What peers are doing right: operations transformation across investment banks

Rollo Burgess & Julia Shreeve
15 July 2025

In our first article looking at the future of operations, we explored the factors that constrain and contextualize the evolution of Operations functions and reviewed common priorities that should inform firms’ current plans and initiatives. Regulatory change, market modernization and relentless innovation around financial products and services require investment, agility and clarity of purpose across efficiency initiatives, new technology and talent management. In this second article on The Future of Operations, we explore how major sell-side institutions are stepping up to meet these challenges by simplifying legacy foundations, enhancing client centricity, and preparing for an AI-enabled future.

As operational complexity increases and technology cycles accelerate, sell-side institutions are looking sideways as much as forward, cognizant of a convergence towards broadly similar answers – cloud, AI, data, automation – to common Operations challenges. The crucial differentiator, however, is how those tools are wielded, and with what ambition.

While some firms remain focused on incremental cost control, others are redefining the role of Operations entirely – as an orchestrator of client journeys, a co-creator of innovative services, and a strategic growth enabler. Understanding how and where their peers are thinking outside the box serves as both valuable guidance and provocation for firms as they map their path forward.

Common ground: where all roads meet

The baseline for modern Operations transformation and supporting technology investments is fairly consistent and clear, and focuses on three pillars.

AI-led automation. AI and robotics are being used to eliminate manual tasks, enhance decision-making, and free up Operations teams to focus on value-adding activities. In particular, AI is transforming areas like case management and exception handling.

Data standardization and governance. With analytics-driven insight now a prerequisite for client-centric service, institutions are investing in consistent taxonomies, centralized data platforms, and robust governance models to underpin smarter Operations.

Cloud and legacy technology modernization. To support and enable these priorities, Firms are migrating legacy infrastructure to modern, containerized architectures. This improves resilience, supports real-time processing, and enables more scalable integration with front-office platforms.

While foundational, these shifts are today mere table stakes. Those firms that excel go further, faster, and with a greater alignment between Operations, technology functions and the broader business.

Where Operations was once focused almost exclusively on scalability and cost, today’s leaders are reframing the function around client experience.

Julia Shreeve, Partner

Beyond efficiency: the rise of client-centric operations

Efficiency remains essential, but it is no longer the whole story. Leading firms are redesigning Operations to deliver seamless, personalized, and proactive support across the client lifecycle. This requires that firms:

Orchestrate end-to-end journeys, with Operations taking accountability for design and execution from onboarding to servicing
Embed real-time data, enabling faster issue resolution, better forecasting and more informed client interactions.
Enable frictionless service delivery through integrated platforms, omnichannel engagement, and intelligent automation.

Some institutions are empowering Operations to co-own client outcomes alongside the front office, transforming the function from a back-office utility to a forward-facing partner. This is a profound cultural and organizational shift. It requires not just new systems, but a new mindset – one that sees Operations as a steward of client trust and a driver of competitive advantage.

Future-facing ops: emerging priorities redefine the function

The strategic agenda for Operations is broadening, with a range of interconnected priorities now in view. Six key focus areas are emerging across institutions, as detailed below. These initiatives are not only about improving efficiency – they are about establishing resilient, future-ready platforms that can effectively support growth, innovation and differentiation.

System consolidation. Simplifying application landscapes to reduce duplication, improve interoperability, and cut technical debt

e.g. simplifying fragmented architecture to enable a single source of truth throughout the trade lifecycle, reducing the operational burden by eliminating internal reconciliations, exception & break management and encouraging STP reporting

Workflow & automation. Accelerating straight-through processing and exception handling with intelligent workflows

e.g. implementing Knowledge Graph solutions to unify data, flag high-cost clients, and deliver insights that improve operational efficiency and reduced costs

Client services. Enhancing self-service tools and automating query management to improve responsiveness and reduce friction

e.g. automating email-based customer service workflows using Dynamics CRM, Power Automate, and AI Builder to streamline query handling, enhance data accuracy, and enable scalable, intelligent operations

Regulatory reporting & control. Streamlining reporting processes and improving auditability through centralized data and rule engines

e.g. AI-powered knowledge graphs to streamline regulatory filings ensuring accurate, up-to-date submissions while reducing manual effort and compliance risk

Markets & growth. Building operational readiness to support new products, regions, and trading models

e.g. DLT-native support models. combining ledger-integrated workflows, real-time reconciliation, and smart contract servicing within scalable operating frameworks

Operating model & workforce – rebalancing global delivery footprints and reskilling teams to align with future needs

e.g. upskilling settlements & confirmations teams to become first responders, not just processors in managing client outcomes and exceptions, reducing reliance on middle-office.

Capability shifts: the value of people and culture

Operations transformation is as much about people as it is about platforms, and leading institutions are investing heavily in talent, culture and new ways of working. Three themes stand out here:

Co-ownership with Technology – Operations and Tech teams are increasingly forming joint delivery squads, with shared roadmaps and integrated governance, accelerating execution and ensures solutions meet real-world needs
Upskilling in data & digital – targeted learning programs are equipping Operations professionals with skills in data analytics, automation tools, and emerging technologies, boosting productivity while also increasing engagement and retention
Agile and client-centric mindsets – agile ways of working are helping Operations teams to test, learn, and iterate faster; more importantly, they are shifting the focus from process execution to client outcomes, embedding a culture of ownership, accountability and continuous improvement.

The cultural shift is vital. Without it, even the best technologies will underperform. With that shift, Operations becomes a dynamic and adaptive function, equipped to sense and respond to client and business needs rapidly and efficiently.

Strategic differentiation: what sets the leaders apart

The direction of travel is clear. Operations functions across the industry are evolving, converging on modern platforms, embedding client centricity and preparations for a data- and AI-driven future. What distinguishes the prime movers from the trailing pack is not just execution quality, but ambition – they see Operations not as a cost center but as a strategic lever, and prioritize accordingly.

Prime movers design scalable, secure, and adaptive platforms, capable of supporting product innovation and regulatory agility.

They leverage predictive, generative and agentic AI to anticipate client needs, personalize services, and automate exception management.

They reimagine the role of Operations, from transaction processing through to client enablement, regulatory oversight and enterprise orchestration.

In short, these leaders are building a next-generation Operations function – one that is fully embedded in the business, trusted by clients, and central to growth. To that end, they are making bolder bets, pursuing clearer visions, and aligning transformation more tightly with strategy. By looking to their example, other institutions have an opportunity to challenge inherent assumptions and carve out their own role as innovation and change leaders.

Is your firm shaping the next frontier? In the third and final blog of this series, we’ll explore the mindset, skills and capabilities that will define and secure the future role of Operations.