Greenwich Associates acquires Competitive Challenges

Coupled with Greenwich Associates’ broad array of existing consulting services, which include advising on the strength of client relationships, this new capability will enhance Greenwich’s ability to help managers implement change to maximize long-run profitability.
 
Competitive Challenges, originally created in 1989 as an annual survey of the investment management industry, is an established suite of knowledge products and consulting solutions used by over 100 investment management organizations in both the United States and Europe. The product suite encompasses business strategy, employee compensation and value sharing, marketing, sales, distribution, and process improvement.

Competitive Challenges will be headquartered in Greenwich, CT, and managed by Dev Clifford, a Managing Director and Head of the Investment Management Practice of Greenwich Associates. He will be responsible for the day-to-day management of Competitive Challenges’ knowledge products and solution consulting activities, as well as lead selected client engagements.

Clifford said: "This acquisition will significantly expand Greenwich Associates’ product and service offering to investment management firms. It allows us to add a powerful new dimension to our service to investment managers, in essence, the ability to address the profit impact of management actions."

He added: "We have always focused on helping investment management firms anticipate market trends, formulate strategies in the face of change, and implement client-centered solutions. We will now have additional tools in our toolkit to help our clients understand how to improve their business performance and apply industry best practices in terms of managing their business for profitability."

To provide added continuity Don Rogers, the previous CEO of Competitive Challenges, will provide consulting to both CRA and Greenwich Associates until the transition is complete.

Greenwich Associates plans to continue to offer the existing Competitive Challenges’ suite of products to managers, and also develop new products and services that leverage the combination of information from Greenwich’s current large-scale annual research with the buyers of investment management services and the operational benchmarking of Competitive Challenges.

The current range of products in the Greenwich fold include:
* Business Strategy
* Employee Compensation & Value Sharing Strategies
* Process Improvement & Value Sharing Strategies
* Customer Segment Competitiveness
* Marketing, Sales, and Distribution Strategies
* Publications, Research, and Conferences.
The timing of the acquisition, coinciding with Greenwich’s large-scale research among the largest 1200+ pensions funds and endowments in the United States, will also provide the firm with an opportunity to offer the combined consulting product set to investment managers before year-end.

Background Note: Greenwich Associates, headquartered in Greenwich, CT, USA, is a strategic consulting and research source for providers and users of financial services worldwide. Founded in 1972, Greenwich provides institutional financial services firms and those that participate in its research with comprehensive, systematic and tailored management information.

Based in Greenwich, with additional offices in London, Sydney, Tokyo, and Toronto, the firm offers over 100 research-based consulting programs to more than 250 financial-services companies worldwide spanning the following markets:

• investment management


• fixed income


• equities 


• investment banking  


• large corporate banking 


• foreign exchange 


• derivatives 


• small business/middle market banking  

Created in 1989, Competitive Challenges (formerly part of Investment Counseling, Inc.) provides consulting services to a broad range of asset management companies, from large global enterprises to niche managers in every segment of the industry. Since its inception, Competitive Challenges has successfully developed and implemented competitive strategies for more than 100 investment management firms. Its consulting practices cover strategy, marketing and distribution, compensation, and business process analysis. Competitive Challenges knowledge products include the major annual report, Competitive Challenges, and a conference on industry strategy.

copyright hedgeweek 2003