Earlier this summer, Broadridge Financial Solutions invited Cheetah Executive Director Brandon Jeffress to serve as a panelist on its “Trends in Trust” webinar, a roundtable of trust accounting providers.
The webinar emphasized the importance of investing in technology modernization in the face of changing markets. Topics included customer service, scalability, growth, increased competition with RIAs, changing demographics, and more.
Below is a summary of Brandon’s contributions to the conversation, edited slightly for brevity.
What is a service that Cheetah is being asked to do now that 5-10 years ago you hadn’t considered to be part of your business?
Brandon: Investors are seeking a full-service organization that can serve them across their entire wealth and trust portfolio. They’re looking for a unified, frustration-free experience.
As part of this convergence, you must meet clients where they are.
Some are just beginning to save money and embrace financial planning. Others are trying to figure out how to pay for their kids’ college. And some have accumulated wealth and want to preserve their legacy by supporting organizations that are near to their heart.
This is the reason we announced the AssetMark partnership. They’re the best turnkey asset management provider in the RIA industry. We combined these two best-in-class providers to address this convergence and better serve investors. People want more tailored investments, but it’s difficult and costly to hire more portfolio managers.
The question for you is ‘How can we drive efficiency into our trust operations to double or triple our business?’
And the question for Cheetah is ‘How do we help you do that without hiring more portfolio managers?’
Cheetah and AssetMark are two premier providers. By putting them together into one easy-to-use platform, we’ve made it easy for you to meet the changing needs and expectations of investors in a way that is scalable and profitable.
As a technology provider, how does Cheetah scale customer service?
Brandon: Everyone thinks they have good service. We know as consumers that’s just not the case. I don’t think it’s due to a lack of effort. But good service isn’t what a company says about itself, it’s about what the clients say about the company.
It’s not about just being friendly and nice and responsive anymore. Customer service standards and consumer expectations have changed due to the way people engage with technology and how they experience service in other industries.
A lot of businesses start with great service and, as they grow, they become siloed across departments. Maintaining good service even as you are growing comes from intentional planning, sound processes, and a culture of accountability that drives disciplined execution on a daily basis.
At Cheetah, we’re building products and implementing services that make it easier for our clients to engage with us proactively, and we also make sure that no balls are dropped, that no cracks are left unfilled.
At 8 a.m. Eastern on every business day, every employee meets with their manager. They talk about wins and challenges. This is part of staying in touch with who we are and the roots of where we came from. If there’s a challenge that needs to be addressed, we know about it as an organization by 8:20 a.m.
Ninety-nine percent of the time there is nothing to address. But in the times that there are, we are on it. This creates daily accountability across our team. It creates discipline, and it allows us to grow while also maintaining our culture of high-quality service.
Maintaining good service even as you are growing comes from intentional planning, sound processes, and a culture of accountability that drives disciplined execution on a daily basis.
How is Cheetah helping its clients create a better consumer experience for their clients (the end client, or meta client)?
Brandon: In 2024, your clients are living hectic lives. Their kids are in travel sports. They’re taking care of elderly parents. They’re running board meetings and running their business. They’re living their lives to the fullest.
They expect you to be a full-service organization, one that delivers a frictionless client experience, so that they aren’t worrying about your business relationship while their standing on a soccer sideline.
First, you need systems that deliver a great portal experience along with enhanced security and compliance. That way, your clients know their data is accurate and protected.
Second, you need better processes for the client, and that comes with better workflow technology.
This industry is rife with bad processes and inefficiencies. When we meet with trust providers and talk about account opening, we find people are entering the same data 10-13 times. That’s not a good experience for anyone involved, especially the end client. If I’m opening an account with you and it’s difficult, I’m going to question whether you are the right firm to do business with.
We launched our workflow engine a few years ago. We started with account opening and are building out other workflows as well. The key result is reduced keystrokes and reduced human error. It delivers consistency and compliance in a process and it shortens the time it takes to bring a client onboard.
When you bring efficiency to your employees and processes, that translates to a better experience for your clients.
