FIND YOUR CONSULTANT
JOIN OUR COMMUNITY
FIND YOUR CONSULTANT
JOIN OUR COMMUNITY

Industries > 

Financial Services > Asset & Wealth Management Practice

Asset & Wealth Management Practice

Umbrex connects leading asset & wealth management firms to independent consultants with deep experience in the industry.

Over 90% of our Asset & Wealth Management Practice consultants are alums of McKinsey, Bain, or BCG.

Finding the right consultant should be this easy.

1

Tell us about your project

2

Interview candidates

(We’ll provide bios within 48 hours on average)

3

Select your consultant and start work!

Find a consultant in our Asset & Wealth Management Practice

Prefer email? Write to [email protected]

Client Segments Umbrex Serves

  • Global public‑markets asset managers: Active/passive managers of mutual funds, ETFs and SMAs; optimizing product roadmaps, distribution, data/analytics, operating platforms, and inorganic growth.
  • Wealth managers & private banks: Wirehouses, private banks, RIAs and independent broker‑dealers; elevating advice platforms, pricing, client acquisition, digital/hybrid engagement, and share of wallet.
  • Institutional asset owners: Public/corporate pensions, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and foundations; refining allocation, risk, manager selection, cost, governance, and net‑zero implementation.
  • OCIO, model‑portfolio & solutions providers: OCIOs, multi‑asset and model‑portfolio providers to advisors/institutions; strengthening investment process, distribution partnerships, outsourced trading, and scalable, compliant operations.

Selected Capabilities of our Asset & Wealth Management Practice

Strategy & Corporate Development

  • Corporate Strategy And Capital Allocation: Define multi-year asset and wealth management strategy, growth vectors, divestitures, build‑buy‑partner choices, and capital allocation; accelerate AUM growth and operating margin expansion.
  • Distribution And Channel Strategy: Prioritize channels—RIA, wirehouse, bank, retirement, institutional consultant, OCIO, platforms; optimize shelf presence and coverage model; increase net flows, share of wallet, and win rates.
  • Product And Vehicle Strategy: Select vehicles—ETF, SMA, model portfolios, interval funds, UCITS, direct indexing, private markets access; size demand and economics; reduce cannibalization and lift fee durability.
  • M&A And Strategic Partnerships: Build theses for RIAs, wealthtech, alternative managers, model marketplaces, sub‑advisory; screen targets, alliances, and distribution deals; accelerate inorganic growth and capability expansion.
  • International Expansion And Market Entry: Choose priority domiciles and markets—Luxembourg, Ireland, UK, APAC; design UCITS/AIFMD paths, local partnerships, and go‑to‑market; grow cross‑border AUM compliantly.

Operations

  • Client Onboarding And KYC Orchestration: Redesign account opening, suitability, anti‑money laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) workflows, e‑signatures; cut cycle time, not‑in‑good‑order (NIGO) rates, and onboarding abandonment.
  • Trade Capture, Matching, And Settlement Oversight: Standardize trade capture, central matching, settlement instruction control, and fails management; cut CSDR (Central Securities Depositories Regulation) penalties, settlement risk, and breaks across asset classes.
  • Corporate Actions And Income Processing: Centralize event capture, elections, entitlement calculations, and claims; automate proceeds reconciliation; prevent missed elections, withholding errors, and revenue loss for global portfolios.
  • Cash And Position Reconciliation And Control: Automate cash, position, and transaction reconciliations versus custodians and primes; prioritize breaks, root causes, and service level agreements (SLAs); reduce exceptions, write‑offs, and audit findings.
  • Fee Billing And Revenue Assurance: Engineer advisory and management fee calculations, breakpoints, minimums, and retrocessions; reconcile to contracts and AUM; eliminate leakage and disputes, improving net revenue realization.

Product

  • Product Development And Launch Factory: Industrialize design-to-launch for ETFs, SMAs, UCITS, and model portfolios—requirements, service providers, operating model, testing, and readiness—shortening time-to-market and launch risk.
  • Vehicle And Share Class Architecture: Design vehicles and share classes—retail, institutional, currency‑hedged, distributing—aligning platform requirements, eligibility, disclosures, and operations to expand shelf presence and channel fit.
  • Tax-Managed And Direct Indexing Solutions: Define tax-loss harvesting algorithms, wash sale controls, custom indexing, and transitions; codify guardrails and workflows; improve after-tax returns and advisor adoption for high-net-worth clients.
  • Model Portfolio Design And Governance: Create risk-targeted model portfolios, mandates, glidepaths, and rebalancing policies; implement sleeve accounting and data standards; boost platform approvals and embedded advisory growth.
  • Alternatives Access And Semi-Liquid Structures: Structure interval funds, tender offer funds, and evergreen vehicles; design liquidity management, gates, valuation, and transfer agency; broaden private markets access while managing liquidity risk.

Organization

  • Enterprise Operating Model And Decision Rights: Design operating model across investment, distribution, operations, risk, and technology; clarify decision rights and spans and layers; improve decision speed, accountability, and cost to serve.
  • Role Architecture And Workforce Planning: Define role families, competencies, leveling, and career paths for portfolio, research, product, distribution, client service, and operations; quantify capacity; strengthen recruiting, mobility, and retention.
  • Incentive Design And Compensation Governance: Design incentives for portfolio managers, analysts, wholesalers, and relationship managers; align to net flows, risk adjusted performance, client satisfaction, and margin; strengthen compensation governance.
  • Location Strategy And Sourcing Model: Design location strategy, centers of excellence, and vendor blends for operations, technology, and research; optimize coverage, resilience, and total cost for asset and wealth management.
  • Leadership, Culture, And Change Adoption: Equip leaders and teams for operating model shifts; codify behaviors, rituals, and communications; embed client first culture and accountability; accelerate adoption and measurable performance improvement.

Marketing

  • Brand Positioning And Messaging Architecture: Define differentiated brand, value propositions, and proof points by institutional, intermediary, and wealth segments; codify messaging playbooks; increase awareness, consideration, and advisor preference.
  • Content And Thought Leadership Engine: Build research-backed editorial calendar, insights, and tools; integrate SEO, compliance review, and distribution; drive inbound leads, consultant engagement, and earned media.
  • Digital Demand Generation And Marketing Automation: Stand up SEO, paid search, paid social, retargeting, and email nurture; implement marketing automation, scoring, and routing; improve MQL quality, SQL conversion, and acquisition cost.
  • Web Experience And Conversion Optimization: Redesign website, fund pages, search, and literature library; deploy experimentation and personalization; lift organic traffic, engagement, and request‑a‑meeting and subscribe conversions.
  • Platform And Consultant Marketing Enablement: Standardize institutional profiles, due diligence questionnaires, case studies, and consultant database entries; streamline updates and KPIs; increase shortlists, platform approvals, and mandate win rates.

Pricing

  • Fee Strategy And Architecture: Design management and performance fee structures with breakpoints and fulcrum fees across funds, ETFs, UCITS, and separately managed accounts (SMAs); balance competitiveness and durability.
  • Share Class And Platform Economics Optimization: Optimize share class pricing, 12b-1, sub-transfer agency (sub-TA), and platform fees; implement clean shares and revenue-sharing policies; improve net revenue after distribution and platform costs.
  • Institutional Mandate Pricing And Deal Desk: Establish deal desk for separate accounts, OCIO, and sub-advisory; model fee ladders and profitability; manage Most Favored Nation (MFN) clauses; increase wins while protecting margin.
  • Pricing Benchmarking And Elasticity Analytics: Benchmark fees versus peer universes and platforms; quantify price elasticity, retention risk, and value drivers; inform repositioning and fee increase strategies to sustain fee rates.
  • Billing Policy, Breakpoint, And Leakage Control: Audit billing policies, breakpoints, waivers, and minimums across custodians and transfer agents; detect discount leakage; reconcile to AUM; recover revenue and reduce client disputes.

Sales

  • Distribution Coverage Model And Territory Design: Segment RIA, wirehouse, bank, retirement, and institutional territories by AUM potential; define internal/external roles and quotas; lift call capacity, advisor reach, and net flows.
  • Institutional Pursuit And RFP Excellence: Orchestrate RFP/RFI responses, finals presentations, references, and consultant messaging; enforce win themes and compliance; increase shortlist rates, mandate wins, and fee resilience.
  • Consultant And OCIO Relations Program: Map consultants and OCIO influence, coverage calendars, research agendas; coordinate PM access and due diligence; grow buy ratings, model inclusion, and institutional pipeline.
  • CRM, Pipeline, And Forecast Discipline: Standardize Salesforce stages, qualification, and contact cadence; embed deal reviews and analytics; improve forecast accuracy, coverage ratios, and conversion across institutional and intermediary sales.
  • Home Office And Platform Sales Acceleration: Build home office engagement for broker-dealers and platforms; negotiate placement and model portfolios; coordinate data, campaigns, and pilots; increase shelf presence and flows.

Finance

  • Driver-Based FP&A And Forecasting: Build driver trees linking assets under management, net flows, fee rates, performance fees, compensation, vendor spend; enable forecasting; improve predictability, operating leverage, and cash planning.
  • Product, Channel, And Client Profitability: Model activity-based costs across distribution, platforms, sub-advisory, share classes; produce profit and loss by strategy, vehicle, and channel; target actions lifting margin and fee durability.
  • Seed Capital And Co-Invest Governance: Optimize seed capital, general partner commitments, warehousing lines, hedging, and recycling; set hurdle policies and governance; raise success rates and capital efficiency across products.
  • Working Capital, Treasury, And Liquidity Management: Build 13-week cash forecasts, partner distribution models, tax calendars, and foreign exchange policies; optimize bank structures and facilities; reduce liquidity risk, overdrafts, and idle cash.
  • Finance Operating Model And Systems Modernization: Redesign Finance model; implement ERP (enterprise resource planning) and EPM (enterprise performance management), data model, and close cadence; shorten close, strengthen controls, and management reporting.

AI, Data & Analytics

  • Enterprise Data Platform And Governance: Build investment data lakehouse, security master, client and distribution data, lineage, quality, metadata, and access controls; enable IBOR/ABOR alignment, analytics, and client reporting at scale.
  • Client And Distribution Analytics: Develop advisor segmentation, share-of-wallet models, next-best-action, churn risk, and territory insights; improve net flows, cross-sell, campaign ROI, and wholesaler productivity.
  • Performance And Attribution Analytics Modernization: Implement scalable performance measurement, ex-post risk, and multi-level attribution with Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) controls and drill‑through; reduce manual work, errors, and time-to-publish.
  • Private Markets Data Hub And Document Intelligence: Stand up private markets data hub—capital accounts, deal pipelines, documents, waterfalls, valuations—using natural language processing (NLP); improve limited partner (LP) reporting and portfolio analytics.
  • ESG Data Integration And Quality Management: Integrate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) datasets across providers; harmonize taxonomy and coverage; support investment research, client reporting, and disclosures with governed, auditable data.

Transformation

  • Front-To-Back Digital Transformation: Redesign client lifecycle, onboarding, advice, trading, servicing, and reporting; automate workflows and straight-through processing; reduce NIGO, cycle time, and service cost while raising NPS.
  • Cost Takeout And Complexity Reduction: Run zero-based cost, process reengineering, product rationalization, and vendor spend reset; simplify front/middle/back; deliver basis-point opex reduction and operating margin expansion.
  • Post-Merger Integration And Operating Synergies: Integrate managers, platforms, products, and distribution; consolidate legal entities and vendors; execute Day‑1/100 plans; capture cost and revenue synergies without client disruption.
  • Outsourcing Transition And Managed Service Enablement: Design and execute middle/back-office outsourcing or insourcing; negotiate service level agreements (SLAs), knowledge transfer, and controls; de-risk cutover; improve service quality and variableize cost.
  • Product And Vehicle Rationalization Program: Prune overlapping funds, share classes, and separately managed accounts (SMAs); migrate assets compliantly; streamline disclosures and operations; lift fee realization, shelf clarity, and scalability.

Innovation

  • Venture Studio And New Proposition Incubation: Incubate new asset and wealth propositions—design sprints, market testing, MVPs, business cases, and go-to-market—accelerating product-market fit, AUM growth, and fee durability.
  • Tokenized Funds And Digital Assets Pilot Factory: Stand up tokenized fund pilots, digital transfer agency, blockchain recordkeeping, and distribution experiments with custodians; validate demand, compliance, and unit economics before scale.
  • Embedded Wealth And Platform Partnerships: Build embedded wealth offerings with banks, payroll, fintech, and super apps; structure partnerships, APIs, and economics; expand acquisition, deposits, and cross-sell at lower cost.
  • Retirement Income And Decumulation Innovation: Design retirement income solutions—income sleeves, guardrails, annuity integration, dynamic withdrawal policies—and advisor tools; improve household outcomes, retention, and wallet share in retirement niches.
  • Innovation Operating Model And Governance: Establish innovation thesis, funding model, venture gating, KPIs, and portfolio boards; embed compliance and risk; raise throughput, hit learning milestones, and exit underperforming bets.

Sustainability

  • Sustainable Investment Strategy And Policy: Establish firmwide responsible investment framework—exclusions, tilts, stewardship priorities, escalation—aligning to Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and client mandates; strengthen differentiation and distribution approvals.
  • SFDR And EU Taxonomy Product Classification: Classify funds under Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) Articles 6/8/9; map EU Taxonomy alignment, principal adverse impacts, disclosures; de-risk labeling, accelerate approvals, reduce greenwashing exposure.
  • Climate Risk And Net Zero Target Setting: Measure portfolio emissions using Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF); set Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) pathways; run climate scenarios; apply decarbonization levers; strengthen resilience.
  • Stewardship And Proxy Voting Effectiveness: Redesign engagement strategy, voting guidelines, escalation, and outcome reporting; align with client values and regulatory expectations; improve stewardship impact, transparency, and consultant ratings.
  • Sustainability Reporting And Controls Operating Model: Build TCFD and International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) disclosure programs, data controls, audit trails, and governance; streamline client and regulator reporting and reduce disclosure risk.

Compliance

  • Risk-Based Compliance Program And Governance: Design risk-based compliance program—risk assessment, policies, testing, monitoring, board reporting—aligned to SEC, FINRA, FCA, ESMA; embed three-lines governance; reduce exam findings and remediation cost.
  • Regulatory Reporting And Filings Factory: Industrialize Form ADV, Form PF, N-PORT, N-CEN, AIFMD Annex IV, 13F calendars, controls, attestations; improve data lineage and accuracy; eliminate late filings and audit adjustments.
  • SEC Marketing Rule And Advertising Compliance: Operationalize SEC Rule 206(4)-1—substantiation, hypothetical performance, testimonials, disclosures, pre-approval workflows, advertising inventory; accelerate time-to-market and reduce deficiency letters and enforcement risk.
  • Personal Trading, MNPI, And Trade Surveillance: Strengthen code of ethics, pre‑clearance, restricted lists, gifts/entertainment, wall-crossing; deploy surveillance for front‑running, cross‑trades, insider trading; reduce breaches and regulator escalations.
  • Liquidity, Derivatives, And Valuation Rule Compliance: Implement Rule 22e‑4 liquidity programs, Rule 18f‑4 derivatives risk management, and Rule 2a‑5 valuation governance; standardize data, models, and board reporting; cut control gaps.

Program & Portfolio Management

  • Enterprise Program Management Office: Establish asset and wealth management program management office (PMO) with stage gates and RAID logs (risks, assumptions, issues, dependencies); deliver migrations and reporting on time.
  • Portfolio Prioritization And Sequencing: Govern and prioritize initiatives by AUM growth, net flows, regulatory risk, client experience, and cost; sequence cross-functional roadmaps; maximize ROI and minimize context switching.
  • Resource And Capacity Planning: Build enterprise capacity models across investment, distribution, operations, technology, and vendors; scenario-plan funding and staffing; raise throughput, hit release dates, and reduce bottlenecks.
  • Benefits Realization And KPI Tracking: Define business cases, baselines, and KPIs—net flows, not-in-good-order (NIGO) rate, cycle time, unit cost; instrument dashboards; lock in realized benefits and executive accountability.
  • Regulatory And Client Mandate Change Delivery Office: Orchestrate SEC, Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), Consumer Duty, T+1, Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) programs; manage dependencies and testing; avoid breaches, fines, client disruption.

Investment Research & Insights

  • Research Process And Alpha Pipeline Design: Standardize hypothesis generation, channel checks, modeling, and backtesting; enforce research calendars and kill rules; raise idea quality, hit rate, and information ratio across strategies.
  • Alternative Data Strategy And Vendor Evaluation: Define alternative data strategy, sourcing, compliance review, and ROI; test signal lift versus benchmarks; integrate into research workflow; create defensible alpha and differentiated insights.
  • Capital Market Assumptions And House Views: Build robust capital market assumptions with scenarios, returns, volatilities, and correlations; publish house views and risk themes; inform strategic asset allocation and client communications.
  • Manager Research And Due Diligence Framework: Design qualitative and quantitative manager research—strategy assessment, performance, risk, operations, ESG; implement scoring, watchlists, and monitoring; improve platform recommendations, mandates, and model portfolio outcomes.
  • Broker And Research Provider Value Management: Optimize sell-side research consumption, broker votes, commission budgets, and research procurement; track idea hit rate and impact; reduce cost per insight while improving alpha delivery.

Portfolio Management & Trading

  • Portfolio Construction And Risk Budgeting: Design objective-driven portfolio construction—constraints, factor targets, risk budgets, optimizer settings, SAA/TAA playbooks and scenario analysis—to improve information ratio, drawdown control, and tracking error management.
  • Multi-Asset Rebalancing And Cash Management: Establish drift bands, tolerance thresholds, cash equitization, sleeve policies, and trade calendars; automate rebalancing triggers; reduce turnover, cash drag, and unintended risk.
  • Derivatives And Overlay Strategy: Design and implement equity, rates, credit, and FX overlays—futures, swaps, options—plus collateral optimization and margin policies; deliver efficient beta, hedging, and tracking error control.
  • Trading Automation, Algo Wheel, And Order Routing: Segment orders, define low‑touch versus high‑touch workflows, configure broker algo wheels and venue preferences; improve execution quality, lower slippage, and increase trader capacity.
  • Best Execution, TCA, And Broker Governance: Build best execution policy, implement multi-asset transaction cost analysis, and broker scorecards; optimize algo selection and broker mix; evidence MiFID II compliance and cost savings.

Fund Administration & Accounting

  • NAV Production And Oversight: Define target operating model, shadow NAV, controls, SLAs; standardize ABOR/IBOR alignment; reduce NAV errors, late NAVs, and break remediation.
  • Valuation And Pricing Governance: Establish pricing hierarchies, independent price verification, fair value committees, swing pricing policies; improve hard-close compliance, auditability, and price challenge resolution across liquid and hard-to-value assets.
  • Financial Reporting And Audit Readiness: Industrialize US GAAP/IFRS financial statements, schedules, footnotes, and SOX controls; orchestrate service providers; shorten close, reduce audit adjustments, and hit filing deadlines.
  • Transfer Agency And Investor Servicing Oversight: Redesign transfer agency (TA) model, KYC, account maintenance, distributions, and escheatment controls; improve accuracy, SLAs, and investor experience for registered and private funds.
  • Private Markets Waterfalls And Capital Accounting: Standardize capital calls, distributions, equalization, fee offsets, and waterfall models; reconcile capital accounts; reduce errors and investor queries across closed-end and evergreen private funds.

Connect with the right consultant

Umbrex rapidly connects you with independent professionals who combine top‑tier consulting experience at firms such as McKinsey, Bain, Boston Consulting Group with hands‑on roles.

Find a consultant in our Asset & Wealth Management Practice

Prefer email? Write to [email protected]

Thought Leadership

Industry Insights from Umbrex:
How to analyze a commercial bank

How to Analyze a Commercial Bank