THE CHALLENGE
Success is rarely achieved overnight, and the path towards it demands multiple adjustments as what worked for the last growth stage often is broken at the next...
Our client had established itself as a classical investment manager, working with individuals to manage their stock and bond portfolios, but they saw a growing opportunity in the alternative space and wanted to pivot to managing private funds for investors. Their sphere of influence was local, with almost all of their fund-raising relationships centered in their home city. They needed to grow from a regional “wealth manager” to a national “alternative investment manager”, transitioning from a few hundred fund-raising relationships within driving distance of an office location to a few thousand fund-raising relationships that spanned the globe.
On this growth path, their fund-raising base would become more diverse and dispersed, the communication needs for those investors would become more refined, and their ability to transact with their investors in an efficient and effective manner would become imperative to scaling. The vision was fantastic, but how could they focus on all of the operational expansions and iterations necessary for such growth while also finding the capacity to build the necessary relationships with investors?
IT'S A WHOLE NEW WORLD
OUTSOURCED INVESTOR SERVICES
OUR
SOLUTION
At FSG, we partner with our clients over the long term to build their businesses. We understand that operational solutions that work today will need to be replaced tomorrow. Growth demands constant evaluation of operational solutions, and we have traveled this path to growth many times with our clients. In the beginning, our clients' investors were regional, and they had expectations that aligned more with traditional investment management than the alternative space. We began by leveraging simple cost-effective tools and processes to support our clients' growth and developed more strategic approaches over time.
Transacting with investors began with 'we will meet you with prepared documents so you can sign,' led to 'we will distribute documents to you to sign electronically,' and culminated with 'we have your data set up in your online account so your investment can be self-initiated.' We knew that FSG resources supporting our clients would need to be able to build rapport with their investors over phone calls and digital meeting platforms, so we onboarded team members with warm personalities and excellent communication skills (not your typical 'accountants'!). Investor communication and reporting were refined and developed from a diverse set of approaches delivered via email to a standardized approach delivered via a best-in-class investor portal.
Every touchpoint with investors was designed and then redesigned iteratively as the client grew and expanded, evolving to fit the profile of investor needs, cost constraints, and best practices.
THE RESULTS
Our client continues to scale, having grown its relationship base almost 20x since the initiation of their relationship with FSG. The investor experience FSG delivers has a direct impact on this growth, yielding expanding relationships with investors and higher than normal rates of investor referrals. The client keeps growing, the business needs to keep changing, and our team keeps iterating the operational processes and systems to ensure that the framework for the next growth stage is ready!