Digital Alpha Technologies

1. Multi-dimensional technology strategy to create value NEW YORK

2. 01 01 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 02 02 WHAT LEADERS ARE DOING? WHAT LEADERS ARE DOING? 03 03 FOUR DIMENIONS OF LEVERAGE FOUR DIMENIONS OF LEVERAGE 04 04 LEVERAGE TO CXOS LEVERAGE TO CXOS 05 05 LEVERAGE TO THE TEAMS LEVERAGE TO THE TEAMS 06 06 LEVERAGE TO THE FIRM LEVERAGE TO THE FIRM 07 07 LEVERAGE TO OPERATIONS LEVERAGE TO OPERATIONS 2

3. Executive Summary Why did managers operations and technology costs double in the last 10 years? Bottlenecks to growth Expansion of legacy systems Increase in business complexity Increase in spend Impact of market forces Pressure on business model + = Digitization of Activities Alpha Generating Capabilities Digital Alpha What are best performers doing? Spent 25% less on overall technology and operations 2X AUM Growth 1.5X Profit Margins 0.75X O&T Costs Spent 35% more on discretionary data projects How can we help? Digital & Data Platforms Strategic Consulting Solution Development Digital Alpha 3

4. FOR ASSET MANAGERS ONLY Operations and technology costs for asset managers have grown twice as fast as total expenses in the last 10 years, roughly doubling in amount Increase in business complexity Expansion of legacy systems Bottlenecks to growth Processes, governance, and skills are not optimized for growth in the digital era and bear higher costs Increased complexity – of financial markets, investment techniques, products, distribution and regulation Manage complexity by expanding and patching legacy platforms Outsized growth in spend Outsized growth in operations and technology spending Impact of market forces Business model faces pressure New technologies promote new business models; disruption and creative destruction are endemic Impacted by trends such as digitization and commoditization, downward pressure on fees, pressures from sustainability, new tech-centric business models, and other investment innovations However, best performing managers spent less on operations and technology overall, and out-invested competitors in data and analytics 4

5. FOR ASSET MANAGERS ONLY The correlation between digital leadership and improved overall performance is no accident 5

6. FOR ASSET MANAGERS ONLY Best performers spend 25% less on overall technology and operations, and 35% more on discretionary data projects 6

7. FOR ASSET MANAGERS ONLY Firms generating digital alpha share three sets of operations and technology characteristics Partnership between operations and technology 1 Reduce cost and technical debt, invest in alpha generating capabilities 2 3 Place for technology at the heart of strategic differentiation 7

8. FOR ASSET MANAGERS ONLY Firms generating digital alpha describe their digital strategies as creating, and not just enabling, value 3 2 1 Reduce cost and TD, invest in alpha generating capabilities Partnership between operations and technology Place for technology at the heart of strategic differentiation  Reduce cost and technical debt(TD) by: o Streamlining legacy architecture o Eliminating duplicate applications o Sunsetting outdated systems  Invest in new generation technical capabilities o e.g., new sources of data, automation, machine learning  Appoint CTOs/COOs to the management executive committee  Eliminate a traditional and increasingly artificial boundary  Seek new board members who bring expertise in operations and technology  Combine budgets and talent; develop and execute joint strategies  Adapt effective operating models o e.g. agile application development and maintenance  Sponsor major strategic initiatives jointly  Invest in talent development to more effectively leverage digital capabilities 8

9. FOR ASSET MANAGERS ONLY Best performers are in the top decile in each of the following three dimensions: Streamlined application landscape : o Focused set of vendors across the value chain o High infrastructure and application stability o Strong cybersecurity protocols Core Architecture Integrated data strategy, actively using algorithms and advanced analytics: o Use Machine learning to improve investment performance o Strengthen product distribution and client relationship management o Optimize operations, or manage talent Data & Analytics Focused on reducing cost and improving efficiency through : o Middle office and back office process optimization and automation o Capital allocator and analyst journey redesign Automation and Workflow 9

10. Best performers engage vendors in multiple ways to accelerate growth and improve margins 11 Provide leverage to CXO with technology problem solving to address key pain points that improve business performance; driving revenue, optimizing IT spend, giving speed and flexibility Provide Strategic Consulting: Leverage to CXOs A 2 Speed up implementation of solutions with flexible on-demand engagement models and collaborative execution approach with internal teams Accelerate Solution Development: Leverage to the Teams 3 Help with hiring the right talent to create value by rapid and nimble matching of people and opportunities giving overall positive experience to all the stakeholders. Edge with Dynamic Talent Acquisition: Leverage to the Firm 4 Provide leverage by taking over multi-faceted technology processes and functions to free-up the in-house workforce to focus on higher- value tasks. Optimize with Managed Services : Leverage to Operations 10

11. Leverage to CXOs : Targeted problem-solving and strategic consulting on-demand (1/2) 1 Problem Solving Workshops Diagnostic Study Proof-a-thon Diagnose organizational current technology state Identify critical solution components to prove out Define the scope and objective of the workshop • • • Synthesize issues/concerns from the stakeholders and the study findings Define success criteria for the proof-a-thon Lead the brainstorming sessions and solution design • • • Complete the proof-a-thon and share the findings within 1 - 2 weeks Syndicate design and development activities with the stakeholders • • Prioritize and assign economic value to solving each problem • 11

12. Leverage to CXOs : Targeted problem-solving and strategic consulting on-demand (2/2) 1 TCO and KTLO Reduction Program New Technology and Vendor Evaluation Monthly Insights Provide reference architectures for data and artificial intelligence platforms • Capability Development Program Nearshore Development Team Setup Update on S/W used in- house, possible simplifications and alternatives • FinTech & AI Due Diligence Consult in-person with CTO and/or teams 2-4hrs. per month for problem-solving • Architecture Review Services Collaborate on strategic roadmaps, presentations, technology offsite • CoE – DevOps, Data and AI Pipelines 12

13. Leverage to the teams : Accelerate solution development that require Cloud, DevOps, Data and AI engineering skills (1/2) 2 Front Office Middle Office & Risk Back Office Functional Solutions Calculate daily P/L and fund/product NAV Develop custom Investment decision workflow Daily reconciliation of ISDA contracts and positions Vendor data normalization, arbitration and optimization Build decision support system with IBOR, analytics and workflow Build models and system for market, liquidity and counterparty risk Setup self-service data analytics platform for analyst with integrations Detect anomalies in data real-time using machine learning 13

14. Leverage to the teams : Accelerate solution development that require Cloud, DevOps, Data and AI engineering (2/2) 2 Make on-premise applications cloud ready and migrate to cloud Integrate systems to reduce errors and improve efficiency Reduce response time with digital operations Core Architecture Make firmwide data and calculation assets available via micro services Reduce new functionality time to market with CI/CD automation Build shared services such as Redis, Kafka and ELK clusters Build/enhance master data management and market data repos Setup self-service data analytics platform for analyst with integrations Data & Analytics Build Data Lake for analyst research and exploratory work Build enterprise data hub for real-time single source of truth data Build real-time data pipelines to capture changes in underlying data Detect anomalies in data real-time using machine learning 14

15. Leverage to the teams : Accelerate solution development with flexible engagement models 2 Well-defined & Independent Dynamic & Not Independent Onsite Development Offshore Development Hybrid Development Offshore senior consultant leads the team with oversight from SME and Architect • Leadership >> Onsite senior consultant leads the team with oversight from SME and Architect Onsite senior consultant leads the team with oversight from SME and Architect • • Recruitment >> Team member hiring is based on interview scoring by senior developer, architect, SME, client technical lead and product owner • Team member hiring is based on interview scoring by senior developer, architect, SME, client technical lead and product owner Team member hiring is based on interview scoring by senior developer, architect, SME, client technical lead and product owner • • Location >> Onsite : Lead consultants Offshore: Remaining team Visiting & Remote : SME & Architect Hourly rates Fixed for short term projects <= 4 weeks with sign off on design and development activities Offshore: All team members Visiting & Remote : SME & Architect Hourly rates Fixed for short term projects <= 4 weeks with sign off on design and development activities • • • • Onsite : All team members Visiting & Remote : SME & Architect • • • Fees >> Hourly rates • • • • • 15

16. Leverage to the firm : Dynamic matching of people with domain and/or technology expertise with roles and opportunities 3 Well-defined & Independent Software Development and Engineering Roles More Operations Intensive High Domain Knowledge Quantitative Developer DevOps Engineer Full Stack Developer Cloud Engineer Python Developer ML Engineer Site Reliability Engineer Data Analyst Data Engineer Full Stack Analytics Developer Backend Engineer 16

17. Leverage to the firm : Intense pre-screening and client validated training program to hire right & fast 3 Well-defined & Independent Lateral Hire Screening Process Veteran & Young Talent Screening Process Resume/ 1 1 Resume/LinkedIn/GitHub Projects/Internships/GPA Role Specific Coding Exercise & Walkthrough Generic Coding Exercise, Walkthrough & Interviews 2 2 Pre- Client Screening & Selection for Training Program Client Validated Training Program & Capstone Coding Exercise & Walkthrough Technical and Domain Phone Interviews 3 Screening 3 Client Resume and Test Scores Review 4 4 Client Screening 4 Weeks Training Program Client Interviews 5 5 Calibrate Screening Process Client Feedback Client Interviews 6 6 17

18. Leverage to the firm : Structured and transparent hiring approach to achieve positive outcome for all stakeholders 3 Hiring Platform Tailor coding exercises for specific positions Interviews are conducted by senior technical and domain experts • • Pre-Screening Custom Hiring Blueprint Systemize hiring blueprints, workflow automation & alerts Access to client portal with candidate assessment and interview details Parse and match resumes using AI • Structure & Transparency • Workflow Automation • Access to more than 40+ universities and colleges in north east Tailor training and capstone projects to client needs • Client Validated Training Program • Continue to work with multiple vendors, and yet leverage from centralized pre-screening and hiring platform Free up team and firm resources from the pre- screening and admin activities • Client Portal Consolidate Hiring Efforts • 18

19. Appendix 19

20. Our Mission Create value by solving technology problems with a milestone-based delivery model 20

21. FOR ASSET MANAGERS ONLY Best performing managers spent less on operations and technology overall, but out-invest competitors in data and analytics Digital Alpha : Only a handful of firms are creating value – digital alpha, through greater investments in data and analytics, and by digitizing their operations and technology functions 21

22. We strive to create lasting and substantial impact in our engagements MORE IMPACT = MORE OPPORTUNITIES Client unmet needs Leadership aspirations and ideas OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE Impact Digital Alpha capabilities 22

23. Thank You! www.digital-alpha.com consulting@digital-alpha.com www.linkedin.com/company/digitalalpha (646)397 -9689 23