In light of the ongoing soft-dollar debate, spending on technology to manage commission payments will more than double over the next three years, which could bring an inflow of cash to large brokerage firms that provide these tools to their buy-side customers. Commission management tools help the buyside show regulators what portion of commissions went to pay for research, execution and other brokerage services; several large brokerage firms as well as technology vendors provide these tools to clients.

Funds could spend nearly $115 million on commission management technology over the next three years, according to research by Aite Group. Last year, firms in the U.S. and the U.K. spent approximately $20 million on systems that allocate dollars for research and brokerage services. By 2008, spending is expected to jump to $45 million per year. "With regulators increasingly requiring transparency, there will be greater pressure to get [commissions] disclosure solutions in place," said Sang Lee, founder of Aite. "With commissions going down constantly, any new source of income is welcome," one brokerage executive said.

The U.K.'s Financial Services Authority already requires funds to break out these costs but the Securities and Exchange Commission, while leaning toward similar rules, has no such rule on the books.