Strategy
The headwinds facing the Investment Management industry can seem overwhelming; market conditions have added cost pressures, creating a drag on profitability. Managers have the challenge of delivering growth at a lower marginal cost, in a constrained environment, with far greater volatility. Yesterday’s strategy is no longer fit for purpose. Managers are grappling with low fees, greater competition, a technical and green revolution, a scramble for new capabilities and higher costs; a cohesive strategy is needed to deliver profitable growth. Alpha FMC can help.
How we work with clients
Alpha understands the unique nature of Investment Management firms and recognises that topline growth can only be achieved with an operating model that supports it. Cost-saving measures are needed but must consider the business growth strategy to ensure one doesn’t improve to the detriment of the other. Our Corporate Strategy specialists support clients on this journey, creating deliverable solutions for the whole business:
Defining and resetting Strategy & Business Model
- Exploring new market entry via both organic and inorganic growth opportunities
- Refining strategic objectives
- Reviewing and reshaping the Corporate Portfolio to align with strategic objectives
- Reshaping organisation, governance & decision-making structures
Laying Scalable Operational Foundations & Capturing Efficiency
- Supporting efficient transformations which focus on reducing cost without hampering future growth
- Driving efficiency across the business using traditional cost levers and those specific to asset management
- Reshaping the COO role & function as ‘non-core’ functions are increasingly outsourced
- Ensuring there is single steel thread of between strategy and execution
Profitability
- Monitoring key cost drivers across the fund range, client base and sales channels
- Identifying inefficiencies in existing capabilities
- Consistent cost / benefit assessment of new product launches and capital investments
- Ability to analyse profitability across fund, asset class, channel and entity
Maximising The Impact of Strategic Capabilities
- Identifying and aligning investment to new strategic Capabilities
- Leveraging data & analytics to inform decision-making across the business
- Identifying practical early use cases for AI
- Maximising value from existing capabilities
Why Alpha?
Expert Advisors: Deep industry experts who understand the intricacies and challenges of this sector rather than generic strategy consultants.
Bespoke Recommendations: Dedicated to providing actionable advice that goes beyond theory to drive tangible results, ensuring our advice is relevant to your organisation.
Global Network, Local Expertise: Ability to draw on wider 1000+ SMEs in the Alpha Group that solely focus on the AWM and Insurance industry. These teams stay abreast of the latest business trends, emerging technologies, and best practices across our industry.
Advice You Can Execute On: We don't just stop at providing recommendations. The Alpha Group have the capability to implement what we recommend, ensuring a seamless transition from strategy to implementation.
Q&A with Jon Reed, Global Head of Strategy & Deals
What are the key strategic trends Alpha sees across the asset & wealth management industry?
As the industry has been forced to compress fees and squeeze margins, asset managers have been focused on optimising their business and stripping out cost. However, the volatility of the last 2-3 years has shown that asset managers need to do more than just focus on outgoings, and need to build a platform to support growth and flexibility. Whilst, the prospect of adding capabilities via acquisition has been marred by higher interest rates and inflation, instead we now see the strongest firms actively investing in core capabilities, identifying adjacencies, and reaching new customers organically. Alpha is able to support the growth life-cycle from end-to-end, from market sizing to driving business efficiency to support organic expansion.
What are some of the biggest challenges with end-to-end restructures?
True end-to-end restructuring can be difficult to execute from the ‘inside-out’, with legacy technologies, processes and team cultures hindering change. Leaders across the business must share the vision of restructuring to facilitate re-investment in strategic priorities. Likewise, in order to maximise synergies, transformation must consider the whole firm, rather than be siloed to specific geographies or functions.
