Skip to content 
Overview
Growth is a welcome challenge, but it can quickly expose weaknesses in operational infrastructure. For the COO of a $2 billion asset management firm, rapid growth revealed that the firm’s GIPS compliance program had become too dependent on one employee and was not designed to support its next stage of growth.
The question was operational as much as it was compliance-driven: how could the firm maintain Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®) compliance, meet verification requirements, and continue growing without pulling key resources away from trading, client service, and business development?
The Challenge
As client assets and account volumes increased, the firm’s GIPS program struggled to keep pace, creating pressure on verification timelines, internal capacity, and the firm’s ability to scale without adding operational complexity.
A single senior employee was responsible for trading activities and the firm’s GIPS compliance program. When verification work began falling behind schedule, leadership recognized a broader issue.
The firm’s compliance framework depended too heavily on one individual. This created:
- Significant key-person risk
- Delays in verification preparation
- Operational inefficiencies
- Challenges supporting future growth
The COO needed a solution that would not divert resources away from trading, client service, or business development.
The Decision
Building an internal team would require recruiting, onboarding and retaining highly specialized talent.
Rather than building a specialized internal function from the ground up, the firm selected ACA’s outsourced Head of GIPS model to access immediate expertise, reduce execution risk, and create a more scalable operating model.
ACA assumed responsibility for:
- Composite maintenance
- Policy documentation
- Day-to-day GIPS program management
- Ongoing compliance oversight
- Verification readiness support
The approach avoided the costs and delays associated with internal hiring while providing specialist support the firm needed.
The Outcome
The engagement created a more resilient performance operating model, reducing dependency on one employee, keeping the GIPS program moving on schedule, and giving internal teams more capacity to focus on investment management, client service, and growth.
The asset manager gained:
- A fully managed GIPS compliance program
- Consistent, defensible performance reporting
- Reduced key-person dependency
- Improved operational efficiency
- More time for internal teams to focus on investment management and client relationships
The firm continues to partner with ACA and has expanded the engagement through 2026, using Managed Performance Services (MPS) as an ongoing part of its operating model rather than a one-time remediation project.
Following onboarding, ACA maintained 100% adherence to the agreed service levels for this engagement, supporting uninterrupted reporting and operational continuity.
Why It Matters
For COOs facing growth-related operational pressure, outsourced GIPS administration can reduce key-person dependency, support verification readiness, and create a more scalable performance infrastructure without forcing the firm to expand headcount.
Build a performance reporting model that can scale with your firm. ACA’s MPS can help reduce key-person risk, strengthen GIPS compliance, and give your team more capacity to focus on clients and growth.