According to a new Intertrust Group report, more than 40% of private capital investors want live ESG reports on portfolio performance.

In the paper titled "The Future of Private Capital: Unleashing Potential in the ESG era," Intertrust Group examined private capital CFOs' perspectives on future difficulties presented by ESG compliance as well as future technology and data issues.

As part of the survey, Intertrust Group discovered that 55% of private capital investors want either live or daily information on ESG performance—10% more than chief finance officers (CFOs) predicted in the same Intertrust Group survey published in 2021.

CFOs and investors agreed that greater investment in technology is the best way to address the need for regular and trustworthy data in the coming years.

Almost three-quarters (71%) of CFO respondents intended to enhance the skill sets of their in-house finance staff by hiring candidates with technical skills during the next three years.

However, CFOs see the necessity for outsourcing when it comes to advanced technology, as they seek outsourced expertise in technology to supplement the skill sets of their in-house finance team (60 per cent).

Almost one-third (32%) of private capital investors want their fund CFOs to outsource more, while 31% want their fund CFOs to maintain their current balance of outsourcing, recognising that outsourcing is extremely helpful.

According to Intertrust Group, CFOs do not appear to be choosing between in-house competence and access to external resources.

Commenting further on the findings, Nand Divakarla, head of innovation at Intertrust Group, comments: “From an investor perspective, the frequency of updates expected shows their desire to have access to the data as and when required for monitoring and reporting purposes, rather than immediate triggers for action from the fund CFOs.

“Growing demands for data and enhanced technology are based on real need, but there is a compromise to be reached around the depth and frequency of reporting – one that finds a balance between need and cost, and takes the strategies of individual funds into account.”

Source: Asset Servicing Times

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