Product Data

ISC understands that the investment management community demands its consulting partners give value through providing quality resource. It expects its consultants to quickly grasp the challenges and assist in delivering solutions.

The Brief

A multi-national client of ISC required a rethink on how new funds were launched. The issue was that with their current systems, process and the lack of a central product database, they were limited in the number of funds they could launch. This limitation was gradually eroding the competitiveness of their funds range as they were not able to react to market demand as quickly as their competitors.

Project Scope

The programme was a multi stream and spanned multiple years. The client was headquartered in London and had development and analysis teams across the globe. The limiting factor slowing down the launch of funds/shareclasses was the number of separate systems which required updating with new fund information and absence of a central product database. This combined with the ordinal requirements of system entry and the number of teams involved necessitated an enterprise level approach.

The scope of the programme, needed to address all these issues, reducing the number of systems to be updated, creating a central repository for product data, and overhauling the BAU teams communications process. Only with an enterprise level solution could all these different silos be knitted together.

Our Role & Value

Our role focused on our consultant’s experience and knowledge within the product specific data space where ISC was able to advise and assist in the creation of a product data dictionary. Collaborating closely with the client, ISC was also able to provide peer relative analysis on how asset managers operate and an understanding of where the bottlenecks appear within the interconnective functions of launching funds. The value of our experience and familiarity with their off the shelf and bespoke systems meant that ISC could shorten the time to achieve MVP thus allowing time for many of the functional “should haves” to become “must haves”.

The Outcome

A complex and technically demanding project resulted in the integration of twenty systems overlaid with workflow and appropriate governance between teams. From a pre-project limit of launching two dozen funds/shareclasses per week, the resulting efficiency gains enabled the client to confidently launch hundreds of funds per week. The increased through-put potential allowed the client to compete in the market, securing existing and attracting new clients.

Consultant Reflections

“In 2019, when I joined ISC, the company had already been operating for 14 years, having weathered the storms of those turbulent years. Having worked with my colleagues for a while now, I can see why they've been around for so long. The team are hard working, pragmatic people who want the best for their colleagues and clients.”

Mike Smeal
Investment Solutions Consultants

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