Case study

Global Firm Ramps Up Efficiency and Quality of Client Reporting

Boreal Capital Management

Boreal Capital Management is an independent wealth management services firm, with offices in Miami and Zurich, that specializes in serving high-net-worth individuals and families throughout Latin America and Europe. Many of Boreal’s clients have complex investment portfolios that span multiple custodian banks and currencies. A key component of Boreal’s comprehensive wealth structuring and investment management offering is the firm’s robust portfolio monitoring and reporting capability.

Boreal understands the importance of investing in technology that easily consolidates and standardizes client data from multiple sources, ensuring transparency for clients while also improving operational efficiency. They chose Addepar to scale successfully. The partnership between Addepar and Boreal has grown tremendously. Since joining with Addepar in 2018, Boreal has seen an increase in assets under management of 35% and 679 new clients.

ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT

$3.5 billion

TEAM MEMBERS

48

CLIENTS SERVED

1,872

CUSTODIANS

37

ESTABLISHED

2008

CHIEF EXECUTIVES

Joaquin Frances, CEO, U.S.
Jaime Moreno, CEO, Switzerland

HEADQUARTERS

Miami, Florida
Zurich, Switzerland

CHALLENGE

Reporting on complex portfolios strains resources

When Boreal first engaged Addepar, they had established a strong presence in Latin America out of the Miami office and were further expanding their business in the European market. One challenge that was consistent across both global locations was navigating the inherent complexity in managing portfolios for clients who typically hold assets across multiple custodians, and often in multiple currencies. In order to provide clients with robust analysis and reporting across all of their holdings, Boreal’s advisors had to undertake a time- and labor-intensive process of consolidating data from each custodian – and then manually cobbling the data together into custom reports.

This process was not scalable, and it detracted from the overall client experience in that advisors were spending a lot of time gathering data and formatting reports – leaving less time for high value client interactions. Boreal recognized the need for a technology solution that would not only consolidate data, but also provide flexible and customizable templates to enable turnkey – and in some cases fully automated – report production.

Boreal immediately saw the potential for the Addepar platform to take the firm to the next level. “It was clear that Addepar offered exactly what we were looking for. Our clients’ portfolios are complex and the ability to consolidate information from various custodians so we can access it all in one place – and then easily report on all of it – was a perfect fit. That was the starting point of our relationship, but it has expanded to so much more as we’ve experienced the full breadth of capabilities offered on the Addepar platform.”

SOLUTION

Exceptional support unlocks additional value

“The Addepar team brings a deep understanding of the wealth management industry that was indispensable as they helped us to customize templates so that we can efficiently and consistently deliver high quality reports to our clients.”

With Addepar, Boreal adopted a solution that addressed their key data consolidation and reporting requirements, and also found a partner that would work side-by-side with them to ensure they were able to fully leverage the platform capabilities. In contrast to the one-size-fits-all approach of their legacy platform, the Addepar team took a hands-on approach to understand the unique needs of Boreal’s practice. 

“Addepar CEO Eric Poirier sent what we called the ‘dream team’ to Boreal’s office in Miami to make sure we got the platform configured properly to deliver the reports we needed. The Addepar team brings a deep understanding of the wealth management industry that was indispensable as they helped us to customize templates so that we can efficiently and consistently deliver high quality reports to our clients.”

Addepar also conducted training sessions with the Boreal team, tailored to their specific use cases. Boreal saw such benefits from the sessions that they signed on for a more comprehensive Client Success offering, with a dedicated resource assigned to work with them should they need help with a customized report or complicated client requirement. Through this expanded relationship, Boreal also gets access to office hours with the Addepar client success team to ensure all of their needs are being met. 

“The moment you communicate an issue to the Client Success team, they understand the problem and are able to help. They are extremely knowledgeable about what we are doing and how to make the platform work for us. With their help, we’ve had very strong platform adoption by our team, which has led to tremendous efficiencies across the firm.”

Once the Miami team was fully onboarded onto the platform, Addepar shifted gears to onboard the team working out of the Switzerland office. The Addepar team worked through complex data onboarding and custodial requirements to ensure all data was comprehensive and complete. They also provided training and support for the Zurich team to ensure the transition to Addepar was as smooth as possible.

Technology that enables efficiency and a better client experience

Boreal has taken advantage of a number of innovative platform enhancements rolled out by Addepar since their initial onboarding to achieve further efficiencies and client experience improvements.

 For example, when Boreal first joined Addepar, “Our advisors were taking a  lot of printed reports into meetings with clients and we were very interested in the mobile report capability Addepar was developing.” Since the mobile and tablet functionalities launched, Boreal has been rolling out the offerings to their advisors with a phased approach.

“We want to be very intentional in how we introduce mobile reporting and train our team on using this functionality. The feedback so far has been excellent. The reports are professional and convenient, and we’re providing a more modern digital experience for our clients, which they appreciate.”

A new proposal tool has also proven to be a welcome addition in the Addepar platform. “We were looking at proposal tools from third-party vendors, but then Addepar previewed their new tool at a Community Meetup we hosted for them in our Miami office. Right away we decided we’d adopt the tool built into Addepar instead, for both of our global offices. As our business grows, the Addepar platform is expanding with us to include powerful new capabilities. With each of the platform enhancements, our advisors and our clients are increasingly satisfied with the results.” 

RESULTS

Set up for success today, and tomorrow

“The Addepar platform has become an integral part of our workflow.”

As Boreal has continued to grow, Addepar has been there every step of the way to support that growth and to ensure clients are receiving the high touch service that has become a trademark of Boreal’s offering. 

“The Addepar platform has become an integral part of our workflow. It’s the first thing I open when I log in every morning. Particularly during a challenging market environment – when clients are looking for more visibility and have more questions about their portfolios than ever – It’s critically important that we can efficiently generate comprehensive and timely reports.”

“The Addepar platform is a key driver of client satisfaction and it’s also a valuable tool when we’re bringing new advisors onto our team.”

Indeed, even in times of upheaval, such as during the COVID-19 global pandemic, Addepar gives advisors the ability to maintain steady communications with clients and remotely access the full platform capabilities from home. Addepar has worked with Boreal to develop auto-generated client reports, saving Boreal’s portfolio management team valuable time, and providing clients with all the information they need at their fingertips. Additionally, Boreal provides clients with access to the Addepar client portal, so they can easily log in and access their account information.

“The Addepar platform is a key driver of client satisfaction and it’s also a valuable tool when we’re bringing new advisors onto our team. They’re consistently impressed with the flexibility of the platform and the ease with which we can produce sophisticated reports for clients.”

Adopting the Addepar platform and fully leveraging the support of the Client Success team has set up Boreal for long-term success. They now have the infrastructure in place to provide their clients with the reporting they need at scale, creating exceptional operational efficiencies and enabling deeper client relationships.