, again for the team to act upon ("oversee"). The cost per check is significantly reduced. It's basically the time it takes to set up and maintain. With the new approach, one could think that the result would be managers reducing their operation team sizes. But this isn't what's happening. Instead, 10x more checks are performed. Checks that weren't worth the cost when people performed them, as now suddenly performed. Each operations manager is empower to controls systems that can perform up to 10x more checks than they can if doing themselves. It's not a cost saving result of this efficiency increase. Instead, it's a decrease of issues that are caught late in processes like NAV, settlement or portfolio managers finding issues when rebalancing. Does the term "instruct and oversee" resonate with you, or do you have other suggestions for articulating it?

It's clear: the operations role is transforming from a "doing" role to an "instruct & oversee" role. It's enabling efficiency gains I've not seen before. ---- ---- ---- ---- Operations is in most places a "doing" function: ↳ We process corporate actions ↳ We book cash movements via user interfaces ↳ We run reconciliations in spreadsheets ↳ ... etc On top of that, things most managers don't even do because it's not worth the time of people: ↳ sanity check benchmark constituents ↳ validate that custom instrument parameters have been set ↳ price checks (large movements or stale prices) ↳ ... etc The promise of straight-through processing (STP) made 10 years ago didn't deliver. The industry is too complex, and issues happen too often. Full automation isn't possible. ---- ---- ---- ---- What's happening is that a new approach to automation is emerging. The idea is not full automation, where people aren't involved (the assumption under STP). Instead, team members play a >vital< role in the new approach. The new approach: exception-based workflows. Or more simply: "instruct & oversee". #### Instruct #### Tell software what to check for and what to do. Examples:: Import data, check instrument params, control contents of an incoming file, etc. Tell the software what to do, when an unexpected event happens. Examples: If a fee is missing that's usually there, if a file hasn't arrived on time etc. The instructions are ever evolving, it's not a "set it and forget it" #### Oversee #### Monitor all exceptions that come in. Decide what action to take. And often; take action as needed. It's profound to be part of the most significant role shift of operations I've seen in my career

My top (not so) dirty trick to uncover weaknesses of systems you’re evaluating: let vendors do the job for you! For each system you’re evaluating (short list); ask how they differ from their competitors. Ideally, share with each vendor who else you’re considering, so they can be specific in their answers. There is really no downside here. The risk you take is that some vendors start bashing their competition. And some will respectfully be objective and consultative. I see this as a positive (not a risk); you’ll uncover the culture of each vendor quickly :-) The main benefit you get with this question is that you’ll get a list of weaknesses. Let’s say you’re considering 3 vendors: A, B & C. Vendor A will give you their view on the weaknesses of vendors B & C. Vendor B will give you their view on the weaknesses of vendors A & C. Vendor C will give you their view on the weaknesses of vendors A & B. ➝ you have 2 sources of weaknesses for each vendor. Now, the trick is: >don’t stop here< You must validate if the information you got is actually true. So what you do next is go back to each vendor and show them: “here’s a list of concerns we have with your system” Then ask them to address each point. Don’t settle for verbal answers - demand proof through references, hard data or demos, depending on the specific concern. That will get you to the truth in a few hours of work.

It’s 2 weeks into Q4. We’ve been fortunate enough to already welcome new clients from across the globe - including UK, Southern Europe, Nordics and APAC. Thank you, for your trust in us! We’re humbled by the responsibility

🕵♂️ feedback wanted please 🕵♀️ We just released 2 major updates to our site, and I wanted to humbly ask you to take a look and share any feedback. Here’s what we changed and why: ---- CHANGE NO 1 ---- New homepage (the first page you land on when visiting the site). New outline: 1️⃣ Header: value of Limina compared to other similar systems. Why: set expectations about why consider Limina. 2️⃣ Then: System scope or capabilities. Why: If someone lands on our site without knowing what do, here’s what we showcase that. 3️⃣ Followed by an explanation of exception-based workflows, the approach to automation we help clients take. Most space is spent here, including 3 ways we help clients save time. Why: prove that the claims in the header are true. 4️⃣ Towards the end we have 3 areas of deep-dive: - just browsing - learning about the alternatives - learning about limina Each with directions to 3 resources each. Why: help visitors find what they're looking for next, regardless of why they came to our site in the first place. Any feedback is welcome! Questions to get your creativity flowing: - Is any part unclear / anything you don’t understand from this page? - Does it come across as describing a product relevant to your role? Why / why not? ---- CHANGE NO2 ---- Navigation menu (the top bar). This change is more relevant for desktop (less on mobile & tablet). Changes implemented: - reduced the number of menu items - created 4 larger menu groups, with categories content in each Why: to make it easier to find what you're looking for. That's it! Thoughts we have here include: - Is it clear where to find what information? - Do any of the dropdowns contain too many links, for example making it difficult to decide where to go? - Is there anything you want to find but can’t? - Is there anything you feel can be removed? ---- ---- ---- ---- Link is by my name at the top of the post. Any feedback is very welcome, as comments, just a like or personal message!

Today is #WorldMentalHealthDay, and your timeline will no doubt be filled with companies claiming to prioritise their employees' mental health. Here at Limina, we don't just say we do this; it's a part of our culture. From: 📆 Bi-weekly team catch-ups, both in person and virtually for all team members including our CEO & Founder 🎉 Team building activities and nights out 💬 1-2-1's for staff of all levels 🏥 Annual health checks 🏆 Certified as a Healthy Place to Work ☕ Lots of Fika breaks And maybe, most importantly just simply asking each other "Are you OK?" and giving our staff the space and security they need to answer honestly, knowing that as both a company and team we'll be there to support them. 💚 #WorldMentalHealthDay #MentalHealthMatters #Support

Last day of InvestOps Europe 2024 is about to start! We're having a great time at the event, engaging with industry peers If you're not here and would like a recap of the highlights, get in touch with Giles Marshall , Harry Douglas-Jones or Kristoffer Fürst

Come and join us at InvestOps Europe taking place from 23rd - 25th September at The Oval, London. @InvestOps brings together Buy Side COOs and Heads of Investment Operations to gain practical insights on things affecting businesses in this ever-changing landscape. If you’re attending, be sure to stop by booth 15 and Kristoffer Fürst, Harry Douglas-Jones & @Giles Marshall will be happy to show you how to spend less time on your daily investment management workflows. #InvestOps #InvestOpsEurope #buyside #tradingtechnology #fintech #fintechnews #innovation

Limina is 10! 🎂 What an amazing achievement and here's to the next 10 years 🎉

I think the Middle Office function is often misunderstood. It’s neither “in the middle” or “an office”. It’s also not a “doing” function. Concretely; First, let’s start with what Middle Office isn’t. You’ll read references online that it’s “the link between Front and Back Office”. First of all, that’s wrong ❌ Secondly, even if it is true, that’s a useless explanation❓ Because it doesn’t say what functions reside in the Middle Office -- So, what is Middle Office? -- It’s the centre of the investment management workflows, where all data goes through and is controlled or calculated. ▶ MO is a lot more than a link IN a chain. ▶ It’s an oversight and analytics function OF the chain. An analogy I wanted to see if it resonates with you is: 🍏 Comparing Middle Office to a control room centre of a logistics centre 🍊 The image table below illustrates the comparison. Does this comparison make sense to you? Please like if yes and comment if no. Some other thoughts: If your current Middle Office is doing the work rather than overseeing and analysing it – you’re missing out on the best automation technology. It’s like not having the robots in the logistics centre. Not your fault, you should be upset with your supplier 🤷♂️