Fragmented data is one of the biggest barriers for APAC insurers 

APAC insurers are racing into private markets, expanding their use of third-party managers, and preparing for an era of rapid consolidation. But beneath the momentum, data integration – or a lack thereof – threatens to slow even the most ambitious investment teams.

New research from Clearwater Analytics reveals almost all APAC insurance asset managers believe fragmented data is now one of the biggest barriers to effective investment management. And increasingly complex portfolios are set to exacerbate the problem further.

Across the industry, data integration sits firmly at the top of the challenge list. Insurers are pulling information from multiple internal systems, numerous external managers, and a growing number of alternative investment platforms which makes it a challenge to find continuity.

The survey also finds that insurers’ confidence in their current capabilities is low.

Only 42% rate their systems as excellent at managing data integration. The gap widens for asset complexity, ranked as the second biggest challenge but dead last in performance with just 23% believing their tools are strong enough to support it.

In other words, the systems insurers rely on are struggling where it matters most.

Magnified data pressures

The industry’s rapid shift toward private markets is adding substantial strain. APAC insurers expect private market allocations to rise from 20% today to 33% within five years. And with growth comes complexity.

Two-thirds of insurers are increasing their use of third-party asset managers. As a result, they are receiving more data, in more formats, from more places than ever before, making it harder to build a unified, timely view of exposures and performance.

More than nine out of 10 (92%) of executives agree that working with more asset managers is fragmenting data flows and increasing the difficulty of accessing critical information.

The capability gap

To address these pressures, insurers are investing heavily in new talent and tools. Their top strategies include:

• Recruiting from a wider range of sectors

• Hiring more specialist risk professionals

• Deploying new platforms to compensate for system weaknesses

• Increasing training and development

• Outsourcing more to third-party experts

But despite these efforts, the capability gap persists and may widen as allocations grow more complex.

As insurers diversify their investment strategies and engage more external managers, the ability to unify, normalise, and analyse data across disparate asset classes and systems has become critical.

With private markets set to represent a third of future allocations—and 72% of firms reporting increased risk profiles—the stakes are rising fast.

Almost all (96%) of insurers in APAC expect increased M&A activity, the firms that close these capability gaps first will have a significant competitive advantage as the sector consolidates.”

In a market where speed, transparency, and risk visibility are becoming non-negotiable, integrated data platforms will be essential.

APAC’s insurance winners will be those who eliminate data fragmentation and build systems capable of supporting the complexity ahead. And those firms that fail to grasp the integration challenge may find themselves on the wrong side of the region’s next consolidation wave.

How CWAN solves for the data gap

We eliminate fragmented data. With CWAN, all investment data across public and private markets and asset classes is in one structured environment: ingesting, cleansing, and validating data from front-, middle-, and back-office systems, eliminating fragmented data flows. It’s automated, audit-ready, and built to flex with evolving demands, equipping front-to-back teams with the same clean, validated dataset — built to scale. Explore our investment data management solution.

Download our full findings to learn more about APAC’s top investment management challenges:

1. Data Integration
2. Asset Complexity
3. Coverage and Consolidation
4. Risk Measurement
5. Resilience
6. Scenario Analysis
7. Scalability
8. Customisation
9. Transparency