On a recent panel at the InvestOps 2023 Conference, Martin Ouellette shared key insights about how firms can effectively transform their front-to-back operations. In this paper, he recaps his top three tips and offers practical strategies for alleviating operational challenges in pursuit of growth and scale.
by Martin Ouellette, Director
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Front-to-back office solutions are on the rise. Are they right for your firm?
by John Leavy, Senior Manager
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Now more than ever, investment managers are outsourcing the responsibility of improving operational efficiency. Service providers taking on this task have enhanced their offerings over the last several years to accommodate the ever-changing complexity of the financial services industry. As such, your firm will need a focused due diligence effort to assess the available options in the marketplace. This includes evaluating the capabilities of different market solutions, the ability to configure versus customize, the overall operational model and, most important, assessing your readiness for the transformation itself. Meradia’s consultants leverage their decades of outsourcing experience to provide a framework for your firm’s next outsourcing project.
by Tom McCorkell, Senior Manager
Jeremy Welch, Manager
What processes are poised for outsourcing, and what areas should be kept in-house? These are the first questions investment managers should ask before delegating specific business processes to external providers. Outsourcing is complex, but abiding by these three principles will ensure your firm’s decision supports enhanced business operations well into the future.
by Benjamin P. Smith, Client Partner…
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Have you selected a new investment operations system to replace your legacy technology and manual workarounds? Or have you decided to outsource investment operations to a service provider?
Both efforts are significant, and likely the largest your part of the organization has ever seen. Are you making the right decisions? Or are you missing a golden opportunity to advance your business and improve the way you work? Here are three red flags you’re overlooking business transformation opportunities.
by Brian J. Lollar, Managing Director…
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Has your outsource solution lived up to its expectations? Have real-world problems with integration and the production environment simply shifted bottlenecks or errors to new areas? Key operational components and workflows are the lifeblood of any large organization. But when decisions to outsource were made years or even decades ago, the criteria becomes dated and inapplicable. Don’t overlook these three signs it’s time to re-evaluate your outsource solution.
by Benjamin P. Smith, Client Partner…
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As financial firms seek to expand distribution, enhance efficiency, reduce costs and improve performance, they must also focus on the client experience. From the initial point of contact to ongoing client servicing and reporting, all interactions matter – and your clients are taking note. Negative experiences could lead to lost revenue, but positive experiences could be the key to unlocking future revenue. To ensure your business is staying competitive, consider these five trends shaping the client experience today.
by Timothy W. Jager, Principal…
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The most effective system implementations start by establishing a proof of concept (POC) to validate a vendor’s ability to support your requirements and highlight areas where custom solution design may be required. A key component of a successful POC is a clearly defined scope that identifies the types of scenarios, number of portfolios, goals and criteria for completion. Yet we see time and time again firms overlook this element. Here are four key steps to establish a thoughtful POC scope that will allow your implementation to go off without a hitch.
by Nicol S. O’Connor, Senior Consultant
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Picture this: The monthly performance report has just been received, but it’s missing some data. No errors were generated, yet the blank section on the output indicates something went wrong. The analyst sends a message to IT to report the error, and this starts the Easter egg hunt for the issue.
How many times has this happened to you or your colleagues? Whether you rely on a large single vendor, multi-purpose platform or multiple integrated systems, I’d be willing to speculate it’s a common occurrence. Beyond tracking down today’s Easter egg, how can we avoid the problem in the future or remedy our existing platforms?
by Christopher D. Sadala, Senior Consultant
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Finding a vendor to solve a business need is often treated as an analytical task – pick one that checks the most boxes and provides the biggest “bang for the buck.” However, several other factors should feed this decision. Vendor selection is not only about choosing the right platform, but also about picking the right partner who closely fits the firm’s culture and offers complementary services. Often, organizations find themselves in a precarious situation when extensive analyses conducted over several months do not yield decisive outcomes. Here are three ways to accelerate the process and reach a viable option.
by Christine (Tina) M. Madel, CFA, Principal
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