Oakbrook Solutions

The SEC is considering requiring that money market funds be priced daily and not fixed at $1.00.

What does this mean to the trust and securities industry?  Plenty.

Most legacy applications that support money market funds processing are hardwired with the assumption that these funds will always be priced at $1.00. Some things to consider: client statements, cash projections and sweep processing, and dividend and interest payments.

The end game potentially is that money market funds require processing just like a mutual fund which could increase their overall cost of operation.

Stay tuned.

Contributing author: Craig Cook, President

When clients hear the word CRM (Customer Relationship Management) they cringe. The term (which started in banking as CIF), has come to be associated with overblown expectations, more administrative work, and oversight by management who may lack an understanding of the CRM system itself. This has translated into an overall bad reputation for CRM vendors and applications.

But this is changing.

Clients and advisors now realize to appropriately nurture and grow relationships, the functionality that CRM’s bring to bear is valuable. CRM systems are now integrated in better ways with MS Outlook, easier to use, are web enabled, and some even include mobile capabilities. All this translates into CRM systems entering a “golden age” where all wealth managers and advisors migrate to a CRM system that realize the dream envisioned many years ago.

One word of caution – as CRM systems proliferate don’t think that the data found in the CRM will solve all of your data problems. Many CRM vendors are going beyond CRM data to try and facilitate other business functions – be wary of that.

CRM is a place where significant technology gains and changes may be realized. You want to be in a position to change CRM applications if new technology arrives. If you implement other functions beyond CRM within the CRM application, you can potentially lock yourself into an application that you wish to change in the future. Focusing on the functionality and capabilities of the CRM application itself will provide you with the best opportunity to adapt when new technology arrives.

We call this concept “application neutrality”.

Contributor: Craig Cook, President

In yet another unintended consequence of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, new SEC rules designed to provide greater transparency in the hedge fund industry are creating new burdens on many family offices as well. Family offices typically escaped  SEC registration by falling under the 15-client threshold where registration was required. With the removal of this automatic exemption, family offices must now file for an exemption if they meet the definition of what constitutes a “family” office – a narrow delineation of clients served based upon their legal or genetic connection to the family tree. Otherwise, they must file as a registered investment advisor and shoulder the associated annual regulatory burden.

This article posted by Private Wealth outlines responses to the new rules, and provides insights into the likely responses to these changes: http://www.fa-mag.com/pw-mag/pw-news/9405-family-offices-seek-to-shield-rich-clients-from-sec-disclosure.html

One response noted in this article – eliminating internal investment functions in favor of an outsourced investment model – would further a recent trend, albeit for different reasons. From a purely economic point of view, an administration only single-family office (SFO) business model could face mounting cost pressures to rationalize an independent, stand-alone operation handling the remaining back-office, concierge, and infrastructure of the SFO. We suspect more SFOs will begin to seek partnering solutions that will provide greater scale benefits in these functions yet allow a level of customization they need to serve the family clients’ unique requirements.

Family offices should also consider the role a private trust company could play in avoiding SEC registration requirements and the corresponding disclosure of assets and other private business information. Depending on the size and service model of the family office, a private, state-chartered trust company can confer a broad range of benefits beyond exemption from SEC oversight. So, maybe for some family offices it’s time to dust off that trust company idea and take a closer look.

We also note the impact on single family offices in the early stages of making a transition to a multi-family office (MFO) business model or MFOs which have heretofore operated under the 15-client threshold. With the additional cost and management burden of registration, smaller MFOs will need to grow quickly to overcome this drag on their financials.

Contributing author: Steve Randolph, Managing Partner

If your goal is to secure full-time employment, locating a consulting opportunity gives you the ability to showcase your strengths and establish yourself within a specific department. Project related opportunities are typically highly visible throughout an organization and can be the perfect opportunity to show the right people what you are capable of.

First time consultants can feel a sense of relief in dealing solely with the tasks at hand, staying above the politics existing within all organizations. Consulting opportunities have been on the rise in the financial services industry and although they may come with level of anxiety questioning “what’s next”, they may also be the positive change you’ve been looking for! Even a short-term engagement can lead to a longer-term opportunity.

Could it be time to consider a consulting opportunity on your path to success?

Contributing author: Tim Buhler, Senior Relationship Manager

Well, it appears the federal regulators and the financial industry continue to underperform, MF Global being the latest example. Whatever regulations have been in place are not working (again). How many times will this have to happen?

It is going to take is some real tactical work to get done at the data level to create the transparency needed to monitor these firms. Although regulators will tell you they can monitor these firms effectively, it is impossible until an application and data project is executed to mine, store, and report this data to appropriate staff in order to monitor the firms.

Instead of spending money on more people to write regulations, let’s execute a project to collect the data and use our good old American technology “know-how” to solve the problem.

Contributing author: Craig Cook, President

The phrase  “systems integration project ” still strikes fear in the heart of many a CIO. Given some past experiences this is understandable. With the introduction of web-based – hosted applications with varied, cheap, and easy to use software, the ability to avoid integration projects may be impossible.

The amount of software and functionality being delivered via the web is continuing to change the client expectations. Here are just a few examples that are industry changers:

-          Mobile applications

-          BPM (Business Process Management)

-          Social Media

Just the thought of taking existing legacy applications, developing strategies, building tactical plans, and implementing any of the above seems like a daunting task. But that is exactly what may be expected going forward. Unless the legacy data can be made available and integrated with the new software paradigm, the positive impacts to the business and clients will remain elusive. At Oakbrook, we are committed to supporting our clients efforts to embrace and leverage new software via successful integration efforts.

Contributing author: Craig Cook, President