AJO, Baillie Gifford and NISA Investment Advisors are the 2016 Greenwich Quality Leaders℠ in U.S. Institutional Investment Management Service.

Service quality in asset management has many components—all of which must work together seamlessly to meet the complex needs of institutional investors.

The Greenwich Quality Index assesses factors ranging from the quality of reporting, formal investment reviews, informal meetings and thought leadership materials to a manager’s ability to understand client needs and credibility with the investment committee. At the tip of the spear is the relationship manager (RM). The job of an institutional RM has changed dramatically in the past decade, and it continues to evolve.

“A role that was once essentially product sales now is much more demanding and complex,” says Greenwich Associates Managing Director Andrew McCollum. “Today, an institutional relationship manager’s task is to develop a deep understanding of the client’s needs and to know the firm’s product capabilities well enough to present a solution to those needs.”

Delivering on that assignment requires a diverse set of abilities including knowledge of financial markets, institutional businesses and investment products, in addition to technical skills. RMs must be able to negotiate within their own organizations to marshal the resources and expertise needed to serve clients.

And most of all, RMs must have credibility and the personality required to build and sustain the kind of consultative, advisory relationships that institutional investors are seeking from their asset managers today.

“The list of 2016 Greenwich Quality Leaders demonstrates that asset managers can deliver this type of consultative relationship at different levels, with some firms offering advice within a specific asset class and others providing solutions at a portfolio and even organizational level,” says Greenwich Associates Managing Director Davis Walmsley.

Greenwich Associates consultants Andrew McCollum and Davis Walmsley advise on the investment management market in the United States.

Methodology

Between July and October 2016, Greenwich Associates conducted interviews with 1,216 senior professionals at 1,052 of the largest tax-exempt funds in the United States, including corporate and union funds, public funds, endowments and foundations, insurance general accounts, and healthcare organizations with either pension or investment pool assets greater than $150 million.

Study participants were asked to provide quantitative and qualitative evaluations of their asset management and investment consulting providers, including qualitative assessments of those firms soliciting their business and detailed information on important market trends.