March 12, 2014 - ISITC (The International Securities Association for Institutional Trade Communication), the industry trade group focused on standards in transaction processing and related communications, today announced the results of its annual member survey exploring the recent progress of the financial services industry and focuses for 2014.

This year's survey of nearly 60 ISITC members, including investment managers, broker/dealers, custodians and solution providers, revealed an overall positive perception of operational and technology functions. Eighty-four percent of respondents noted greater appreciation for these functions over the course of 2013. Additionally, 80 percent believe their firms see benefit in increasing the technology spend in 2014.

Other survey results revealed:

• 89% of respondents believe that the financial services industry has been either successful or somewhat successful in creating solutions and adjusting to new issues and regulation since the financial crisis
• 63% think the industry has made some progress towards improving standards by adopting best practices, but that there is still room from improvement
• 64% expect firms to dedicate the most technology and operational resource to middle-office risk management solutions and systems in 2014
• 34% believe reducing operational risk in 2014 is most important in terms of measuring success

“The results of this year’s survey are not surprising, as reducing risk and ensuring preparedness and compliance with new regulatory mandates continue to be top priorities for our members in 2014,” comments Jeff Zoller, newly appointed Chair of ISITC. “Increased focus on operations and technology, particularly in the middle office, will be critical to ensure firms’ success. ISITC is well-positioned to deliver thought leadership and operational solutions to our members to assist with these and other challenges, and we look forward to continuing the dialogue onsite at our March event in Boston.”

The ISITC 20th Annual Industry Forum and Vendor Show, themed, “Don’t Stop Believing…Winning Strategies in Financial Services,” will be held March 23-26, 2014 at the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel. Over 300 industry professionals, representing all areas of the financial industry, will attend and Carla Harris, Vice Chairman, Global Wealth Management, Managing Director and Senior Client Advisor, Morgan Stanley, will deliver the keynote address. Event delegates include C-suite and senior executives from ISITC’s member firms who hold a wide variety of roles in both business and operations.