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Outsourcing
Outsourcing a Truly Customized Performance Solution
UMB Bank investment officers get exactly what they need to be
successful with their clients from
First Rate Service Bureau.
The complexities of maintaining a transaction-based performance system
can draw resources from other essential functions within any
investment shop. Focusing on the strengths of its investment
resources, UMB Bank decided to collaborate with performance
measurement professionals to outsource rate of return calculation and
reporting.
“The First Rate Performance suite provides UMB with a variety of flexible solutions that allow us to meet the diverse needs of the many audiences across our institution.”
– Scott Betz, Assistant Vice President and Director of Investment Analytics, UMB Advisors |
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Client Situation
As an $8 billion financial institution, UMB Bank wanted a performance measurement solution that improved the institution’s ability to analyze the performance of personal trust, employee benefit and institutional portfolios.
They also wanted to minimize the staff and IT resources required to generate “boardroom quality” presentation of portfolio-specific performance analysis across multiple business lines. Outsourcing was the logical solution, and First Rate offered the flexibility that they needed.
First Rate staff met onsite with key performance personnel, learning their processes, listening to their desired results and identifying resources within the UMB departments. After documenting the existing processes and procedures, and reviewing reporting requirements, First Rate designed a performance solution that leveraged existing resources and met each business line’s specifications. |
The Solution
The solution was a complete First Rate Service Bureau package, combining systems and data verification services from the
First Rate Operations and Service Bureau departments. A single, offsite data verification and auditing environment provided customized delivery mechanisms and specific types of reporting for various groups of portfolios, including different logos and data layouts for each UMB line of business.
First Rate Operations coordinated with UMB IT personnel and designed an environment that met all security and disaster recovery requirements for hosting UMB client data. Meanwhile,
First Rate Consulting developed a customized interface to the UMB portfolio accounting system, seamlessly linking transaction- and security-level data to the
First Rate Performance® engine.
Upon completing the interface, the First Rate Consulting and First Rate Service Bureau team members developed procedures for UMB-specific data loads, audits and verification processes that would ensure timely and accurate rate of return calculations.
First Rate Service Bureau assumed responsibility for calculating and maintaining all rates of return at UMB while working with UMB representatives to help audit and “scrub” all data irregularities and make all portfolio-specific customizations.
The Results
UMB staff throughout the institution had access to performance reporting that was “boardroom quality” and specific to their line of business. Front line staff could customize and deliver performance analysis to the client with a few mouse clicks, saving UMB countless hours of administrative support. Most importantly, the resources required to maintain the performance solution dropped immediately. IT personnel and investment staff could focus on other projects, while the quality and accuracy of the performance analysis was maintained by performance measurement professionals in the First Rate Service Bureau department. |
