End of April 2025, TOWER360 was honored to participate in the EY Luxembourg Asset Servicing event, a flagship gathering that brought together leading minds from across the financial services industry. The event served as a dynamic platform for sharing insights, exploring digital strategies, and discussing the future of asset servicing.
Our own Chakra Banerjee had the opportunity to present TOWER360 to an audience of over 100 participants, highlighting real-world success stories and showcasing how our platform supports digital transformation at scale. The TOWER360 team also engaged with fund managers and asset servicers to dive deeper into the challenges and opportunities in modernizing operational workflows.
A Forward-Looking Agenda
The event featured a compelling lineup of keynote speakers and panel discussions, culminating in the release of the EY 2025 Digitalization Survey—now in its third edition. As Ajay Bali, EY Luxembourg’s Technology Consulting Partner, noted, each successive report brings expanded participation and deeper insights, offering a more comprehensive view of the industry's digital maturity.
This year’s findings underscore both the progress and the persistent challenges facing asset servicers on their digital journeys.
Among the event highlights was a fireside chat exploring what asset managers expect from service providers when it comes to customer experience and digital capabilities. The discussion featured Norman Finster, Partner and Alternative Investments Leader at EY Luxembourg, alongside Darren Judge, Board Member and Conducting Officer at M&G Luxembourg. Together, they addressed how evolving client expectations are reshaping digital strategy across the value chain.
Following this, a panel discussion titled “Asset Servicing 2030 and the Role That Digitalization Will Play” brought together senior leaders driving innovation at major firms:
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Stephen Douglas, SVP and Chief Operating Officer, Luxembourg, Northern Trust
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Marie Measures, Chief Digital Information Officer, Apex Group
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Sabine Iacono, Group Head of Digital, CACEIS Bank
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Cristian Paun, Chief Digital and AI Officer, Waystone
The panel examined long-term trends, from the integration of AI and blockchain to the evolution of digital operating models, shedding light on how firms are preparing for the next phase of transformation.
Key Takeaways from the Event
1. The Efficiency Gap
Despite ongoing transformation efforts, nearly two-thirds of asset servicers still identify process inefficiencies as a primary challenge. Alarmingly, only 3% of processes are fully digitized, pointing to a significant opportunity for automation and workflow improvement.
2. AI is Not a Silver Bullet
While artificial intelligence remains a focal point in strategic planning, the message was clear: AI cannot fix broken processes. Solving the data quality challenge is essential. Industry leaders increasingly demand platforms that can onboard, validate, and distribute clean data—cutting down reporting cycles and enabling reliable automation.
Asset servicers are also making use of cloud-based platforms, AI, and automation tools to streamline operations, enhance client services, and maintain regulatory compliance. As emerging technologies like generative AI and blockchain gain traction, many firms are starting to see real value—though a significant portion still lags in fully realizing digital transformation.
3. Workflow-Specific Digitization
Asset servicers are shifting from broad digital strategies to use-case-driven digitization, focusing on areas such as:
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NAV calculation
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Capital call approvals
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Investor onboarding
These targeted improvements are proving vital for SLA compliance and operational transparency.
4. SaaS Adoption on the Rise
The adoption of enterprise SaaS platforms is gaining momentum. This year, 30% of digital initiatives involved a technology partner, marking a 8% increase over the previous year. This reflects a growing trend toward external collaboration and scalable transformation models.
5. Challenges in Funding and Talent
Despite the momentum, underfunding and talent shortages continue to hamper progress, slowing both the pace and depth of digital transformation across the industry.
Only a third (33%) of those surveyed indicated that their digital initiatives received full funding, a decline from 52% in 2024. Approximately half (49%) stated that their digital efforts were partially funded, reflecting an increase from 40% the previous year.
Close to two-thirds (63%) of respondents reported that their companies allocated just 0–10% of revenue to digital initiatives—down from 83% the previous year. Meanwhile, 14% said that more than 20% of revenue was directed toward digital initiatives, an increase from 9% in 2024.
Looking Ahead
As Brice Lecoustey, EY Luxembourg Partner and Asset Servicing Leader, pointed out during the event, it's encouraging to see asset servicers reaping tangible rewards from their digital investments. While the industry still has ground to cover, the pace of technological advancement is enabling continuous progress.
We’re grateful to EY Luxembourg for hosting such a future-oriented event. The TOWER360 team appreciated the opportunity to engage directly with industry peers and technology leaders, exchanging ideas and gaining deeper insights into the trends shaping our industry.
