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In past few years, we have engaged with multiple prospects who expressed the statement “Yes, I’m interested in Portfolio Management System (PMS) but I don’t need solution for Client Relationship Management (CRM)”. This article is dedicated to those who either believe they do not need a CRM extension to their PMS or are simply wondering if they are already benefiting fully from the available CRM.
At WealthArc, we have our own integrated CRM, and statistics show that it ranks among the top 3 modules based on user actions.
Why CRM is important for PMS at all?
Let’s start with answering this basic question and define some of the synergies and gains from a PMS with integrated CRM capacity. First of all, CRM provides us with a different angle of observation, as some things are easy to interpret and can be well visible from Portfolio perspective, while others will be hard to spot unless they are centralized or aggregated based on Client level. This additional point of view will often lead to a better perspective and can help in driving more holistic approach.
The second reason is compliance. Since there is no Portfolio without a Client and Clients should also be understood in the context of their portfolios, most of the Compliance actually happens somewhere in between the Client and a Portfolio. Therefore, we claim that applying proper Compliance without a CRM is a challenging, if not an impossible task.
Advantages of having CRM in a PMS
Now that we know why CRM is important, it’s easy to deduce that any functionality that brings us better transparency to our Clients’ affairs, helps us navigate through multitude of data and digesting that information is crucial. It is particularly important how easy it is to switch between the context of a Client and a Portfolio. Unless both of those contexts are available and easy to use, the full potential of them won’t be achieved.
While we may often claim that we know our Client well enough and therefore don’t need to record all the details, it’s often true that only after we write down what we already know and put some effort into recording all of the details, some additional observations or conclusions can be achieved, or new patterns can be found. Therefore, simply recording what we know about a Client and all of his relations helps a lot. This may be a trivial task, but the truly important part here is putting the money that we govern in a context of a Client, and connecting both of these contexts is so important since our priority should be always serving a Client.
This can also offer us additional advantage as within our busy world some Clients will not always have time to properly explain their agenda or formulate all their needs. By providing answers and solutions to those needs that Client have not been able to express yet, we offer them the best possible service, demonstrating that we diligently take care of their needs so that they can focus on different areas that require their attention.
Coming back to the specific list of advantages that we would expect from CRM, those should be as follows:
1. Client Information Centralization:
- CRM integration allows asset managers to centralize Client information, including contact details, preferences, and historical interactions, within the PMS.
- Comprehensive Client profiles help in understanding Client needs and preferences.
2. Enhanced Client Servicing:
- CRM functionalities facilitate better Client servicing by providing insights into Client preferences, investment goals, and risk tolerance.
- Asset managers can tailor investment strategies based on individual Client profiles.
3. Client Onboarding and KYC:
- Streamlined onboarding processes with integrated CRM assist in faster Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance.
- Capturing and managing Client documentation makes compliance processes more efficient.
4. Task and Interaction Management:
- Saving interactions in form of notes and interpreting tasks in context of Clients.
- Interaction and communication tracking contribute to stronger Client relationships.
5. Interoperability and Context Shuffling:
- Data are aggregated not only in Portfolio context but also Client context for Compliance and audit purposes.
- Convenient access helps to check for additional data in different context.
Main Functionalities in PMS with Built-in CRM
Finally let’s take a look at few examples of functionalities that, in our opinion, bring out the mentioned advantages:
1. Client List:
- A view that presents the list of all Clients along with some of their key attributes, so that they could be easily previewed and sorted.
2. Client Dashboard:
- A centralized dashboard displaying key Client information, reference to Portfolios, and communication history.
3. Client Notes:
- Detailed record of Client communications, including emails, calls, and meetings, for a comprehensive view of interactions.
4. Client and Mandate Relations:
- A record of all relations between Portfolios and Clients as well as a register for all Client relation types.
5. Risk Profiling:
- A view dedicated for measuring and recording Client risk profile.
6. Document Management:
- Secure storage of client documents, agreements, and compliance-related files.
7. Compliance Tracking:
- A reference point for all actions taken considering AML alerts and Guideline breaches
8. Audit reports:
- A view dedicated for audit purposes, where data are aggregated on Client level to allow easy extraction that would meet audit criteria.
In conclusion, by utilizing CRM functionalities in a PMS, asset managers can not only streamline their operational processes but also build and maintain stronger Client relationships, leading to improved Client satisfaction and loyalty.
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