With new investments and strategies emerging each year, your clients may be interested in evaluating their viability for themselves. However, with client meetings, admin duties, compliance tasks, marketing, and other responsibilities, most RIAs admit they struggle to find the time or resources to research additional client investment opportunities.
How can you leverage your time, stay up to date, and access new investment options for your clients?
Many RIAs solve this problem by partnering with an Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO). An OCIO can provide your RIA/IAR with access to a wide range of investment opportunities, expertise, and resources.
This article explores how an OCIO like Cornerstone Portfolio Research can expand your firm’s access to investment opportunities while allowing you to maintain control and focus on your leads, prospects, and clients.
Expanding Access Through Expertise
An OCIO’s deep investment experience is a valuable asset for RIAs. OCIOs typically employ a team of skilled investment professionals with broad expertise across various asset classes and investment strategies. This expertise is especially valuable when researching opportunities beyond traditional asset classes, such as equities and fixed income.
In addition to in-house expertise, OCIOs can access a broader research network and resources that individual RIAs may not have access to. This can give you a significant advantage in identifying and vetting potential investments. For example, an OCIO may have relationships with specialized research firms that can provide in-depth analysis of alternative investment options.
Private equity, real estate investments, and hedge funds typically require a nuanced understanding of specific market sectors. Alternative investments can be complex and carry additional risks compared to traditional investments. An OCIO’s experience in these areas can significantly minimize risks through strategic assessment and risk management protocols.
By leveraging an OCIO’s expertise, network, and research capabilities, your RIA firm can have more access to identifying unique investment opportunities that could potentially enhance your clients’ portfolios.
Expanding Access Through Scale
Beyond expertise, OCIOs can be instrumental in expanding access through economies of scale. OCIOs manage assets for multiple RIAs, which enables them to negotiate lower fees with investment managers. These cost savings could then be passed on to your firm and clients.
Some investments require high minimum investment requirements, which can be a hurdle for smaller RIAs with fewer clients. OCIOs can bridge this gap by combining resources from multiple RIA firms. This allows them to meet requirements and collectively access premium investment opportunities otherwise unavailable.
Institutional-grade investments, such as private equity funds, hedge funds, and specialized real estate vehicles, often come with high minimum investments, require more regulatory and compliance scrutiny, and can carry higher fees. These factors can make them less cost-effective for smaller asset pools.
Once more, an OCIO can pool assets from multiple RIAs, thereby meeting the minimum investment requirements and allowing you to participate in these institutional-grade investments.
Expanding Access Through Technology
In today’s data-driven world, technology is indispensable in investment management. OCIOs use advanced portfolio management and analytics technology to streamline the investment process and provide RIAs with deeper insights into potential investments.
These technological platforms aggregate vast amounts of AI-driven data from various sources, allowing for a more comprehensive analysis. This can provide you with a clearer picture of the risks and potential rewards associated with different investment options.
Additionally, some OCIO platforms offer portfolio modeling tools that can help RIAs construct and optimize portfolios for their clients based on their specific needs and risk tolerances. These technologies often provide real-time data access, enhancing decision-making capabilities and enabling more flexible responses to market changes.
Maintaining Control and Client Focus
Partnering with an OCIO does not mean you relinquish control over your client relationships. You and your team remain your client’s primary point of contact and retain ultimate decision-making authority over investment selection. The OCIO’s role is to serve as an extension of your investment team, providing expertise, resources, and a broader universe of investment opportunities.
Cornerstone’s approach to investment research is highly collaborative. We work closely with your team, sharing insights and data to help you make data-driven, informed decisions for your clients. This partnership approach to research ensures that you’re not just receiving advice but are actively engaged in the investment process on behalf of your clients.
By outsourcing some investment management tasks to an OCIO, you can free up valuable time and resources to focus on core strengths like client service and financial planning. This allows you to build stronger relationships with your clients and provide them with a more comprehensive wealth management experience.
Partner With Cornerstone Portfolio Research
Cornerstone Portfolio Research is an independent investment research and portfolio management firm with 70+ years of combined experience in the financial services industry. We help advisors outsource investment management/research and create quality client portfolios.
Partnering with us is a strategic decision for RIAs seeking to expand investment opportunities for their clients. By leveraging our expertise and resources, you can access a broad range of investment products and technological capabilities.
Our approach stands out from other outsourced CIO services:
- You and your team don’t have to change workflows or systems; we will integrate seamlessly into your daily operations.
- We utilize your existing tools, including your CRM, custodial software, client reporting, and portfolio management applications.
- We can join you for select client and prospect meetings, helping you build new relationships and strengthen existing ones.
- We’ve developed a seamless, white-labeled investment research and management process. We use your branding, so there is no confusion for clients.
- There is no need to switch custodians, fill out new client paperwork, or significantly disrupt your clients’ existing portfolios.
We designed our services to be turnkey for firm owners with minimal impact on your practice.
Imagine all of these services for a fraction of the cost of an in-house team that may be unaffordable!
Contact Cornerstone Portfolio Research today to learn more about how an OCIO partnership can benefit your firm and your clients and take your practice to the next level.
