Citisoft, the specialist investment management consulting firm, today announced the launch of a new Distribution consulting practice.
The practice will provide consulting services to help investment managers improve their sales, marketing and client service to drive revenue growth. The service is the first dedicated offering of its kind for investment managers and will be spearheaded by two newly appointed consultants.
The service has been launched in response to investment managers' increasing need for better leverage in sales, marketing and client service to drive their business forward through improved client service and client retention. Headed by Neil Curham in the UK and Joe Morant in the US, Citisoft will deliver Distribution-focused strategic planning, solution design and implementation services. Citisoft is currently working with global clients on a range of Distribution initiatives including improvements to the consistency of communications to clients, the development of centralised sales and marketing functions and reviews of outsourcing options in Distribution.
Neil and Joe bring over 20 years of experience in sales, marketing and client service within investment managers. In Senior Management positions at Mellon, Newton and Skandia they led many business change and technology initiatives to help these firms build leadership positions in market coverage, sales effectiveness and service excellence. In recent years, at Activiti, they developed a unique perspective from outside the industry through work with some of the largest investment managers in the world to develop software solutions to scale their Distribution businesses.
Neil Curham, Head of Distribution practice, UK and Europe comments, "Recent years have seen a significant increase in focus on Distribution efficiency and effectiveness. We are seeing more demand from Heads of Sales, Marketing and Client Services who are looking for specialist expertise to help improve their market coverage, penetration and communication with clients and intermediaries. With distribution approaching 40% of firm costs, the need for scale in revenue generation and efficiency in client management are top of the CEO's list."
Jonathan Clark, Founder and Executive Director, Citisoft in London, comments, "As investment managers turn their focus to revenue growth, we are seeing increasing demand for assistance in establishing more strategic Distribution capabilities. This is the first such practice in the market and we are delighted to welcome Neil and Joe on board to head up the dedicated Distribution consulting offering."
Dan Houlihan, President of Citisoft North America adds, "For the past decade, our investment management clients have placed an emphasis on operational efficiency and taking cost and risk out of the front, middle and back office. While this has helped in managing profitability, it has not accelerated new client acquisition or client retention. Appointing Neil and Joe allows us to assist our clients in developing more strategic, enterprise distribution capabilities. It also means Citisoft can complete our value proposition to the top and bottom line."