In the retail alternatives market, technology is essential to delivering a client experience that attracts customers and earns their loyalty. It’s also vital for creating more transparent, efficient operations to support increased growth. Yet, no solution exists today that digitizes the entire subscription process, simplifies the client experience and provides transparency throughout—until now.
SS&C Lyric
Reimagining the subscription process
With SS&C Lyric, all constituents now have an end-to-end process that is digitized, integrated and transparent. The advisor has a fully guided experience for each of the securities they invest in. Lyric embeds all the rules associated with each security, including state and specific broker-dealer rules—within the process—further streamlining the experience. Moreover, the same information is completely integrated into those funds that SS&C does the investor servicing for.
To better understand how Lyric is transforming the retail alternative space, it helps to understand the marketplace challenges and needs.
Marketplace Challenges
Fragmentation and friction
In the retail alternative space, the subscription buying process is fraught with friction. Constituents, whether the end client, advisor, custodian, broker-dealer, wirehouse or asset manager, are bogged down by manual touchpoints and processes. The reliance on emails, overnight shipping and faxes make it extremely difficult for all constituents to stay in sync with what is happening around a transaction at any given time. As a result, the user experience and operational efficiencies are negatively impacted.
For example, an advisor needs to understand who will be taking each action—whether it’s the custodian or the asset manager. When the advisor begins the subscription process, the asset manager needs to know what the trade will look like, if it is passing all the requirements associated with the subscription and what the flow looks like. The custodian or wirehouse needs to make sure all the processing is complete so the subscription can become a reality for the end client.
Multiple studies project upwards of 40% growth in retail alternatives over the next few years. Yet if all constituents—including the end user—have a negative client experience, achieving this expected growth becomes a lot more challenging.
Adding up the benefits
What Lyric brings to the marketplace
Lyric connects all the constituents within the ecosystem in a seamless way to transform retail alternatives marketplace. Lyric takes the friction out of the buying process; everyone knows what action needs to occur next, what information is required and who is responsible.
Lyric’s technology stack, which uses microservices and open architecture, makes development and deployment so much faster. We’re able to assemble and integrate the functions much more quicker compared to other technologies in the marketplace today. Clients can be up and running in five weeks.
Removing the friction also transforms the end-user experience. Once cumbersome, the user experience is simplified and more attuned to what they experience with traditional investments, such as mutual funds, robo products and ETFs. Why is this important? Growth in the alternative retail space is projected to be in the 30-40% range. If the end client has an experience that is similar in nature to their other investments, they’ll be more inclined to have alternatives in their portfolio, helping make the growth projections a reality.
We believe that Lyric can transform the industry, allowing alternatives to become a significant part of the end client’s portfolio.
