O'Shaughnessy Asset Management (OSAM) and StatPro's Analytics
Reporting module
Background
O'Shaughnessy
Asset Management (OSAM) a Stamford (Connecticut) based quantitative
money management firm, was founded in 2007 by Jim O'Shaughnessy,
CEO. OSAM delivers a broad range of equity portfolios to
institutional investors and the high net-worth clients of Financial
Advisors. They also serve as a sub-advisor to a family of mutual
funds through the Royal Bank of Canada and Van Kampen
Investments.
OSAM's investment strategies are based on the research of Jim
O'Shaughnessy, widely regarded as a pioneer in quantitative equity
analysis. Jim and his team have identified the characteristics that
have led to successful investing over the last fifty years. It is
these characteristics that form the foundation of their
strategies. As of May 31, 2009 Jim and his team manage funds of
approximately $4.5 billion.
How it all
began 
Jim O'Shaughnessy began managing money in 1996 (as O'Shaughnessy
Capital Management, LLC) and in 2001, Jim and his team joined Bear
Stearns Asset Management (BSAM), a New York City based asset
management firm. Jim's quantitative strategies were widely
embraced by the Bear Stearns sales team and the strategies enjoyed
rapid growth. In 2007 BSAM and OSAM agreed on an amicable
separation, allowing OSAM to return to their entrepreneurial
roots.
As a result of the separation, OSAM found itself in an unusual
situation, as it had to re establish its independence and to create
all its technology/systems from scratch.
The solution
OSAM's Director of Performance and Risk Analytics needed an
efficient reporting tool for day-to-day operations, whilst also
being responsible for maintenance and GIPS compliance. She turned
to StatPro and purchased the Composites module as she had used
their solutions in her previous position. Because StatPro
Interactive (the Analytics Reporting Tool) is offered in a
package with all software solutions, the decision to go for StatPro
Interactive as a future reporting tool was an easy one to
make.
The implementation process was very straightforward. StatPro's
support team was accessible, timely and accurate.
Results &
Reaction
The feedback of the people using the system has been positive -
and the efficiency gains have been significant. For example,
reports can be modified very easily and time is saved by being able
to carry out changes directly on the Microsoft Word/Excel
tool. OSAM can now publish a report in a much shorter period
of time than previously (one hour instead of half a day). There are
also higher speeds of calculation – the Director of Performance is
now able to calculate 5,000 accounts in one hour, and the speed has
improved further after the subsequent upgrades. StatPro's reporting
solution has definitely helped OSAM to gain an advantage over
competitors, as one individual can now run complex tasks
independently - whereas before a whole team was required. The tool
has a vast number of templates - the system is very flexible,
transparent and easy to use. The Director of Performance is given
the opportunity to propose additional functionality that will
improve their internal processes and procedures. It therefore gives
the client the opportunity to actively participate in the
development process but also ensures the efficiency of their
processes is maintained.
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overview