Family Offices Should Embrace Tech: A Conversation With FundCount's Ashley Whittaker

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Family offices are becoming high-net-worth individuals and investors’ preferred choice for wealth management due to their greater control and flexibility over traditional financial services companies. Modern family offices have continued to expand in a variety of ways, most notably through the implementation of new technology to keep up with the complexity of operation. From inefficiencies to assets and transactions to reducing data processing hours, technology is crucial to meeting client expectations, which have significantly overwhelmed legacy systems.

While there is still some hesitation to commit to the unknown, it’s imperative that family offices realize data management is the central problem they must resolve. And those who chose to adopt new technology platforms will achieve greater results while those who fail to keep up will get left behind. 

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FundCount, a leading provider of accounting and investment analysis software, is pioneering the development of innovative solutions to meet this growing need. The company provides integrated accounting and investment analysis software that improves operational efficiency and delivers immediate, actionable intelligence to clients.

To better understand the future of family offices and the technology that will impact the market in 2024 we spoke with Ashley Whittaker, President of Global Sales at FundCount. Ashley’s career spans government, consulting, and the fintech cloud-application SaaS space. As a Deloitte-trained chartered accountant, his expertise lies in delivering accounting, investment management, and automation solutions. Ashley's entrepreneurial spirit shone through in 1999 when he launched GlobalExpense, the UK’s first B2B cloud SaaS company. Holding a BA with honors in history from Exeter University and qualifications from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales, he is a visionary in the field.

Q1: Could you give us an overview of FundCount, the solutions the company provides and who you help?

Ashley Whittaker (AW): For more than 20 years, FundCount's specialist software has serviced the investment space. Our clients range from high-net-worth individuals to family offices, asset managers, private equity, hedge funds and fund administrators, ranging from the smallest to the largest firms across 30 countries.  

Q2: What sets FundCount apart from other software or technology solutions in the family office industry?

AW: FundCount is unique in possessing a Unified Platform. This means that data aggregation, portfolio management, partnership/ownership allocation and reporting sit on one code base, the foundation of which is a proprietary investment grade general ledger.

This gives unparalleled efficiency, out of the box. Account reconciliations take as little as 2% of the time of manual processes, whilst so much is capable of automation that some clients do not log in to the software for months at a time as it performs the daily grind of collecting data from custodians – in addition to processing and reconciling it and producing reports. You don’t even need to be an accountant to use it, as the software processes data and writes more than 95% of the journals itself.

It all adds up to spending less time on back-office tasks, getting more robust reports completed around the clock or as needed so financial leaders can spend more time on value added investment and governance decisions.

Q3: Taking a closer look at family offices, the industry has experienced incredible growth globally over the last decade despite volatile markets and economic challenges. In your opinion, how are family offices finding success and powering this growth?

AW: Our clients often cite the need to eliminate processing tasks and get better reporting at their fingertips. That means having a robust accounting system. But accounting is not the boring stuff of dusty back rooms. In fact, it is the ordered world of data. Money is how you measure wealth. Data is how you generate wealth.

Serious family offices understand this. They understand that good governance drives good monetary outcomes and that good data management from robust systems is the bedrock of good governance. Money spent on robust back-office systems that allow high degrees of automation is money well spent.

These family offices are then able to handle the increasing geo-political and associated economic challenges, to say nothing of family issues, that must be addressed to maintain, let alone grow, their wealth.

Q4: As the pandemic fades, other issues such as inflation, rising interest rates, recession and geopolitical tensions continue to plague the financial markets and family offices. With that in mind, what are some of the biggest changes family offices have made to their operations over the past year or how have they evolved? 

AW: Diversification, not only of portfolio assets but geographically, compounded by complexity in structure driven by tax planning as many newly minted family offices begin to grapple with transition issues is continuing and increasing at a faster pace than most families would like.

Addressing these issues and developing robust family governance is becoming more important than ever. A microcosm of this is seen in the Middle East, where increasing sanctions related to banking compliance is driving the need for a more robust family office infrastructure. The private equity industry in the U.S. is also experiencing winds of change as the government enforces more transparency and regulation which reverberates into family offices.

So, the biggest change FundCount has witnessed is the family office space grappling to understand the wider data ecosystem, rather than just the functional capabilities of a piece of software. Software after all is only one component of effective governance and investment.

Q5: What technology trends will propel the growth of family offices and reshape their strategies in 2024?

AW: Undoubtedly, it’s the ease and speed of access to robust, accurate data. It’s a futile situation to wait 30 minutes – let alone 30 days to get robust reporting.  As the world returns to its chaotic norm, data is the real currency of wealth.

FundCount understands this and is creating new AI tools that will provide immediate access for family members to data. This not only allows for a fast, effective response, but encourages participation across families, thereby assisting with those knotty governance and transition issues. 

Q6: In your opinion, what shifts can family offices make to better serve high-net-worth individuals and families?

AW: Family offices have traditionally been the engine of the family car. They candidly suck in data (i.e., fuel) and produce reports by which the family can steer. But what’s the point of having a Ferrari chassis if you have a lawnmower engine? Improve the engine to a V8 turbo-charged model and suddenly the journey is faster. If you have more power in your back-office systems, reporting becomes quicker and more dynamic – and at the end of the day families are better served. That is the first step.

The second step is to provide more relevant, responsive, and accessible reporting. AI allows this but is useless without a robust structured data source.

So, both elements are key to success.

The Bottom Line

Data processing needs will only continue to grow and get more complicated. Legacy systems will continue to struggle to keep up and eventually prove to be ineffective. Hiring more staff may help in the short term but ultimately, does not offer a long-term, sustainable solution. Technology has paved the way for family offices to address these concerns and automate data streams that increase efficiency and meet client expectations. 

As FundCount continues to innovate, the company's outlook on the family office space remains optimistic and forward-looking. With an estimated 7,000 to 10,000 global single-family offices in operation currently, the family office space market will continue to prosper, especially as HNWIs open their own. Embracing new technologies like AI and unified platforms is essential for family offices to thrive in a global landscape marked by constant change and growth. With solutions like those offered by FundCount, family offices not only keep pace but lead the way in financial management and governance.

This post was authored by an external contributor and does not represent Benzinga's opinions and has not been edited for content. The information contained above is provided for informational and educational purposes only, and nothing contained herein should be construed as investment advice. Benzinga does not make any recommendation to buy or sell any security or any representation about the financial condition of any company.

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