BST Awards 2023: Best outsourcing/BPO provider to the buy side—Archer

Overview

Archer is a technology-enabled service provider that delivers outsourced operations driven by connectivity across the entire investment management operations continuum, including custodians, counterparties, fund administrators and distribution platforms. As today’s asset managers expand into different channels, they need new ways to scale their business. Archer helps them reduce the time spent on operations and shift their focus to managing investments, adding value for clients, and expanding their business.

The solution  

Archer delivers a solution across all channels, enabling investment managers to meet the needs of institutional, private wealth, and retail investors. Its technology integrates with counterparties and internal reporting systems, while its service model provides investment management teams with a single point of contact supported by specialist teams.

Secret sauce 

Archer works on the design, implementation, and distribution of investment solutions in all types of products and structures. It offers a technology and servicing model for institutional, private wealth, retail separately managed accounts (SMAs), multi-sleeve accounts, and model-delivered strategies in a single platform. Its services are driven by robotic process automation (RPA) and machine learning, and its cloud-based platform reflects firms’ real-time operational status.

Recent milestones

• AI-powered direct indexing solution: provides seamless account opening, custom index creation, tax-loss harvesting, and enhanced trade execution
• Data cloud: leverages Snowflake for direct integration with a data marketplace, increasing flexibility for the type, volume, and arrangement of its clients’ data
• Enhanced global service model: extends its client support model toward 24/7 service to meet the needs of its global asset manager base

Future objectives 

• AI-powered service process enhancements: maximizing efficiency and response time for client service requests through better routing and queuing
• Complete after-tax performance solution: automating the process by scanning accounts for taxable events, calculating realized gains/losses and net income paid, and applying the associated tax rate(s)
• UI/UX: creating a more intuitive user experience for the platform, supporting natural language questions and improved data visibility

Why they won

Berwyn, Pennsylvania-based Archer follows up its win in the best middle-office platform category in last year’s awards by taking home the best outsourcing provider category this year. Outsourcing various business processes―in some instances even those considered mission-critical―has long been on the buy side’s agenda, and if anything, the practice will continue to grow throughout the industry as firms look to optimize their underlying technology and operations footprint, while switching costs from capital expenditures to operating expenditures. Archer is well-placed to capitalize on that demand, thanks to its outstanding Archer suite, designed to allow buy-side firms to focus on their primary function of managing clients’ money accurately and efficiently.