Waters Rankings 2024: Best portfolio management system provider (highly commended)—FactSet

Typical users

Buy-side firms: institutional asset managers, hedge funds, asset owners.

Overview  

This year, FactSet announced a major enhancement to its PM Hub. Users can now view real-time updates on multi-asset class portfolio performance, risk, and composition; compare pre- and post-trade analytics; monitor external research, including news, upcoming events, and behavioral analytics; and review their firms’ bespoke internal research.

Key technologies  

FactSet’s PM Hub leverages proprietary services for processing client portfolios and computing real-time data. To facilitate informed decision-making for its users, the application utilizes proprietary algorithms and machine-learning techniques to provide real-time insights and recommendations. FactSet deploys a combination of hybrid cloud and on-premises services to support AI-driven portfolio commentary and portfolio assistance. These services also provide high availability, caching, and storage solutions.

Key differentiators

PM Hub pulls together all aspects of users’ portfolios, providing an intuitive user experience designed specifically to support portfolio managers’ (PMs’) workflows. It allows PMs to perform “what-if” trade simulations without having to create orders, thus supporting more efficient and informed decision-making processes. PM Hub aligns with FactSet’s flagship portfolio analysis tool for internal accuracy and reliability. Another key differentiator is PM Hub’s integration with FactSet’s Research Management System (RMS) platform, connecting both internal analyst and broker-created research directly to PMs’ workflows to enhance collaboration and streamline the investment process. PM Hub also connects with order management systems (OMSs) and execution management systems (EMSs), supporting efficient downstream trading workflows.

Future roadmap

PM Hub’s future roadmap involves tighter integration with the firm’s research, quant, ESG, behavioral and trading tools, as well as easier support for simulations on OTC derivatives and bulk rebalancing capabilities. FactSet will continue to expand its GenAI initiatives, including explanations for security price changes, portfolio commentary, and a portfolio assistant, which will allow PMs to ask questions about their portfolio performance. Upgrades to the product happen weekly. By partnering with its users, FactSet develops a workflow experience that meets the user where they need to be.