Quality SPV data as a strategic asset for funds
As real estate and private equity structures continue to expand across jurisdictions, adding to complexity, fund managers are placing greater emphasis on the quality, consistency, and control of SPV-level data. Financial control cannot be limited to reporting and compliance; it is central to operational efficiency, investor transparency, and better fund-level decision-making.
In this edition of “10 minutes with…”, Ryan Seligmann, Managing Director of ATOZ Services UK and member of the ATOZ Services Executive Committee, shares his perspective on why SPV data quality is so critical for funds and their managers, how technology is reshaping financial control, and why firms that treat SPV data as a strategic asset will be best positioned for the future.
In real estate and private equity structures, SPV data is often fragmented, for example, across jurisdictions, systems, and service providers. What do you believe are the biggest weaknesses around data control and governance?
One of the most common weaknesses we see is inconsistency in how SPV data is captured, validated, and managed across structures. As funds grow internationally, many still rely on disconnected systems, local processes, spreadsheets, and manual reconciliations. This creates operational silos and significantly reduces visibility at fund level.
The issue is not simply access to data; it is confidence in the quality, consistency, and accessibility of that data. When information is incomplete, delayed, or structured differently between SPVs, it becomes difficult for funds to monitor liquidity, assess exposure, produce reliable reporting, or make timely investment decisions.
To address this, firms need stronger governance around SPV data, with standardised controls, common reporting frameworks, and clearly defined ownership of data quality. Funds that centralise oversight while maintaining local expertise are much better positioned to achieve operational efficiency, stronger financial control, and more reliable decision-making.
Data quality can be a major issue for fund managers. What separates firms that use SPV data effectively from those that simply accumulate information?
The key difference is whether firms treat SPV data as a strategic asset or simply as an administrative output. Many organisations collect large volumes of information, but without consistent standards, governance, and integration across SPVs, that data becomes difficult to use effectively. In many cases, fund managers spend more time correcting or validating information than actually using it to support decision-making.
The firms that generate the most value are those that focus on data quality, consistency, and accessibility from the outset. High-quality SPV data creates significant efficiencies at fund level by improving investor reporting, strengthening financial control, reducing operational risk, and enabling management teams to access meaningful insights much faster.
Ultimately, as private markets continue to scale and structures become more complex, firms that can transform SPV data into reliable and actionable intelligence will have a significant operational and strategic advantage.
How is technology changing the way financial control teams manage SPV data and support fund-level decision-making?
Technology is evolving the role of financial control teams. Historically, much of the function was focused on collecting information manually, validating numbers, and reconciling reports across entities. Today, integrated platforms, automation, and real-time reporting tools allow teams to spend less time processing data and more time analysing it.
For funds managing large SPV structures, this shift is particularly important. Technology enables firms to standardise data across entities, improve the quality and consistency of reporting, and provide decision-makers with real-time visibility over performance, liquidity, compliance, and operational metrics.
The real value comes when high-quality SPV data can be consolidated efficiently at fund level. This allows management teams to identify trends earlier, monitor risks continuously, and make faster, more informed investment decisions.
In that sense, financial control is evolving from a reactive reporting function into a more strategic capability driven by reliable, accessible, and well-governed data.
Looking ahead, how do you expect SPV data management and financial oversight to evolve across real estate and private equity structures, and how is ATOZ Services supporting clients through that shift?
I believe the biggest shift will be the growing importance of high-quality SPV data as the foundation for effective financial control, investor transparency, and operational efficiency.
As real estate and private equity structures become more complex and international, funds are increasingly recognising that fragmented or inconsistent SPV data creates significant operational and reporting challenges. Accurate accounting and compliance remain essential, but they are now viewed as the baseline expectation.
What clients increasingly want is reliable, accessible, and standardised SPV-level data that can support faster reporting, stronger oversight, better liquidity management, and more informed decision-making across the entire structure.
In real estate, this means greater focus on consolidating operational and financial data at asset and SPV level to improve portfolio transparency, cash flow forecasting, and performance monitoring. In private equity, the emphasis is increasingly on scalability, consistency across entities, and improving the quality and speed of investor reporting. SPVs will continue to sit at the centre of both sectors, which means the ability to control, validate, and extract value from SPV data will become even more critical. Firms that standardise and centralise data governance across structures will be in a much stronger operational and strategic position.
That is very much how we see our role at ATOZ Services. We help clients strengthen SPV data quality, improve financial oversight, and build more efficient reporting and control frameworks across increasingly complex structures.
So, where does ATOZ Services add the most value for fund managers looking to improve SPV data quality, governance, and operational efficiency?
At ATOZ Services, our role is to help clients create greater control, consistency, and visibility across SPV structures.
We work closely with fund managers to improve how SPV data is captured, standardised, validated, and consolidated across jurisdictions. That includes strengthening governance frameworks, streamlining reporting processes, and helping clients move away from fragmented manual workflows towards more integrated and technology-enabled operating models.
Importantly, we combine local expertise with centralised oversight. Funds often require jurisdiction-specific knowledge while still maintaining consistent reporting standards and data quality across the wider structure.
Our approach is designed to support both.
We also help clients transform SPV data into meaningful and actionable insight. By improving data quality, accessibility, and consistency, funds are able to strengthen financial control, improve investor reporting, reduce operational inefficiencies, and make faster, more informed decisions.
Ultimately, our focus is not simply on producing reports. It is on helping clients build a more scalable and reliable financial control environment where high-quality SPV data becomes a genuine operational and strategic advantage.
At ATOZ Services, our role is to help clients create greater control, consistency, and visibility across SPV structures. We work closely with fund managers to improve how SPV data is captured, standardised, validated, and consolidated across jurisdictions. That includes strengthening governance frameworks, streamlining reporting processes, and helping clients move away from fragmented manual workflows towards more integrated and technology-enabled operating models.
