At the same time, though, asset managers are under increasing pressure to deliver alpha, forcing them to consider their trading technology setups,says Brad Bailey, research director for Celent’s capital markets vertical.

“It’s a competitive business—every part of the buy-side value chain is underpressure,” he says. “It’s tougher and tougher for all types of asset managers due to the fee compression that exists, the competitive nature of the industry, the consolidation of assets, the competition with passive and lower-cost strategies, and increased regulatory pressures—all of these factors add together and asset managers need to figure out how to do things cheaper and better.”