Dru Holmquist
Consulting Principal - Distribution and Client Operations
Dru Holmquist has over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. He has developed expertise across asset management distribution, investment management, and wealth management technology and operations. Dru is a successful senior leader with a deep track record of collaboration initiation, strategy design, team building, program management and process innovation. He has conducted strategy programs for CRM, client mastering, data architecture, client reporting, client onboarding, trading, research, and portfolio management capabilities. His knowledge spans the equities, fixed income, municipals, commodities, private debt, private equity, real estate, farmland, agri-business, and timber management sectors, as well as the following vehicle types: Mutual Funds, Closed-end Funds, ETFs, UCITs, UITs, Institutional Separate Accounts, SMAs (traditional, dual contract and models), LPs, 529 Plans and REITs.
Prior to joining Cutter Associates, Dru served as Managing Director of Technology for Nuveen Advisory Services, the business organization responsible for delivering the investment and asset management expertise of Nuveen. Dru was responsible for all business applications and technology that supported the Sales, Client Service, Marketing, Product and Fund Administration business teams. He oversaw the deployment of Salesforce as a CRM application, that unified multiple investment manager affiliates by redesigning the lead generation process, sales pipeline stages, sales reporting, distribution analytics, marketing analytics, and client engagement model. In addition, Dru implemented a product and account master, and initiated the business case to begin a client master effort. He was the technology leader that owned the business transformation efforts for the advisory services organization.
When to Begin Writing Commentary
At most firms, commentary processes typically kick off in earnest just after the reporting period ends. Yet, forward-thinking client reporting leaders know it’s best to start earlier. An early bird approach proves less burdensome by dividing the workload into manageable parts and extending it over a broader timeline. However, implementing this strategy requires coordination and upfront planning.
The diagram below illustrates this principle. Initiating the commentary process early enables a smoother distribution of effort across the timeline. In practice, this reduces any intense workload spikes, which can create stress for those tasked with writing the commentary. Distributing the workload more evenly lessens stress and streamlines the commentary's production and distribution.
Starting earlier makes it less stressful and helps distribute client reports faster. And who doesn’t like faster?
The diagram below describes how client reporting managers can optimize the work on commentary throughout the period.
Commentary Best Practices
Following consultations with several clients, Cutter has developed a concise list of client reporting best practices. Because we’re focused on enhancing commentary, we’ll explore the essential do’s and don'ts to effectively use bullet points and paragraphs.
Commentary Do’s & Don’ts
Paragraphs vs. Bullets
In advising clients on the nuances of their commentary, we have identified a trend where managers occasionally employ questionable methods in formatting their text. To address this, we provide guidance on how to select between paragraphs and bullet points to elevate your commentary to the highest standard of excellence.
The upshot is that you should use paragraphs to connect multiple thoughts or tell a story and rely on bullet points when you want to present detail-level bits that can be digested quickly.
Who Should Write Commentary
Who should write commentary? It’s an age-old debate! Let’s review some of the pros and cons of assigning commentary responsibilities to the available roles.
While it’s most common to involve client portfolio managers, the choice of who should write commentary depends on your organization’s specific needs and structure.
Advancing Your Report Commentary
Interested in improving your client reporting commentary strategy? Drop us a note to discuss the challenges your firm is facing and how Cutter can help.