Kurtosys build mobile platform app as part of Legg Mason’s focus on growing their British market
Legg Mason, Inc. is one of the globe’s largest asset managers, focused purely on money management. Over 100 years of experience have helped refine its investment expertise and world class distribution resources.
Founded:
Founded in Baltimore, Maryland in 1899.
Location:
Global network of offices in 18 countries, including the US, Canada, UK and France.
Principal Affiliates:
Western Asset Management (Fixed Income), Permal Group (Fund of Hedge Fund), Royce and Associates (Small-Cap), ClearBridge Advisors (Equity), Legg Mason Capital Management (Equity Value), Brandywine Global (Fixed Income, Equity) and Batterymarch (Quantitative)
Assets:
US$663 Billion of assets under management.*
Kurtosys solutions used:
* As at 30 June 2011.
Results:
- A mobile app for iPhone, Android and Blackberry delivered in less than 2 weeks.
- An app incorporating the latest digital functionality including video, webcasts, fund prices, push messages and flash updates.
- Marketing stand-out, helping Legg Mason to tap into the growing trend towards the cost-effective mobile channel and successfully differentiate themselves with clients.
- A fully integrated platform that enables investors to track their investments on-the-go.
- Enhanced Legg Mason’s value proposition for an increasingly demanding clientele.
Key Success Factors:
- The mass repeatability of the Kurtosys Mobile Platform which allowed the whole app to be developed in under 2 weeks.
- Access to highly specialised and gifted mobile technology engineers within Kurtosys’ Manila offices.
- The innovative technology behind the Kurtosys Mobile platform. Kurtosys are the first software engineering firm in the UK fund management industry to offer this service.
- A unique combination of digital expertise and asset management industry experience, bringing all the benefits of cutting edge technology with an appreciation of the compliance and security issues bespoke to financial providers.
"There has been huge growth in smart phone usage over the last year and asset managers need to keep up with this growth. With the launch of the Legg Mason app, we aim to make accessing our content and fund information even easier for our clients, especially those regularly on the move."
Mike Evans, Head of International Marketing at Legg Mason Global Asset Management
Legg Mason, Inc. is one of the world’s best regarded asset managers. Drawing on over 100 years of experience and a singular focus on money management, it has grown to become the 8th largest manager of institutional assets worldwide[ii].
The most distinctive feature of Legg Mason is its specialised approach to managing money. It owns a range of investment management businesses which each concentrate on their own specific area of expertise. This means that investors, far from being restricted to a single asset class or manager, can choose from a whole array of potential investments.
It’s an approach that has led Legg Mason to talk about the importance of “having a specialist in your corner, an expert at your side”[iii] and it was just that type of specialist support that Legg Mason were looking for when they asked Kurtosys to create a mobile app that would allow their investors to check fund prices, monitor investments and keep up to date with the latest news, all on-the-go at just the touch of a button.
Situation
Legg Mason began 2011 with a clear aim to raise its profile in British markets. Investors outside of America already account for c. 35% of the firm’s assets but targets are in place to grow this to over 50%[iv].
Within British markets, relationships with local asset management firms, private wealth managers and stockbrokers have traditionally been strong but the objective is to broaden this out and increase the focus on IFAs, Life Assurance and platform networks.
Legg Mason are firmly committed to investing in sales, client services and marketing in order to continue the positive momentum established during 2010, but achieving stand-out can be hard is a crowded market place that offers little scope for differentiation.
Having watched smart phone usage grow by 70% during 2010, revolutionising the way in which information was consumed, Legg Mason knew it was time to use digital technology to enhance their client engagement. Today’s customers want information to be instant, interactive and constantly available. Capitalising on this growing trend would make accessing their content and fund information easier and more engaging so, having conducted a review of potential suppliers, Legg Mason commissioned a mobile app supported by the Kurtosys Mobile platform.
[ii] Source: Pensions and Investments, 31 December 2009.
[iii] http://www.leggmason.co.uk/pdf/press_room/corporate_overview.pdf
[iv] http://www.fundweb.co.uk/features/focus/american-giant-has-the-legs-to-run/1024089.article
Solution
Thanks to its rightsourcing approach to securing the very best of global talent, Kurtosys was able to quickly assemble a project team that combined the highly specialised skills of gifted mobile technology engineers in the Manila office with design and project management expertise in London.
This ‘best of both worlds’ approach is one of the features that sets Kurtosys apart from the pack. Managing the design process from London meant that the app was developed by designers with exceptional market knowledge and a first-hand appreciation of the way modern consumers use smart phones to stay in touch. The Manila operation, meanwhile, gave access to some of the world’s most technologically advanced engineers and also allowed us to ‘work the time zone’ to design and create the app in record time.
Kurtoys mobile was developed with convenience and simplicity in mind. Its seamless links to content management systems mean that asset managers can offer superior customer service with a minimal increase in operational burden. Kurtosys met with Legg Mason to establish their key objectives for the app and discuss exactly how their existing web content could be leveraged for the mobile platform, removing the need for duplicated effort and onerous workflows.
From there, it was a smooth path through development to launch, with the whole process expertly managed by Kurtosys’ project management team. The app was built to be compatible with Apple iOS, Android and Blackberry, avoiding the cost of developing bespoke apps for each operating system.
Reception of the app amongst the asset management community has been good and both competitors and the US arm of Legg Mason are now considering the creation of their own mobile apps. Meanwhile, for the UK end of the business, the app will continue to go from strength to strength. It has been built to be fully scalable, allowing robust and secure growth of the site in line with business need. The addition of interactive graphics and fund performance figures are next on the horizon.
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