For many, summer is the perfect time to escape the daily grind and go on vacation.
This year is no exception. According to Deloitte’s summer travel survey, 53% of Americans plan to take a vacation this summer. That makes this one of the busiest travel seasons since the pandemic, even as overall spending slightly dips.
But for some investment managers, time away from the office can be far from relaxing. While others lounge on the beach, they’re thinking about that unfinished SEC filing or the redemption request they wish they’d sent a day earlier. A single email from a high-maintenance investor can turn a scenic tour into yet another hour of work.
It doesn’t have to be this way. By leveraging the power of investment technology, you can take back your time and finally enjoy a stress-free summer vacation.
In this blog post, we’ll explore how the right investment technology can help you streamline operations, automate routine tasks and give you the peace of mind you need to truly unplug.
Co-sourcing and Outsourcing to Alleviate Resource Constraints
Whether you’re listening to waves crash on the beach or hiking through mountain trails, the last thing investment managers want to think about on vacation is whether a report ran or trades reconciled on time.
Partnering with a co-sourced or outsourced provider can help manage essential daily and monthly tasks, giving you the peace of mind needed to step away from the firm without stress.
These resources can also scale with your needs; ramping up during peak vacation periods or dialing back when things settle down.
For example, during the summer, when internal bandwidth is limited and multiple team members are out, a managed services provider can shoulder the operational load. This support reduces stress and minimizes key person risk, ensuring critical processes continue smoothly regardless of who’s away.
With the right support in place, you and your team can truly disconnect this summer—and return with the time and bandwidth to focus on strategic initiatives.
Leverage Vendor Expertise to Optimize Systems and Workflows
Optimizing your systems and workflows is another key step to ensuring you—and your team—can truly disconnect, not just during summer vacation but year-round.
The process is straightforward: Start by ensuring you're using the latest version of your technology, then explore any newly released features or tools you may have missed. These updates could unlock opportunities to save time, streamline operations and reduce manual work across your firm.
This is where your technology vendor can be an invaluable partner. The teams you work with likely have deep experience supporting hundreds of firms, consultants and industry leaders. They’ve seen what works—and they know how to help you get there.
At SS&C, for example, we have a dedicated service team focused on helping clients optimize systems and workflows. Any client-first provider should be eager to help you get more out of your platform and take back your valuable time.
By partnering with a trusted technology and service provider, your firm can ensure systems are running at peak efficiency and are ready to meet the demands of summer vacations and beyond.
Maximize Employee Effectiveness with AI and Automation
If you want to truly unplug over the summer, start by making the most of your time while you’re in the office. That means focusing your energy on the highest-impact tasks while letting technology handle the rest.
AI and automation can dramatically reduce the need for manual intervention, freeing up your team to concentrate on more strategic, value-added work.
These tools can take routine tasks off your plate, including:
- Data entry
- Reporting
- Low-touch trade orders
- Client onboarding
- Compliance checks
By automating these repetitive workflows, you unlock time for higher-order priorities like generating returns, managing risk and enhancing the client experience.
Ultimately, automation gives you the chance to step away on a well-earned vacation, knowing that your team is more effective, focused and equipped to contribute meaningfully to the firm’s success.
Take a Break but Stay Connected with Mobile Access to Your Investment Technology
According to Harvard Business Review, taking more vacation time is directly linked to greater workplace success. But truly unplugging can feel impossible—especially when you’re responsible for critical investment operations.
Mobile access to your investment technology offers the best of both worlds: peace of mind while you're away, and secure, real-time access if you need to check in.
For example, with the SS&C Eze app, Eclipse and OMS users can:
- View a high-level, customized summary of positions and performance
- Sort, filter and reorganize portfolios to focus on what matters
- Act quickly with preconfigured Quicksend buttons for efficient trade execution
- Access all fields available on the desktop version
- Review and resolve pre-trade compliance alerts remotely
- Enjoy a better mobile experience with expanded tablet access
With mobile tools like these, you can take time off with confidence—knowing you're always just a few taps away from the information and functionality you need to keep your business on track.
Learn more about the Eze app or download the app for iPhone or Android.
Optimize Your Investment Firm's Operations and Maximize Your Summer Fun
Summer should be a time for rest, renewal and discovery.
By leveraging investment technology to optimize and automate key processes, you can free up time and ensure your firm runs smoothly, no matter where your vacation takes you.
Wherever this season leads you, I hope you find time to recharge with peace of mind.
Explore how SS&C’s outsourcing and managed services and the right investment technology can support your firm this summer—and beyond.
