By Team Helios,
For advisory firms struggling to balance growth with maintaining high-quality client service, offloading investment management to an OCIO makes sense. The problem is that most OCIOs aren’t built to deliver what these firms actually need. Let’s break down the disconnect between what traditional OCIOs offer, and the services that truly set advisory firms apart.
Look closely at what you’re trying to accomplish at your firm.
Most likely, you’re focused on growth, but you also want to continue to provide the level and quality of service your clients have come to expect from you.
You want to be able to scale without compromising on internal processes and operations. You want to differentiate your firm to attract new clients while helping your current clients become more successful.
At the same time, you’re busy running day-to-day operations, which doesn’t leave a lot of time or resources to spend focused on growing your firm and delivering continuous value to your clients.
With everything on a growth-oriented advisory firm’s plate, it’s logical to look for an expert partner to take some tasks off your hands. And if investment management isn’t key to the value your firm provides, searching for an Outsourced Chief Investment Officer makes sense.
The problem is that the traditional Outsourced Chief Investment Officer function doesn’t actually get you any closer to your growth, client service, and differentiation goals—and here’s why.
Most OCIOs have a general understanding of all advisory practices, but don’t take the time to deeply understand yours specifically—your goals, your challenges, and your clients’ unique needs. Their focus is on broad market research and providing pre-built investment models—not helping you drive growth, improve client experience and differentiate your firm.
Blanket market commentary doesn’t help you communicate more effectively with your clients about how the market and their investments affect their goals. Using the same pre-built investment models as everyone else doesn’t help you differentiate.
The truth is, at the core, most OCIOs simply aren’t built to provide the personalized resources and custom investment management services that help set advisory firms apart while creating better client experiences.
When you work with an OCIO, there’s a disconnect between what you get and what you actually need.
You don’t need the same investment models as everyone else. You need a quantitative, research-driven investment process designed to be customized to your clients’ needs and aligned with investor goals and preferences to drive better outcomes.
You don’t need an outsourced partner with general industry knowledge. You need a dedicated team of investment experts that deeply understands the market, your firm and your clients.
And perhaps most importantly, you don’t need generic market commentary. You need communication tools that will enable you to provide real value to your clients by helping them:
- Understand the why behind their investments
- Stay calm during periods of market volatility
- Know what to expect with regard to risk and return
At Helios, we define ourselves as an insourced CIO. What’s the difference? We understand what it takes for advisory firms to achieve their growth goals, and we work alongside you to help you reach those outcomes.
That means everything you’d expect from an OCIO, plus:
- A differentiating model ecosystem designed to reduce risk and seek long-term compounding
- The ability to customize models to your clients’ unique preferences in millions of combinations, including fully thematic strategies
- Portfolio analyses that set risk and return expectations and build client confidence
- White-labeled communications, presentations, and materials
- Detailed documentation for holdings, models, and portfolios
- A complete implementation process with ongoing training
- Access to our team of quantitative experts and continuous support
One of the most impactful ways we help you reach your goals is by providing the resources you need to address client concerns quickly and confidently. In addition to ongoing education for our advisors, our team of experts creates Rapid Reaction commentary, which breaks down the most pressing topics facing the market right now. Check out our latest Rapid Reaction, focused on the future of the bond market, and feel free to share it with your clients!
