SMA / Overlay Implementations

A revolution is occurring in the Managed Accounts business. Investment Management Firms are no longer outsourcing money management. They are acquiring sophisticated tools -- from companies including SunGard, Smartleaf, Vestmark, UpStream, Placemark, Tamarac to Banks, Portfolio Accounting Providers, and Investment Adviser Separate Account Programs -- that allow them to scalably, yet individually, manage client accounts. The benefits of these tools are clear: market share gains, cost reductions, and an increased bottom line.

John Morris is a founder of Smartleaf, a pioneer in the field of offering hosted separate account management that is both tax sensitive and individualized. John led Smartleaf's software development and client integration efforts, conducting many large-scale systems integration projects for customers. In the industry since its inception, John is uniquely positioned to offer technical project planning, product implementation, and systems integration services to firms that are exploring and moving to outsourced separately managed accounts.

Services Offered

There are several key phases of a successful implementation of an SMA product. John can help with any or all of these phases, with involvement ranging from high level review and advising to detailed project planning and tracking. His experience of being involved with many implementations can shorten your time to market, reduce your overall costs of implementation and lessen your need for training internal staff to handle one time conversion issues. The key phases of the project and some questions that need addressing follow. 

Feel free to contact us at  for more information.

Needs Analysis

• What overall strategy does your firm have for offering separately managed accounts? Overlay management services?
• How will these products help your firm compete and increase market share?
• What is the approximate cost, in time and dollars, for implementing a SMA solution? 

Vendor Selection and Negotiations

• What vendors are available and what features do they offer?
• Are their products compatible with my current systems?
• What should I include in my RFP to get the best solution?
• What do these products cost? 
• What about custom programming? How do I evaluate the vendor's proposals?

Implementation Project Plans

• How long should implementation take?
• Should I make my own project plan?
• How do I work most successfully with the vendor?
• What testing should I do? How?
• What are the data flows and requirements?
• When should training start?

Post Production Support

• What do I need to do after the product is up and running? 

Why Hire a Consultant?

There are many reasons to hire an independent consultant to help you through the process of evaluating and implementing a complex software solution.  Good vendors will give you answers to all of the above questions - from their perspective! Having an expert who has been inside and can give objective advice can help you understand your vendor's product and proposal more thoroughly and help avoid surprises due to miscommunication or missed questions.