Since reference data management (RDM) was identified as the linchpin to straight-through-processing in 2001, the securities industry has been paying a large amount of attention to its importance. This topic in one variant or another consistently rises to the top of industry priority lists and 2008 will be no different. Initial forays into reference data management focused on bringing in security master data to the institution. However, leading institutions are currently shifting their focus to data distribution and more complex client and counterparty data. This TowerGroup Research Note analyzes current trends in reference data management.