Customer-first pays dividends

Our client was under pressure. Its customers were raising expectations for lower fees without compromising returns – factors that led to the investment-management industry’s creation of exchange-traded funds that provide a low-cost, passive-management alternative.

Our client, however, was committed to its long-term mission of actively managing investments. So this leading asset-management company decided to create efficiencies by transforming the business processes and technology that support its investment operations.

Additionally, the firm wanted to enable growth by offering complex investment vehicles to its customers. 

The transformation of our client’s middle- and back-office business functions and supporting technologies is considered by many in the industry to be the model for major organizational change. Results included:

• seamless transformation of investment-operations processes for the firm’s retail and institutional lines of business enabled faster time to market for new products
• optimized processes across lines of business enabled straight-through processing, and significant operational efficiencies
• completion of a large, enterprise transformation project ahead of schedule and on budget.

We brought together individuals with deep experience in finance and portfolio accounting, trade operations, technology, data management, quality and risk management, and organizational change. We embraced our client’s collaborative culture and appetite for change and worked shoulder-to-shoulder as one team on the complex, years-long transformation.

The team assessed the scope and needs of the project and defined a hybrid approach that combined agile delivery concepts and traditional waterfall methods to drive incremental business capability delivery. Our role on the project included:

• managing the delivery of the entire project and a team comprised of multiple vendors
• analyzing the current state to understand the firm’s challenges and competitive barriers
• engaging key stakeholders to achieve consensus and alignment on the project’s objectives, mission and vision—all while dealing with the ongoing changes of a multiyear transformation.

Transformation means all hands on deck

The transformation journey is a major undertaking. Successful transformations require strong commitment and collaboration from the entire organization.

Look for the emotional quotient

Transformation isn’t just about technology. It has an impact on the entire organization, including people, processes, technology, data, and risk. Due to the enormous impact that transformations cause, it is important to assemble a team with skills across the multiple disciplines. A key success factor is the ability of the team to understand and adapt to the company’s culture. 

Take small steps

A large, complex business transformation project is like a marathon. It’s important to establish the overall approach but move forward one step at a time.