Streamlining fund selection: How wealth managers can cut through data complexity

For wealth managers and discretionary fund managers (DFMs), fund selection is both foundational and demanding. It drives model portfolios, supports adviser recommendations and influences long-term client outcomes. But despite its importance, the process is increasingly slowed by one persistent issue: disconnected, unreliable data.

Investment teams can spend hours each week sourcing fund information from multiple providers. Each source delivers data in a different format, with varying degrees of quality, timeliness and completeness. One provider might supply static data in a spreadsheet, another sends quarterly updates as PDFs, and a third delivers regulatory templates with missing fields or inconsistent naming conventions. What should be a structured input into research instead becomes a messy, fragmented patchwork that demands constant manual attention.

As well as wasting time, these data issues undermine confidence. Delays in accessing updated performance metrics, fund holdings or regulatory documents can stall decisions. Inconsistencies make fund comparisons harder and increase the risk of oversight. And when advisers need quick, reliable answers to client questions, these gaps limit your ability to respond effectively.

Strategically, this complexity creates drag. Teams aren’t just managing data but the consequences of unreliable data. That takes focus away from analysis and decision-making.

The cost of manual workarounds

To keep things moving, many teams build their own workarounds. They develop internal spreadsheets, write scripts to reformat data or manually track updates across different fund groups. These fixes can hold things together in the short term, but they are not scalable and they introduce unnecessary risk.

Every manual process is a potential failure point. Copying and pasting between files, patching missing data or adjusting templates increases the chance of human error. Even experienced analysts can misalign fields or overlook inconsistencies, especially when the volume of data is high and time is short.

Beyond risk, the bigger problem is resource drain. Skilled investment professionals spend too much time on administrative tasks: cleansing data, formatting fields and cross-checking figures. This reduces the time available for in-depth research, model optimisation and adviser engagement. As client demands increase and regulatory requirements evolve, manual processes become an unsustainable bottleneck.

Far from being a back-office concern, data quality directly affects portfolio construction, adviser trust and client outcomes. When you can’t rely on the data feeding your investment process, you’re working with one hand tied behind your back.

A smarter approach to fund data

High-quality investment decisions depend on high-quality inputs. That’s where FE fundinfo’s Data Feeds offer a measurable advantage.

Rather than relying on multiple providers with different formats, investment teams can receive a single, consolidated feed of accurate, structured data. The feed draws directly from FE fundinfo’s extensive and validated database, enriched by our close relationships with asset managers, covering thousands of funds, instruments and documents across jurisdictions and asset classes.

The result is consistency. Performance metrics, NAVs, fund attributes, regulatory templates and holdings all arrive in consistent structures. Teams no longer need to double-check whether data has been updated or reformat fields to run comparisons. Instead, fund information arrives ready for use – saving time and removing friction.

Data Feeds are designed to integrate directly into your existing systems. Whether you rely on Excel, custom-built dashboards, internal databases or third-party platforms, the data can be delivered in the format you need – CSV, XML, Excel, , or others – and on the schedule you choose. No need to adapt your tools to the data; the data adapts to you.

For research analysts and portfolio managers, this means more time for genuine investment work. Fund comparisons are faster. Portfolio reviews are more thorough. Responses to adviser queries are quicker and backed by up-to-date, verified information.

Customised feeds for confident selection

Every investment team works to its own criteria. Some prioritise performance history and volatility metrics. Others focus on ESG scoring, underlying holdings or regulatory classifications. What matters most is control over the data you receive and how it supports your selection process.

FE fundinfo’s Data Feeds are built for flexibility.  Upon onboarding, you define the exact data points you need—which are then implemented into your final feeds. Want daily NAVs, monthly fund size updates and quarterly EMT data? No problem. Need delta files to highlight only what’s changed? You can set that too. Apply filters by fund type, domicile, asset class, or currency to further tailor the files.

Post-processing and enrichment options allow you to combine multiple datasets into one output, apply custom calculations, or convert formats to align with your internal systems. All of this happens before the data reaches your team – removing the need for manual intervention.
Delivery is secure and automated. Whether it’s via SFTP, API, email or another preferred method, you can define how and when you get hold of the data you need.

This level of control allows investment teams to move with confidence. The data they rely on is timely, structured and fit for purpose. That translates into better-informed selection, faster reviews and more credible recommendations to advisers and clients alike.

Take the next step

The quality and efficiency of your fund selection process depend on the quality and efficiency of your data. When investment teams are forced to patch together inconsistent information from multiple sources, it slows them down and exposes them to risk. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

FE fundinfo’s Data Feeds give you a central, trusted source of investment data – configured to your needs, integrated with your tools and delivered on your terms. No more patchwork. No more workarounds. Just the data you need, the way you need it.