Opening for 3rd party clients to broaden client base and increase scale: The Business Case

Scope

Key question was to advise on the pros and cons of opening the offering to external 3rd party clients, and developing a viable business case (3rd party clients versus status quo).

Client

Large provider of OCIO / fiduciary management services in the Netherlands offering captive OCIO and fiduciary services to one internal large pension fund (> euros 50 bn).

Approach

We have interviewed the key stakeholders of the client to investigate their expectations via short video calls and conducted a 1-day site visit at the client’s premises to get a good understanding of their business. In parallel, we conducted a benchmarking analysis of a firm who had already embarked on the journey to service 3rd party clients. Members of our advisory board were involved to give input.

Key deliverables

Key deliverable was a concise report highlighting the pros and cons which enabled the stakeholders to make a decision on whether the OCIO offering should be opened to 3rd party clients.

The report consisted of a high level business case including:

  • Market potential for 3rd party clients (volumes, fees and gross margin projections)

  • Investments needed (OPEX/CAPEX) mainly in staff and systems

  • Possible implementation path