Next Generation Aggregation - Mastering the Data Mash-up A few years ago a new term, “data mash-up”, gained currency in the data integration space. The term was taken from the music industry practice of creating new songs by assembling pieces of other songs. The term gained traction in tech because more and more data stores opened up to the cloud, and XML language standards provided a way to flexibly use that data, the prospect of more creative “mash-ups” of those data pieces into applications hit an inflection point. While all application vendors benefit, to a degree, from this enhanced ability to creatively mash-up data, those that have been able to leverage it most are cloud native platforms like InvestCloud. Only a true, multi-tenant cloud platform has the ability to employ the rapid prototyping required to leverage the creative range made possible by mash-ups. In fact, InvestCloud is uniquely positioned to take advantage of this creative flexibility because of the speed and efficiency with which we can generate new applets using our approach of having programs that write programs (PWPTM). We have recently expanded this capability with the addition of cAggregation, our new universal data-source application. It adds to our current market data, news, custodial, and manager accounting data, comprehensive web-based aggregation of held-away data. And because we are able to normalize all these source feeds in our massive cloud data repository (IDRTM ), for the first time an asset manager or advisor will be able to have a truly comprehensive client dataset on which they can build custom views. cAggregation enable us to master the data mash-up by employing our all in one PLACE methodology. (PLACE = Primary Location of Access, Control and Entry). With cAggregation we consolidate an advisor or managers own client level accounting information with data from more than 4,000 custodians, 14,000 banks and brokerage firms. We then integrate that data with news and pricing feeds from every major exchange and market data vendor. This is not just listed securities and mutual funds, we support all account types including alternatives, annuities, banking, brokerage, donor advised, ESOP plans, loan accounts, offshore funds, retirement plans, and trusts. We also have the ability to gather both structured data and unstructured data from these sources by going, when necessary, directly to the web by employing advanced “screen scraping”. Here we use client provided account-access information for our automated system to gather and compile the required information on a programmed cycle. What this gives us is a truly comprehensive dataset from which a completely integrated and consolidated view of each client can be built. What is more, with our custom applet capability InvestCloud is the first cloud offering that allows a manager to build firm-specific custom reporting on this consolidated data. And because our applets are more than just report views, offering real embedded functionality, the range of operations that can be performed with the data is almost endless. Currently our clients
have built more that 2500 different financial applets to run on our data platform with dozens more being developed every month. With this capability alone, cAggregation is exciting enough. What we have planned for later this year will take it to an entirely new plane. InvestCloud is rolling out our Social Harvesting Applet in Q3, that will add to all the data sources above, the ability to integrate your client’s social media footprint. This applet will be able to normalize data from LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and more to auto-populate a firm’s internal reporting as well as our new CRM applets. Taking together with the comprehensive asset views, this will revolutionize how firms are able to manage client relationships and develop prospects. With cAggregation we offer any advisor or manager the ability to master the data mashup and find out just how powerful the cloud can be to bring real competitive advantage. With more than 2500 dynamic applet views into the more than $1T assets advised or managed on our advanced cloud platform, no one has more experience in managing consolidated financial data for asset managers than InvestCloud. If you would like to know more about InvestCloud and how cAggregation can bet leveraged to power your management and client reporting, visit us at www.investcloud.com or click here to request a demo.