In response to rapid technological innovation and shifting geopolitical and macroeconomic policies, asset owners are reimagining portfolio resilience, operating models and governance frameworks to adopt a comprehensive approach that embraces uncertainty.
“Resilience isn’t about avoiding shocks or minimizing volatility; it’s about building portfolios that can absorb crises, recover faster and emerge stronger over decades,” explained Dr. Ashby Monk, Executive & Research Director, Stanford Research Initiative on Long-Term Investing. “The type of resilience asset owners are building today replaces outdated models focused on short-term risk. The new holistic approach embraces uncertainty, leverages alternative data and integrates technology to ensure portfolios don’t just survive, but thrive across generations.”
At the 2025 Asset Owner Innovation Summit — hosted by BNY in collaboration with Stanford Long-Term Investing (SLTI) — global executives from leading asset owners explored how data and analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and total portfolio management (TPM) are transforming their approach to portfolio resilience.
Scaling Operational Infrastructure to Unlock Liquidity and Investment Agility
Operational readiness has evolved from a back-office function to a strategic enabler of growth. Nearly one-third of Innovation Summit survey participants identified data unification as their top operational priority,1 reflecting an industry-wide shift toward scalability through digital infrastructure.
This aligns with findings from BNY’s Tech‑Driven Alpha in Private Markets study, in which 75% of asset owners reported reliance upon heavily manual or bespoke processes to oversee holdings and 67% cited challenges in extracting and normalizing fund and asset data for alternatives.2
A single, reliable source of truth supported by robust metadata governance and unified data is foundational for operational scalability. Replacing fragmented legacy systems with cloud-first platforms will enable faster, better decision-making and unlock new growth opportunities.
Liquidity management provides a compelling use case for how embracing data unification unlocks new capabilities. As allocations to private markets expand, real-time cross-portfolio dashboards are emerging as essential tools for managing liquidity risk and enhancing agility. When data is clean, connected and well governed, asset owners can visualize exposures comprehensively, empowering them to respond dynamically and holistically to shifting market conditions.
Integrating alternative and sustainability data into these systems also enhances resilience by embedding long-term, nontraditional risks directly into portfolio construction and oversight.
The type of resilience asset owners are building today replaces outdated models focused on short-term risk. The new holistic approach embraces uncertainty, leverages alternative data and integrates technology to ensure portfolios don’t just survive, but thrive across generations.
Dr. Ashby Monk, Executive and Research Director of Stanford Long-Term Investing
Unlocking Growth with AI
Asset owners are increasingly integrating AI into their operations, with 71% reporting that AI has been at least minimally embedded within operations processes.3 Nearly half identified AI as a strategic enabler in improving data quality and increasing employee productivity.4
Realizing AI’s potential demands cultural and organizational change and requires deep investment in technology infrastructure and data governance. Fostering a culture of curiosity, developing an AI mindset and providing regular training empowers employees to adopt AI and discover innovative AI use-cases. Asset owners that proactively address workforce impacts through retraining and redeployment strategies recognize that adoption remains critical as technology reshapes workflows.
The intersection of AI and data management is consequential. While the volume of available information is overwhelming, AI’s ability to aggregate, analyze and apply consistent reasoning across vast datasets is a game-changer. It can help reveal hidden portfolio overlaps, identify inefficiencies and enable smarter capital deployment such as reallocating cash holdings into higher-yielding private credit opportunities.
AI and advanced data science enable rapid and thorough analyses of vast and disparate datasets, creating tangible financial benefits that justify technology investments.
Charting the Course to Total Portfolio Management
Traditional investment playbooks — which rely on strategic asset allocations and siloed portfolio management — are increasingly insufficient to navigate volatile macroeconomic conditions and growing geopolitical complexity. TPM allows asset owners to dynamically adjust exposures in response to evolving market conditions, optimize liquidity and costs and make informed decisions.
Fewer than one in three asset owners expressed confidence in achieving a truly integrated, real-time portfolio view, highlighting a pressing need and significant opportunity.5 Nearly 44% of asset owners reported relying on three to five different systems to manage accounting, reporting, and data, underscoring the difficulty of achieving a real-time holistic portfolio view.6 Because of these hurdles, asset owners are willing to outsource if it results in faster, more secure implementation of TPM.
“During our Total Portfolio Management session, asset owners overwhelmingly agreed that they would rent or buy solutions today rather than build bespoke systems,” noted Rohan Singh, Head of Asset Owners, APAC & Middle East at BNY. “They highlighted that off-the-shelf platforms deliver rapid deployment, proven security and ongoing vendor support — all critical in a fast-moving market.”
Adopting TPM requires asset owners to move beyond siloed asset-class structures and embrace an integrated and holistic framework. Developing a culture that facilitates collaboration across functions and asset classes and operates under a unified strategic vision is essential. It enables knowledge and insight to flow seamlessly across all stakeholders and empowers the investment and operations teams to make more informed, agile decisions. As this approach becomes ingrained, teams can dynamically adjust strategies while remaining aligned on shared goals and objectives, ultimately resulting in a more resilient and future-ready firm.
By investing in a strong, collaborative culture, asset owners unlock the agility and cohesion needed to de-risk transformation and flourish
in any market.Mike Green, UK and Continental Europe Head of Asset Owner Segment, BNY
Alpha Unlocked by Embracing Innovation
Asset owners that embrace innovation as a strategic imperative can unlock new sources of alpha and enhance portfolio resilience while maintaining alignment with long-term missions. However, adopting new technologies alone will not yield success — a cultural transformation is necessary, one that prioritizes data as a strategic asset and empowers a cross-functional collaborative team united by common goals.
“Culture is the catalyst for resilient strategy; it forges a single data language, empowers teams to embrace new technologies, and aligns everyone around shared, holistic objectives,” said Mike Green, UK and Continental Europe Head of Asset Owner Segment at BNY. “By investing in a strong, collaborative culture, asset owners unlock the agility and cohesion needed to de-risk transformation and flourish in any market.”
1,4,5 "Asset Owner Innovation Summit Pre-Event Survey: Benchmarking Operating Efficiency," BNY, 2025.
2,3,6 "Tech-Driven Alpha in Private Markets: Putting Alts Investors in the Driver's Seat," BNY, August 5, 2025.
