Download the report (PDF)
Scroll to open
Mulsanne

The Operating Model Reset

Mulsanne annual post-trade report · 2026

80senior leaders surveyed
4connected shifts
Scroll to begin

Foreword

A note from our partners

Ant Barry

Ant Barry

Adam Sartori

Adam Sartori

Post-trade is entering an operating-model reset. 95% of the leaders we surveyed expect retail and wealth flows into alternatives to grow, yet 43% say their platforms cannot cope. Strikingly, not one sees extra headcount as the answer. Technology will carry the scale, and AI is already moving from pilots into governed, everyday operations.

What interests us most is what this means for people. Work is being redesigned, not simply cut. Firms want operational technologists and commercially minded leaders, and say they are open to talent from beyond the industry, even if their hiring does not yet show it.

That gap is where Mulsanne works. Our talent advisory sits at the forefront of these shifts, helping clients rethink who they hire, how they assess them and where they look. The firms that get talent right will be the ones that make the reset count.

Ant Barry and Adam SartoriManaging Partners, Mulsanne

1

Infrastructure

Private-market growth is exposing the limits of existing infrastructure

95%

Streams of wealth and retail capital flowing into alternative investments

expect retail and wealth flows into alternatives to grow within three years

Half anticipate growth of two to five times. Evergreen and semi-liquid products bring more investors, more frequent transactions and higher service expectations.

Base: market respondents

43%

A modern platform resting on cracking stone foundations

say their platforms cannot support significant growth

A further 10% need meaningful investment to scale. Investor onboarding, KYC and AML at scale is the leading bottleneck.

Cannot support significant growth · 43%Need meaningful investment · 10%

0%

Three routes to scale, with the additional-headcount path left untravelled

chose additional headcount as the primary route to scale

Technology and automation57%
People and technology29%
Additional headcount0%

The Mulsanne perspective

This does not point to an operations hiring boom. Demand will concentrate in platforms, transformation, data and operating-model design.

2

Agentic operations

Post-trade is moving from automation to agentic operations

42%

A robotic arm and a human hand working together on the same task

say AI or automation is already materially reducing manual intervention

A further 50% are piloting it in specific workflows. The high-volume work is automated; what remains is exceptions, inconsistent data and judgement.

Materially reducing manual work · 42%Piloting in specific workflows · 50%

Base: custody, clearing, settlement and reconciliation cohort

The largest barrier to faster AI adoption

36%

Clients' legacy infrastructure

21%

Talent and change management

Base: technology providers

The Mulsanne perspective

Hiring will shift from AI enthusiasm to proven implementation capability. Governance is what allows adoption to scale.

Blueprint of a workforce redrawn from a rigid hierarchy into a connected network

3

Workforce

The workforce is being redesigned rather than simply reduced

15%

see AI primarily as a way to reduce headcount

People and AI agents working side by side around a shared table

What AI is mainly doing to the workforce

Changing the talent profile42%
Different skills and fewer people36%
Headcount reduction15%

New roles are emerging: AI operations leads, workflow product owners, data stewardship leads and human-agent control specialists.

The profile firms say they need

The operational technologist: credible domain knowledge, fluent with data and technology, able to lead people through change.

The experience pipeline problem

If junior roles no longer give repeated exposure to transactions and exceptions, future specialists will struggle to develop judgement. Rotations, apprenticeships, simulations and structured exception reviews need to start now.

4

Leadership

Leadership will determine whether transformation creates value

78%

selected commercial and client leadership as a priority for senior teams

Senior-team priorities, five years ahead

Commercial and client leadership78%
Change and transformation leadership60%
AI and data fluency47%
Deep domain expertise29%

Respondents could select more than one answer.

The gap between hiring intention and hiring behaviour

40%

actively seek candidates from adjacent sectors

34%

are open in principle but rarely hire them

The Mulsanne perspective

Repeatedly selecting the safest sector candidate can reproduce the behaviours firms are trying to change. Searches should begin with the future operating model and the outcomes required, not a familiar title.

85%

Two organisations being joined by a bridge as their platforms and teams integrate

expect M&A and partnership activity to increase over the next two years

Value will depend on leaders who can integrate platforms, teams and cultures without damaging service or resilience.

Conclusion

Talent strategy will be as important as technology strategy.

Growth is testing infrastructure that was not designed for it, and AI is moving towards governed human-agent operations. People remain central, but where they create value is changing. The strongest firms will align scalable infrastructure, a clear operating model and a talent strategy built for future work.

Download the full report (PDF)Talk to us
Mulsanne.Ant Barry and Adam Sartori, Managing Partners