How an Asset Manager Rebuilt Their Analytics Infrastructure with Modularity

An Asset Management firm had a good problem: they were growing rapidly. Over the course of three years, their assets under management grew from $30 billion to $45 billion, driven by strong performance and a growing reputation among institutional clients.

But success was creating considerable strain. Their Chief Operating Officer found herself in a difficult situation—fielding calls from frustrated portfolio managers who couldn’t get consistent data across their systems.

“Our portfolio managers were spending half their time trying to reconcile numbers instead of managing portfolios. We had one system for equity analytics, another for fixed income, and our alternatives data lived in spreadsheets. When clients asked for integrated risk reports, it took us three days to produce something that should have been available instantly.”

The situation came to a head when the firm lost out on two significant new mandates in the space of a month. The feedback from both prospective clients was remarkably similar: while they were impressed with the firm’s investment track record, they had concerns about the firm’s ability to provide the sophisticated reporting and analytics capabilities they required.

The prospect of overhauling the firm’s entire technology infrastructure was daunting. Previous vendor evaluations had suggested 18-month implementations that would cost millions and require shutting down systems for weeks during the transition.

The Solution: Strategic Modular Implementation

After evaluating several options, the firm chose FinMason specifically because of its modular approach. Rather than requiring a complete system overhaul, FinMason’s API-based architecture allowed the firm to implement capabilities piece by piece, integrating seamlessly with its existing infrastructure.

Phase 1: Quick Wins with Portfolio Analytics (Month 1-2)

The firm began with FinMason’s core portfolio analytics, initially focusing on its equity strategies. Within two weeks, their portfolio managers had access to real-time risk metrics, contribution to return/risk, and scenario analysis across all their equity holdings.

The impact was immediate. Portfolio managers who had previously spent mornings aggregating data from multiple systems could now access comprehensive analytics with a single login. More importantly, the data was consistent—no more discrepancies between different reports or lengthy reconciliation processes.

Phase 3: Custom Analytics and Reporting (Month 3-4)

As the firm’s confidence grew, it began leveraging FinMason’s custom analytics capabilities. The firm had several proprietary risk models and performance metrics central to their investment process, but these were difficult to implement consistently across their technology stack.

FinMason’s development team collaborated with the firm to integrate these custom calculations into the existing framework, resulting in automated reports that accurately reflected the firm’s unique investment philosophy.

Phase 4: Client-Facing Capabilities (Month 5-6)

The final phase involved implementing client-facing analytics and reporting capabilities. Using FinMason’s white-label tools, the firm could provide its institutional clients with direct access to portfolio analytics and customized reporting.

This capability proved crucial in retaining their largest client. The pension fund, which had threatened to reduce its mandate, was now able to access real-time portfolio analytics and generate custom reports on demand.

The Results: Quantifiable Impact Across the Business

Twelve months after beginning implementation, the firm transformed both its operational efficiency and client relationships:

Operational Efficiency:

• Report generation time reduced from days to minutes
• Portfolio manager productivity increased by 40% (measured by time spent on investment analysis vs. data preparation)
• Data reconciliation errors eliminated across integrated systems
• Custom analytics deployment time reduced from months to weeks

Client Satisfaction:

• Client retention improved to 98% (up from 89%)
• New mandate acquisition increased by 60%
• Client portal adoption reached 85% within six months

Business Growth:

• Operating margin improved by 2.5 percentage points due to efficiency gains
• Time to onboard new clients reduced from weeks to days

The Strategic Advantage: Modular Implementation

What made the firm’s transformation successful was the modular implementation approach. Rather than enduring months of disruption for uncertain future benefits, they could improve incrementally whilst maintaining business continuity.

This approach also allowed the firm to learn and adapt as it implemented. Early phases informed later ones, ensuring that the final solution was perfectly tailored to their specific needs and workflows.

Most importantly, the modular approach ensured that the firm consistently demonstrated value to clients and stakeholders throughout the implementation process. Instead of asking for patience during a lengthy transition, they could demonstrate immediate improvements while gradually building up to even greater capabilities.

A Platform for Growth

Today, the firm’s technology infrastructure is no longer a constraint on its growth; it’s an enabler. The FinMason platform provides a foundation that can scale with their ambitions, whether that’s expanding into new asset classes, serving larger institutional clients, or developing new investment strategies.

If you’d like to discuss how FinMason can help your firm, let’s set up a call.