The Omnibus Reporting Trend
I n the current landscape of mutual funds, intermediaries are increasingly opting for omnibus trade reporting, which aggregates trade data by time period and prevents the visibility into individual transactions necessary for meaningful sales analysis or sales reporting. Currently, a Fidelity client can still go to the Fidelity portal and see everything related to every trade. But with LPL and Morgan Stanley, reporting is all omnibus, with trade data aggregated for a given period and details masked from view. Raymond James is about 50/50 on omnibus reporting. UBS and RBC are moving toward omnibus reporting as well.
This shift poses significant challenges for asset managers, particularly in compensation for salespeople. Without sales details and salesperson attribution, firms cannot create the performance-based incentive structures necessary to maximize sales.
Sales Reporting Data Visibility
As intermediaries increasingly consolidate trade data, asset managers lose the granular insight necessary for effective oversight, decision-making and salesperson compensation. Firms wishing to navigate the omnibus reporting trend and implement an effective sales compensation strategy will need to find a solution.
If a firm has a connection to OmniServe, the detailed data can be accessed, but only in the form of TIP files which require a lengthy process of decoding and interpreting.
Employing a proficient sales reporting provider, whose data cleaning process extracts and completes detailed sales transaction data from OmniServe, is an efficient solution. A single process that enables both performance-based compensation and advanced sales reporting that supports strategy has become increasingly essential.
Enabling Compensation Strategy
Detailed transaction data enables asset managers to structure compensation more effectively. In the absence of clear, transaction-level insights, firms must resort to flat salary models for sales people, as variable compensation structures are untenable without specific data to support performance-based rewards. Flat salary compensation demotivates the sales force and deters high performers who thrive under incentive-driven models. A sales reporting service that incorporates comprehensive data cleaning counters this by delivering the necessary data granularity, facilitating fair and motivating compensation structures based on actual sales performance.
Working with Distributors
The importance of data enhancement as part of the sales reporting process extends to regulatory compliance and partnership management. For asset managers working with distributors and other partners, accurate and detailed sales reporting ensures that commissions are not only calculated accurately but are also compliant with contractual and regulatory standards. This reduces legal risks and fortifies trust among partners, which is vital for long-term collaborations.
Allocating Resources
The ability to access comprehensive sales data empowers asset managers to make informed decisions about resource allocation and strategic planning. For instance, sales reporting that pinpoints which products are performing well in which territories allows managers to allocate marketing and sales resources more strategically, optimizing return on investment. This strategic advantage can be critical in highly competitive markets or in response to market shifts.
Scalability
The operational efficiency necessary for scale is another significant benefit of the data management aspect of sales reporting. For many asset managers, especially smaller firms with growing operations, managing sales data internally is a cumbersome and resource-intensive task that only magnifies as the fund grows and the trend toward omnibus reporting continues. Sales reporting services streamline these processes with cost efficiency and specialized processes designed to operate at scale. This not only frees up internal resources but also minimizes the risk of errors associated with manual handling and interpretation of complex data sets.
Technological Infrastructure
Sales reporting services have technological advantages in tackling incomplete, incorrect and omnibus data. Many asset managers do not have the in-house capability to interface with systems like OmniServe or to decode the complex formats used in omnibus reporting. A specialized sales reporting provider comes equipped with the necessary technological infrastructure and expertise, eliminating the need for asset managers to invest heavily in specialized IT solutions and training.
Restoring Transparency
The transition among intermediaries to providing only omnibus trade information significantly handicaps the ability of fund companies to leverage their own data. Engaging a sales reporting provider to extract, enrich and contextualize this data is not just a tactical move—it is becoming a strategic necessity. This partnership not only restores data transparency but also enhances operational efficiency, improves compliance, enables incentive-based compensation and supports informed decision-making. Advanced sales reporting provides a competitive edge in a market where detailed insights into sales data can dictate the success or failure of financial products and strategies.
