The investment management industry is increasing its spend on sales, marketing and client servicing. Recognizing that solutions are too often assessed and implemented in a siloed manner without an end-to-end client engagement perspective, Olmstead has developed an integrated Sales & Service model to help guide client experience investments.



How can Olmstead help?

Client Engagement Strategy & Architecture: current and future state operating models

Solution Evaluation & Selection: RFP to POC to negotiations

Implementation Services & Data Readiness Assessments: an efficient execution approach that buys down risk and increases impact leveraging our Implementation Accelerators

Client Communications Implementation Accelerators

Client Reporting, Sales Enablement, CRM, and Client Portal projects are as much data projects as they are software projects. They are typically plagued by data readiness issues, which in turn lead to elongated implementation timeframes and value compromises. Olmstead has developed a set of tools and methods to accelerate time to go-live, de-risk projects and elevate quality.

Olmstead Implementation Playbook – dos, don’ts, and approaches refined from over 10 years of client communication solution evaluations and implementations

Olmstead Data Readiness Assessment – an objective scoring of your data aimed at early identification of key data risks and proposed mitigation tactics 

Olmstead Distribution Data Services – we have defined and built a services architecture layer comprised of the 50+ common data requests used by client communications platforms, thus enabling earlier initiation of parallel workstreams for data preparation, report development, and even QA testing

Olmstead Distribution Data Model – recognizing that many IMs lack a strategic data source to consolidate distribution data, we have developed a distribution data model that can be leveraged by data warehouse and reporting data mart projects

Click here to learn more about Olmstead's Data Management & Analytics services.


Client Testimonial

“Olmstead’s data readiness framework allowed us to untangle a big bundled ball….so that we could strategically solution in a way that met our immediate requirements while also positioning us well with a client engagement platform for growth.”

- Director, Client Communications


What your peers are asking:
  • Do we have a clear definition of the client experience?
  • Can we make our client service a competitive advantage?
  • Do our clients truly want anytime, anywhere access to their data?
  • Have others appointed a CX leader to solution across functional silos?
  • How can our digital investment better identify needs and leads?
  • Is there a single reporting solution for my sales enablement and client servicing needs?
  • What are the pros and cons to CRM as a workflow centerpiece?
  • How do we optimize CRM usage?
  • Must a CRM implementation be a multi-year, multi-million $ effort?
  • Where should our 360 degree client view reside?
  • How do we break down internal walls amongst our client touchpoints?
  • How far are we from self-service client reporting?
 

SAMPLE ENGAGEMENTS

Olmstead's client needed to upgrade their client reporting capability in order to decrease time and energy spent collecting, aggregating, and processing data in report production. However, before selecting a client reporting solution, Olmstead first advised through a data centric approach, a strategic data solution and architecture that would support an integrated client service model for scalable growth. This resulted in the opportunity to architect an enabling solution that provided underpinnings for not just client reporting, but the broader Client Engagement suite of CRM, Pitchbooks, Client Master, and a digital / web presence. 
Our client was looking to build and integrate reusable data sets and tables from data sources (Eagle PACE and internal warehouse) in preparation for a Seismic and Client Reporting implementation that would support Sales & Marketing. Olmstead was responsible for the data integration and helped to streamline processes used to create marketing material and reports that were previously managed manually through spreadsheets and PPT. Olmstead facilitated the data preparation and readiness for the Sales Enablement solution by de-siloing and taking inventory of data used in pitch books, fact sheets, strategy summaries, client reports, and meta-data. The result was centralized data being available for future projects including CRM and the Client Reporting initiative.




Olmstead was engaged to manage all aspects of the project including report requirements, report design, report specifications, data sources, data mapping, data integration, testing and remediation. Olmstead assumed responsibility for the program and while managing to tight deadlines worked closely with the business, systems and the vendor to ensure nothing was overlooked.
See more samples of Current & Recent Client Experience & Engagment Engagements


RECENT BLOG POSTS

In a recent conversation with an executive from a leading client reporting provider, the discussion turned to Ed Bolles' latest blog on the subject "Data Tax." The executive revealed that they frequently experience a drag of at least 25% on their projects due to data issues. The conversation highlighted an interesting tension that every investment manager must face when embarking on client communications and sales enablement projects – how do you identify and address looming data pitfalls and sinkholes without overly delaying the delivery of business benefit?   Read More
In a quest for differentiation, investment managers are now more than ever focusing on sales, marketing and client servicing functions in hopes of enhancing sales results and elevating their clients’ experience. To enable and empower the market facing personnel, internal positions like Head of Distribution Intelligence are becoming commonplace, while the technology spend on solutions across the client engagement spectrum is amped up.  Read More
Client reporting has been a top priority across asset management, wealth management and insurance firms since 2013 and shows no signs of falling off the list. Our experience collaborating with our clients spans these industries and the software and service providers who deliver solutions. Regardless of industry, firm size or geography the following 10 lessons learned apply. Current reports should be viewed as guidelines, not as hard requirements...  Read More

MEET OUR TEAM

Stephen’s LinkedIn Profile
alepa@olmst.com

Stephen is CEO of Olmstead Associates. He also leads Olmstead's Client Engagement capability, helping investment managers with communications and information delivery solutions across their client lifecycle. He has 25+ years as a management consultant and financial technology executive, helping global financial markets firms of all sizes define and achieve their business objectives. Regarding our client's client experience, he drives Olmstead's services, considering all client touchpoints when devising client engagement operating models and integrated sales and service solutions.

Stephen held senior positions at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture), PwC, and Arthur Andersen, where he was the partner-in-charge of the New England financial markets business consulting practice. Prior to Olmstead, Stephen held leadership positions at trading pioneers ITG and Macgregor. He architected and ran the ITG Net business unit, the firm's end-to-end electronic trading and trade processing network, building it to a community of over 750 buy-sides, sell-sides, custodians, and industry utilities. Stephen led Macgregor's Sales and Service, and oversaw the transformation of the firm's financial profile by diversifying revenue, growing recurring revenues, and reducing costs dramatically. A recurring theme through his professional experiences is the weaving together of strategy and execution, business and technology.

A graduate of Georgetown University, in his free time you can find Stephen enjoying time with his wife and three children, around a baseball diamond or on a stand-up paddle board. Stephen holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

Request a Meeting 
Olmstead Associates is a leading specialized consulting firm to the investment management industry. For over 20 years, Olmstead has provided consulting expertise to help investment managers plan for, select, and implement solutions. Our Operations, Technology, and Data experts, proven methodologies, and leading edge tools help inform our clients to make better decisions and lower project risk.
Contact Us
617-778-0372
info@olmst.com
185 Devonshire St, Boston, MA 02110