Investment operations consulting is a highly niche space where true experts are rare, yet highly valuable for the insights and resources they provide. For these experts to be even more effective for their clients, partnering with experienced MBO vendors is a solution that matches theory and advice with practicality and action.
Today’s wealth and asset management firms face a myriad of challenges in their operation, including:
And all of this is going on with an extremely volatile market…
Buy-side investment managers look to experts for actionable strategies that address and fix the issues at the core of their business.
And investment operations consultants can certainly deliver, bringing much needed internal stability to deal with a less predictable external environment.
Despite their breadth of knowledge and years of industry experience, many consultants in investment ops face challenges, or at the very least, face limits to their growth potential.
Consultants can diagnose problems and recommend solutions, but they don’t always have enough hands-on resources to execute large-scale data migrations, platform implementations, process redesigns, or automation projects.
This is especially true for the smaller, independent consultants that have the deep domain knowledge, but they struggle to scale their impact across multiple clients due to time and resource constraints.
Wealth and asset mangers expect operations consultants to bridge legacy systems with modern solutions, but without technical partnerships, consultants risk offering theoretical rather than actionable advice.
Staying updated on the external resources and vendors (middle- and back-office, fintech tools, outsourcing providers) for clients is a challenge.
There could be better solutions to offer to clients if only the consultants knew what else was out there, and without that awareness, the consultants risk giving suboptimal recommendations to their clients.
The consultants know and can do a lot, but not everything. With many projects, there’s often something that is outside their domain, and if only they had resources for it, they could execute to perfection.
For the examples mentioned above, consultants in this niche space need extra sets of expert hands to elevate their consulting practice to the next level, delivering greater value for their clients.
Partnering with the right vendor (like Empaxis, for example) consultants they reap the following benefits:
Many consultants, especially smaller ones with purely onshore presences in developed financial markets like the US, UK, Hong Kong, Canada, Singapore, Australia, etc. lack the internal resources to scale.
Partnering with a larger and highly skilled middle- and back-office services vendor, these consultants have immediate access to a wider range of talents across a wider set of functions.
And it goes beyond the portfolio accounting and straight-through processing (STP) functions.
This includes resources for migrating data, upgrading and implementing new platforms, running systems in parallel for testing and no loss of data, custom application and reports dashboard development, among other capabilities.
It’s not just about having access to more resources; it’s about being able to quickly and efficiently deploy those resources.
Many times a consultant takes on a project, but they don’t have enough immediate resources ready to deploy.
Finding more talent to support the client then becomes a lengthy process, especially if these are temporary roles.
But with an MBO partner, the quality and quantity of resources are there, as the vendor has already vetted and trained them. The investment operations consultant can even handpick the ones they want for their client.
Whether for short-term or long-term client engagements, middle- and back-office vendors have the flexibility to scale up or down according to client needs.
The middle- and back-office services partner should already have a global team, including those in lower-cost regions.
This presents opportunities for cost savings, leveraging resources at relatively reasonable rates to serve the client.
It’s not just about doing everything offshore, but using offshore resources to complement the necessary onshore activities.
Offshore might nclude:
Onshore:
At Empaxis, we have long promoted the benefits of the hybrid outsourcing model, combining onshore and offshore experts to deliver solutions for our clients.
Global teams enable 24-hour work cycles—offshore teams progress tasks during onshore overnight hours, accelerating project timelines (e.g., overnight reconciliations ready for morning review, or new application models ready for testing).
Related, the use of global resources can allow for 24 hour work cycles, as offshore teams can carry out activities during onshore overnight hours.
Even if they aren’t directly collaborating with the partner to serve the client, the consultant can still serve as a valuable resource to their client by recommending quality MBO providers.
Knowing such vendors and referring them, and assuming those vendors do a great job — backed by a successful track record — the consultant builds legitimacy in the eyes of client, trusting them even more with their recommendations.
At Empaxis, we have long partnered with investment operations consultants and the clients they serve, delivering scale and efficiency for their operation with best-in-class technology and talent.
What makes us different? We are exclusively focused in middle-and back-office operations, along with the technology that goes with it.
From reconciliation and performance, to investment data quality controls and system integrations (and much more), Empaxis is at the center of MBO excellence, taking ownership and delivering for the clients consistently.
While others may offer a similar set of services, investment operations could be just one of many services they provide, but there is no guarantee that this line of the business is their top priority and that the best resources and experts will be available for clients.
But at Empaxis, this has been our sole focus for well over two decades, with a history and a track record very few, if any, can match.
This consistent — and persistent — focus on optimizing and future-proofing the middle and back office for buy-side investment uniquely positions us to handle the nuances and complexities that go into running an operation.
With this much time and experience, whatever any issue the client is facing will not be a surprised to Empaxis. There are always solutions.
And our growing team of 150+ professionals around the world and our follow-the-sun approach ensure clients get the resources and expertise they need in a timely manner,.
Partnering with Empaxis is not just about quick wins and short-term gains; partnership is a powerfully strategic move for the long term — with long-term gains — that can truly elevate a consultant’s investment operations practice and build better results for the clients served.
Want to learn more? Schedule a complimentary consultation with Empaxis.
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