In the competitive Institutional marketplace, accurate, consistent, and timely data reporting is crucial to firms seeking to grow aum. However, for a boutique firm with limited resources and expertise, maintaining high completion rates across multiple databases was a significant challenge. IMSS assisted our client, leveraging decades of knowledge and experience in consultant databases and bringing a strategic approach to streamline the firm's data management practices. This case study explores how IMSS was instrumental in assisting our boutique firm client with increasing completion rates from 50% to over 90%, and created a flow of accurate and consistent information across the databases they were reporting to.
The Challenge: Our client is a boutique firm with 5 employees and $300M under management facing a daunting task: managing qualitative and quantitative information across 18 institutional databases due to limited staff and experience. With an average completion rate of 50%, the firm recognized the need for professional support to improve their reporting capabilities in an effort to bring greater visibility to search activity. They turned to IMSS for their decades-long expertise in database management and their proven track record in driving results.
Identifying Deficiencies and Recommending Solutions: IMSS began the project by conducting a comprehensive review of the firm's current databases. This in-depth analysis allowed us to identify key deficiencies including missing critical fundamental data that drives search activity and enhancing historical gaps in information also missing that were impacting search activity against their peer universe. Our team worked closely with the client to understand their unique requirements, challenges, and end goals.
Recommending Solutions: There were several recommendations we felt could enhance the overall process in reporting. The firm first needed to implement a structured internal data flow collection process for all data intervals of reporting. In addition, to streamline the often complex and time-consuming data submission process, IMSS recommended establishing a single point of contact who would be a point of contact and responsible for reporting to IMSS. This approach ensured clear communication channels and further simplified the coordination between our firms. By centralizing data collection and submission, the client was able to save valuable time and resources, thereby allowing them to focus on core business activities. From our overall reviews of their reporting efforts, we suggested additional exposure to databases that could enhance the firm's visibility and open new opportunities for growth.
Customized Templates to Capture all Data Required: IMSS recognizes the importance of accurate, complete, and consistent reporting and meeting the needs of all database requirements. To address this, our team implemented internal custom reporting templates tailored to meet the demands of reporting across all institutional databases. With our templates built very intuitively, it significantly reduced the data collection supplied to us by client while continuing to ensure the integrity and facilitating a seamless flow of information consistently.
Document Gaps: Data is not the only critical aspect to completing consultant databases. During our collaboration, IMSS identified critical documents that were missing or significantly outdated. These documents included the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) letters and corresponding date updates, ADV’s and Fund documents. Recognizing the significance of these omissions, our team promptly uploaded the missing documents, ensuring compliance and bolstering the firm's reputation for transparency and professionalism.
The Result: The collective efforts of the IMSS team and this firm yielded outstanding results we consistently seek to achieve for our clients. Through our meticulous approach with our reviews, understanding the depth of each structure and reporting requirements, the completion rates went from 50% to over 90% across all databases. This remarkable improvement demonstrated the firm's commitment to data integrity, compliance, and growing AUM.
For a boutique firm facing data management challenges, partnering with IMSS proved to be a game-changer. As a result of our thorough review and assessment, solid expert recommendations, further streamlining the data collection process, IMSS empowered the firm to achieve completion rates of over 90% and access to increased search activity they were potentially missing. The successful collaboration not only enhanced the firm's reputation for reliability and transparency but also positioned them for future growth and success against their peer universe.
At IMSS, we remain committed to delivering exceptional solutions that drive results and empower our clients to thrive as an extension of their team. Contact us today to discover how we can transform your data management practices and unlock your firm's true potential.