Client Solution Examples

What can ActiFi do for me? That's probably the question you're asking. How can ActiFi help me build a better advisory business? How can ActiFi help me grow my revenue and profits and give me more time to do the things that I like, all while simultaneously reducing my risk? If I'm an institution that serves advisors, how can ActiFi help me help my clients so I can provide more value and differentiate myself from the competition?

In the following client solution examples, we show how ActiFi helps advisors and the institutions that serve advisors to build better businesses. To protect confidentiality, we have withheld our clients' names. If you would like to get more information on any of these client stories or to speak with our clients on the value they've received from ActiFi, please contact us.

Consulting

• Assessed Break Away Broker process for a leading custodian.  Analyzed strengths and weaknesses of existing processes and made recommendations for improvement.

• Ongoing work with an RIA firm incorporating all of ActiFi's Consulting Services. Helped the firm craft a new business model, document workflow, and embed tasks into the firm's CRM system. Re-crafted the firm's client service model, including the creation of an investment committee. Ongoing coaching with the firm's executive management team on areas related to operations, sales/marketing, practice management, and business improvement. Work has resulted in record revenue growth, with the firm now recognized as one of the nation's top advisory practices.

• Conducted a practice assessment for a group of three advisors with combined assets under management of $350 million. Facilitated alignment around vision/values/mission, leadership, and client service models. Identified opportunities to better leverage staffing skills and fill gaps with appropriate talent. Recommended new compensation models to reward behaviors supporting revenue generation, service and profitability. Final deliverable included a detailed project plan with defined S.M.A.R.T. Goals, enabling the group to proceed without additional consulting services.

• Led an initial practice assessment for a start-up division of a top global financial services firm, enabling the future implementation of an optimized and scalable client experience model. Evaluated planned business policies, procedures and processes. Recommended 12 major improvement projects to enable growth, profitability, and scalability; to ensure a world-class experience for its clients; and, ultimately, to position the division as the industry leader in its defined niche. Supported capacity analysis and planning, resulting in a restructuring of roles and responsibilities within client service teams.

• Conducted a practice assessment for a financial advisor with $300 million in managed assets. Identified specific policy and process changes capable of delivering an additional $1 million of net bottom-line profitability over a five-year period.

• Performed a technology assessment for a successful RIA firm that resulted in a 25% reduction in costs of hardware. Included strategic and functionality review of technology that supports Client Service and Acquisition, Business Operations, Financial Planning, Investment Management, and People Management.

• Led the assessment of an RIA's core business functions, processes, and capacity/skill set considerations and the development of observations, recommendations, and a project plan with a timeline for implementation. Developed a client service model, overseeing the creation of a visual depiction of “A Year in the Life” of a client – with processes embedded in the experience.  Developed an optimized workflow for automation into a workflow manager and supported the launch and monitoring of automated workflows.

• Worked with advisor group leadership of a major broker/dealer to help synchronize hundreds of projects, to minimize impact and support less painful implementations in the field. Created spreadsheet macros, analyzed dependencies, and developed a process for maintenance and periodic reporting, allowing the group and executive management to make educated decisions regarding the rollout of individual projects in the context of all projects.

• Worked with the call center of a leading broker/dealer, performing all mid-office responsibilities for six months until processes were defined, policies were determined, and appropriate staffing was recruited and hired.  Also established interim fund selection and Investment Committee oversight for the same time period, while technology solutions were customized and integrated with existing technology applications and desktops. 

• On behalf of a top-five custodian, provided in-person and online training to hundreds of RIA's on topics related to process, sales and marketing, prospect/client intelligence, and values/vision/mission.

• Analyzed webinar strategy and tactics for a top five custodian, including competitive review and analysis of their planned webinar approach.

• Provided consulting resources to lead a series of sales training sessions over an extended period to all new employee advisors of a leading national broker/dealer.  Responsible for developing all training materials, including presentations as well as manuals.

Tools

• Created a customized and configured version of Roadmap to help a top-five custodian deliver additional business value to their RIA clients. The program has become a core component of the custodian's practice management program.

• Leveraging Market Your Financial Practice, MarketingPro coaching services provide numerous clients with an easy-to-access tool for marketing assessment, planning, implementation, and monitoring.

• RIA's use custom versions of SuccessPro to add workflow and task-management components to their existing contact management software.

Implementation

• For a leading custodian, served on multiple process-implementation projects supporting the initiation of a fee-based mutual fund program for a group of 50+ financial advisors. Supported the integration of associated areas such as marketing, compliance and third-party financial planning services. Defined metrics required to evaluate the effectiveness of the group. Assessed the scalability and repeatability of tasks such as asset allocation, investment selection, account setup, and rebalancing. Supported the creation of detailed policies and procedures for the group that supported the individual process steps. Evaluated existing tools and staffing models associated with the provision of services in a high-volume call center environment.

• For the wealth management division of a banking institution, performed a process assessment and workshop, including workflow definition and improvement of processes supporting the rollout of trustee services on behalf of corporate 401(k) clients across the nation. Processes were embedded into a workflow solution, providing automated task generation based upon past and future events and calendar milestones. Trained and supported implementation of automated processes through user acceptance. 

• Supported and provided oversight on process workshops for multiple small practices with less than $200 million in AUM. Facilitated process development for retail advisory practices. Managed implementation of embedding processes into workflow systems. Created shared understanding within the practice, resulting in clearer expectations and a more satisfying work environment.

• Performed a process assessment and subsequent process workshops to improve existing client services and associated products for a major custodian.  Supported the definition of tools that allowed the custodian's business units to implement the processes efficiently.

• Conducted multiple-site studies of compliance activities performed by branch managers of a leading broker/dealer in support of field representatives. Evaluated related processes and home office requirements; recommended changes to improve oversight and reduce the time required to perform it.  Project results were presented to the COO and direct reports and incorporated audio and video captured at remote locations to emphasize findings.

• ActiFi partners with Fi360, the nation's preeminent organization on advisory fiduciary excellence, to create the online Self-Assessment of Fiduciary Excellence (SAFE).  The primary purpose of SAFE is to assess whether a practice's investment decision-making process meets a fiduciary standard of care.

• Conducted Prospect/Client Intelligence for an RIA firm, helping them secure new executive-level clients at a major corporation.