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Are you involved in the portfolio manager/regulatory commentary process? By that we mean MRFPs, financial statements, monthly, quarterly and semi-annual commentaries, and annual reports. If so, you know that timelines are tight and extra rounds of review can derail the project.
To help you make the process as efficient as possible, we’ve put together a list of seven tips that could save you hours. They’re easy to implement and you’ll see results immediately.
1. Know your benchmarks
A fund’s official benchmark may not be the one that your portfolio manager used during the period, especially if it is sub-advised. Getting that right before reviews is an easy win.
2. Heads up!
Let everyone – portfolio managers, analysts, project managers and your compliance team – know their timelines well in advance, and then remind them again a few days before the process gets underway.
3. Use the right language
Don’t send copy to compliance that won’t be accepted. That means removing investing jargon and overly technical terms like “risk on/risk off,” “headwind/tailwind,” “hawkish/dovish” and “when rates backed up.” We can help you find suitable alternatives that an average investor would understand.
4. Think about repetition
Does every single fund need a different outlook? It’s important to spend some time on that question because if you choose “No” you could cut down on a significant amount of work by repurposing copy.
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5. Shorter is better
Tight copy that gets to the point will always win. Your readers will appreciate your brevity if it helps them get a better picture of what happened over the period.
6. Know your reporting period
Six-month marketing commentaries and MRFPs can be a problem because investment teams are more familiar with quarterly and annual reviews. In your communications leading up to the project, explain the time period in bold typeface.
7. Create a style guide
Does your firm write sector names with an uppercase or lowercase letter (e.g., the Energy sector or the energy sector)? Does your firm use a serial comma or not? If everyone is on the same page, reviewing will take less time.
There you have it: seven simple ideas that can save you hours. We’ll return to this topic from time to time throughout the year, so keep checking our blog and social media for more insights.