A well-established, multinational investment manager sought to unlock its combined strengths in investment manufacturing and distribution by bringing together its operating companies to create a single global entity. Historically, it had been a loose federation of standalone asset managers, a model that was inhibiting its full value potential. The organization was plagued by divergent business strategies, limited focus on external opportunities, variations in product by region, multiple and misaligned cultures, and a patchwork of different systems and processes, among other challenges.

The company brought in KPMG professionals with a mandate to successfully integrate and transform the disparate parts of the organization into a single entity, while increasing operating profit by 300 percent. The challenge was to design and help execute a global business and operating model that would support a dozen businesses, deliver synergies as well as sustained revenue and profit growth across the cycle. Given the scale of transformation sought, the client was keen to use the 9 Levers of Value framework to help ensure all components of the group were aligned in their pursuit of the ambitious target.

The GSG team worked to activate the vision, architecting an enterprise-wide transformation that would help drive financial performance improvements through the sale of more profitable investment solutions globally, while reshaping costs. Key drivers of enhanced financial performance would include:

• Growth of third party business – greater penetration among third party clients to provide the opportunity for revenue and profit growth
• Increased cross-border sales – sale of local products on a global basis, enabled by bolstered global distribution capabilities
• New market entry and greater penetration – reduction of financial reliance on existing markets through identification of and entry into new high growth markets 
• Wider and more profitable product mix – shift to higher margin products through greater customer centricity and development of ‘solutions’
• Improved investment performance – targeted strategies to increase the contribution of performance fees as a percentage of total revenue
• Greater emphasis on cost control – introduction of a leaner, cost-efficient operating model, supported by effective global business processes

The GSG professionals fleshed out, challenged and articulated what had previously been an unwritten CEO vision. In the form of a ‘CEO Room’, the engagement team brought the strategy for achieving the vision to life – with the required plan to successfully make the transformation – for the wider board and senior management. The board approved the strategy and the senior management team enacted the plan. With GSG’s subsequent involvement in implementation, the group achieved its objective of growing operating profit by 300 percent.

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