Case Study — Asset Management / Operating Model Transformation
A £40bn AUM asset manager, after three acquisitions in five years, needed a single operating model to replace four overlapping ones held together by informal relationships between long-tenured staff.
The Transformation Framework™
Three acquisitions had left the firm with four overlapping client reporting functions and two investment committees with unclear precedence. The head of operations could not confidently say who approved a mandate change without checking with three different people first.
Each acquired firm had preserved its original decision-making structure as a condition of the deal — a common concession that had never been unwound, leaving four operating models running in parallel.
The firm considered re-platforming all four structures simultaneously versus sequencing consolidation, starting with the highest-risk overlap. They chose sequencing — client reporting first, given its regulatory and client-facing exposure, with investment committee consolidation as a slower second phase.
Client reporting was consolidated into a single function within four months, with decision rights documented for the first time. Investment committee consolidation followed over the remaining seven months, guided by a working group empowered to make binding recommendations rather than escalate every disagreement.
Client reporting turnaround time fell by 40%, three of four duplicate reporting systems were eliminated, and the unified investment committee resolved its first genuine disagreement in nine days, against an estimated six weeks under the prior structure.
Measured Outcomes
Reflection
"The operating model on paper was never the problem. The problem was four operating models that all still believed they were the real one."
Thomas Kessler — Head of Operating Model TransformationEngagement team
Founder & Senior Partner
Head of Operating Model Transformation
Senior Consultant