AssetOps

Leading Change from the COO Seat: Ridgeline

Gareth Becker — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 20:23:35 GMT

COOs are more strategically important than ever, and leaders must balance transformation with commercial priorities. This video explores how operations executives can lead meaningful change across the enterprise.

In this replay of a recent webinar, powered by Ridgeline, senior operations leaders discuss what it takes to lead change from the COO seat. The conversation explores how COOs can bring together people, processes, technology, and strategy to help their organizations adapt, grow, and deliver lasting operational impact.

The COO as Strategic Integrator: Connecting Data, Technology, Risk and Growth in Investment Management

Gareth Becker — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 19:18:24 GMT

By connecting data, technology, risk, and operational capability, today’s COO can help turn a firm’s infrastructure into a platform for sustainable growth.

By Paul Taylor

For much of the past two decades, the role of the Chief Operating Officer (COO) in investment management was often viewed primarily through the lens of operational efficiency, oversight and control. The COO ensured trades settled, reporting deadlines were met, regulatory requirements were satisfied and operational risks were contained. While those responsibilities remain essential, the demands placed on investment management firms have fundamentally changed, and with them, the role of the COO.

Today’s investment management COO has become a strategic integrator: a leader responsible for

Leaders Rethink Operating Models for the AI Era at AssetOps London

Gareth Becker — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 17:58:56 GMT

At AssetOps London senior operations leaders came together to explore how asset management firms are redesigning their operating models to strengthen data foundations and prepare teams for AI-enabled transformation.

Asset management operations are entering a new phase of transformation.

AssetOps Toronto Spotlights the Future of Investment Operations

Gareth Becker — Tue, 05 May 2026 16:37:20 GMT

AssetOps Toronto brought financial services operations leaders together to examine how firms are modernizing their operating models and strengthening data foundations in an increasingly volatile environment

Last week's AssetOps Toronto gathering brought together financial services operations leaders to explore how asset managers, owners, and investment firms are modernizing operating models and using data more effectively across the investment lifecycle.

Balancing Change and Stability in Asset Operations as a COO

Gareth Becker — Mon, 04 May 2026 19:00:37 GMT

Leaders from Ridgeline, Pzena Investment Management, and Marshfield Associates share how COOs are modernizing operations, building alignment, and navigating change across the investment lifecycle

Operational leadership in asset management is evolving.

The Case for Investor-First Operations in Asset Management

Gareth Becker — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 17:43:27 GMT

Ahead of AssetOps London, Pat Dunwoody shares why the next generation of operating models will combine thoughtful automation, transparency, and collaboration to deliver more consistent results for clients

Operational performance rarely attracts headlines, yet it shapes nearly every investor interaction with an asset manager. From onboarding and reporting to issue resolution, the quality of operational processes influences how clients perceive reliability, transparency, and ultimately trust.

The Shape of Things to Come – The UK Investment Management Industry in 2035

Gareth Becker — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 18:04:27 GMT

The UK investment management industry is entering a period of structural change. By 2035, growth in pension assets, the rise of passive strategies, expanding private markets and rapid advances in technology will reshape how assets are managed, distributed and regulated

By Paul Taylor

The UK’s investment management industry is at a crossroads.

Over the past decade, it has wrestled with BREXIT, regulatory reform, the rise of passive products, an institutional push into private markets, and a complex network of sustainability rules. This has resulted in (a) cost pressures, (b) complex, messy operating models and (c) pressure for increased investment returns.

Looking ahead to the years in time to 2035, most of the signals point to an industry that is bigger, more specialised, more data-driven, and more regulated in different ways.

This blog looks at the most likely shape of the industry in 2035 as well as discussing the drivers that will get us there, the risks that could derail it, and what managers, advisers and savers should expect and do.

Technology Won’t Transform Asset Operations. Leaders Will.

Gareth Becker — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 15:22:58 GMT

Asset operations leaders are investing in digital platforms, automation, and AI. Yet many transformation efforts stall because the crucial role of people is underestimated in the process

Digital transformation is reshaping asset operations. Organizations are modernizing systems, redesigning workflows, and embedding advanced technologies to improve performance, reliability, and efficiency.

But as Vince Pasqualicchio shared in a recent Corinium conversation, transformation does not succeed because a platform goes live. It succeeds because people change how they work.

Too often, change management is treated as a secondary activity, something that supports the “real work” of technology implementation. In reality, it is the leadership discipline that determines whether operational transformation delivers measurable value.

Why Clarity, Culture, and Collaboration Drive Ops Modernization

Gareth Becker — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 15:02:13 GMT

Modernizing operations in asset management demands more than new systems. At Asset Ops Digital London, senior COOs argued that clarity of purpose, a collaborative culture, and disciplined execution matter far more than technology alone.

Asset managers know they must modernize, yet many underestimate the complexity of where they are starting from. During Asset Ops Digital London, Mike Tumilty, Global Chief Operating Officer at Aegon Asset Management, says one of the biggest challenges is simply understanding the current state of operations.

“The starting point of any transformation is getting a clear view of where you are today, and the lack of documentation sometimes is a little bit scary,” he says.

Gina Miller: ‘Financial Firms Are Neglecting Their Broader Societal Role – COOs Can Bridge the Gap’

Corinium — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 17:24:13 GMT

In the face of political uncertainty, asset managers must redouble their DEI and ESG efforts, argues Gina Miller, campaigner and co-founder of SCM Direct