Fund operation managers left hanging as Brexit talks blunder onwards.

As EU and UK Government negotiators settle in to another round of talks on the UK's impending withdrawal from the European Union, we wait to see if anything of executable value will emerge from this session. If the last two rounds of negotiations are the yardstick to which to measure progress with, then we shouldn't be holding our breath.

As the grand issues of trade and free movement within Europe dominate the agendas for now, UK based fund management operations managers are scratching their heads in wonder and concern at what, or rather when, they will know how Brexit is going to affect operations within their firms.

And it’s perhaps on those two issues, of trade and free movement, where we could begin to speculate where operational changes could be addressed sooner rather than later. As no real clarity is being produced from the EU/UK negotiations, assumptions will have to be made. If we make the reasonable assumption that trade and the movement of people within the EU will be altered, then we have the chance to at least create some alternative plans that can be actioned as and when the fog around the Brexit process begins to clear.

Looking further afield to suppliers outside of the EU that contribute to operations, , would be a plan that should be wholly unaffected by the Brexit process and could even produce benefits in the short term. Continually assessing any current partnerships with suppliers from EU countries and starting a dialogue with those partners, on Brexit developments, would also be a strategy worth adopting. Avoiding any knee jerk reactions to announcements and the portrayal of those in the media can be easily offset if you and your partners have discussed these events regularly, rather than responding to situations that can have an impact.

The 'wait and see' approach is one that has been adopted across almost all sectors whose business will be affected by Brexit, but consideration should be applied to what can be done now, to avoid starting from an uneasy footing, when clarity from the Brexit process starts to show itself.

The changing landscape for fund management operations will be explored at the Fund Management Operations Summit on the 31st October 2017 to be held at One America Square Conference Centre in central London. Free to representatives of investment management groups and regulatory bodies; more information on registering including the downloadable Summit brochure can be found at http://tinyurl.com/y8me9pxy.