Murano, the ‘matchmaker’ for funds and institutional investors, has launched a new consulting division, Murano Consulting.Murano Consulting will provide expert industry consulting services to asset managers and investment firms. Focusing primarily on business development and investor marketing, Murano Consulting will produce competitor analysis, investment strategy audits and other bespoke management consultancy services to help clients reach their financial goals. The consultancy has already worked on a number of projects for clients including:
• Perception analysis of allocator attitudes towards and appetite for investing in private debt opportunities
• Investor messaging and IR best practice for a household name multi-asset manager
•Research into asset frequency across investment managers and the survivorship of funds within differing asset classes
• Competitor analysis, proposition review, and a sales and marketing audit for a family office
Murano Consulting will be an independent operating division within the growing group of Murano businesses. The new company has been set up as a management and marketing consultancy and will not be providing investment advice. The core Murano business, established in 2011 by Ole Rollag, a 30-year veteran of the global funds industry, is a research company that connects institutional asset owners and allocators with suitable asset management firms. The company operates globally and covers funds across the entire spectrum of investment opportunity: from hedge funds and private equity to long only traditional multi-asset managers. Murano Consulting becomes the third business line within the Murano group following a doubling of the group’s core business over the past two years.
Murano Consulting will be led by Paris Jordan, CFA who has joined Murano from UK wealth manager, Sanlam Investments, where she developed and subsequently managed the firm’s ethical and socially responsible investment portfolios. Jordan was shortlisted this year by Professional Pensions for its highly regarded Investment Manager of the Year Award and chosen as winner of the WeAreTheCity Rising Star Award 2020. She also appears in Citywire’s 2020 Top 30 Under 30 list. Prior to six years at Sanlam, Jordan worked as an Analyst at Fidelity.
Ole Rollag, founder of Murano, says: “Over the last decade Murano has come of age and in the past few years we have found our clients increasingly seeking Murano’s strategic input with issues such as market evaluation, product perception studies, and investor engagement. Setting up Murano Consulting has been a direct response to these enquiries. The asset allocator community is well serviced by such consultancy support, whether provided by home-grown internal talent or by external consultancy firms, but within the sell-side funds community, especially for the managers running smaller funds, there has been a dearth of dedicated consultancy support. Until now.”
The interaction between the Murano divisions has been designed to be complementary allowing for structured collaboration. Advantageously, Murano Consulting will be able to access the large pool of proprietary data its core business has on investor selection patterns and themes. The research business has resulted in the firm collecting valuable information from all types of investors over a ten-year period. This exclusive data set, coupled with Jordan’s allocator experience, will allow Murano Consulting to apply their market insights to solve client issues.
Jordan says: “Having previously worked with Murano using their matchmaking service, the opportunity to work with such a solutions-focused firm and lead their new venture is clearly very exciting. I have seen many funds over my career that need greater refinement and guidance, and now through Murano Consulting we can provide these worthwhile consultancy services to a market which has been unsupported for too long.”
Murano Consulting will be working with clients from across the globe and will cover multiple asset classes and strategy types. The business is launching with a project pipeline consisting of both new and existing clients.
