Celent predicts that IT spending in the US asset management will show no change in 2002 compared to 2001, despite a steep decline in the assets under management held by buy side firms.

In a new report entitled IT Spending Trends in the US Asset Management Industry, Celent Communications outlines the IT spending levels and priorities in the US asset management industry.

"The market declines of the past eighteen months have had a silver lining for asset managers", according to Octavio Marenzi, managing director at Celent. "Retail investors are tending to rely more on professionally managed assets, and the number of trades initiated by institutional money managers has actually increased sharply over the course of the past 18 months."

The report goes on to outline the effect that consolidation amongst asset managers is having on IT spending priorities, the spending levels on STP and T+1 initiatives, as well as a look at the increasing outsource of technology platforms to third parties.