After acquiring Amicus Wealth, 7IM turned to Jigsaw Tree to take on income reconciliation and statement collection. Three years on, its in-house team has the space to focus on complex technical work, with full transparency over its data.

A new chapter

Seven Investment Management (7IM) is one of the UK’s most recognised investment management firms. It serves both advisers and private clients, with a philosophy built on transparency, long-term thinking and doing the right thing.

When 7IM acquired Amicus Wealth, the business stepped away from a traditional network setup with Quilter and into a new group structure. Familiar processes needed rethinking: how income would be processed, how advisers would be set up and supported and how everyone would work in a very different environment. We worked closely with James Harley, better known as Harley, their Group Real Estate and Strategic Director and he shared their key focus from the start:

“One of the key challenges was to make sure that we could replicate the previous setup to the world that we’re now operating in today.”

– Harley,  Group Real Estate and Strategic Director, 7IM

7IM wanted to move from a traditional network approach to income reconciliation to an outsourced provider, one that could help support advisers and their teams in the new environment. That is where Jigsaw Tree came in.

Choosing to outsource

Around three years ago, 7IM approached Jigsaw Tree with a challenge around income reconciliation on Commpay, part of the Iress suite of solutions. For Harley, the decision to look outside the business came from an honest assessment of where the team stood.

“What convinced us that outsourcing was the right way to go was knowing that having a specialist third party had already had the infrastructure, the resources and the know-how to be able to support us externally.”

Building on solid foundations

The early work focused on getting the basics right. 7IM faced several data integrity challenges at the outset and Jigsaw Tree helped to triage that data so the team could look at it in a more structured way.

Over time, the scope of the relationship grew. Provider statement chasing was a natural next step. It sounds straightforward, but each provider has its own rules. Some statements are retrieved from portals, some arrive directly into Iress and others come as paper or PDFs. Pulling it all together is a heavy admin burden. With Jigsaw Tree already processing the income, it made sense for them to collect the statements too.

“Removing that resource burden on the team allows them to dig into the more technical aspects of the role, which made much more logical sense to us as a business.”

Transparency at every level

For 7IM, outsourcing never meant losing sight of its data. Using Smartsheet, both teams share a clear, open view of progress, so information can be checked whenever it’s needed, all the way up to the Chief Financial Officer. As Harley told us;

“I report directly into our Chief Financial Officer. He has access to Smartsheet and he uses it as a benchmark to see where we are so far in the month. It’s good to just have that top-down approach and transparency across a business.”

Process mapping added another layer of clarity. After living inside the process for so long, stepping back with Jigsaw Tree to look at it end to end gave Harley and 7IM a fresh perspective.

“What the process mapping gave me was a chance to look everything from a bird’s eye view. Taking a step back with Jigsaw Tree and the team pulling that all together makes you really reevaluate those blockers, those pinch points in the process and where efficiency gain can be added.”

Trust that extends beyond the brief

When 7IM needed support with its agency project, a piece of work that sat alongside income reconciliation and was integral to completing the integration, the choice of partner was already clear.

“To use Jigsaw Tree again for the agency piece project was a big decision but quite an easy decision because we’ve got a tried and tested relationship… there’s trust there.”

Innovating together with Eddie

As 7IM looked to send more work Jigsaw Tree’s way, the two teams talked through how to handle the extra volume. Jigsaw Tree’s AI agent, Eddie, is built on a different platform from the one 7IM uses. So instead of forcing new capability into the existing solution, they split out the statement conversion and bank statement processing workflows. That conversation sparked something new; Eddie Prep!

“Eddie Prep really ignited the thought process between Harley and I in terms of how we could certainly drive some greater innovation and efficiency by splitting out that part of the solution.”

– Chris Baigent-Reed, Jigsaw Tree

What makes it work

For Harley what he was looking for in a partner was clear. A strong third-party relationship rests on a few non-negotiables: strong management and leadership, a clear escalation point, transparency over data, accountability when issues arise and a shared sense of vision.

“A company that’s going somewhere and they’re always looking to adapt and better themselves and to look forward. That’s one of our pillars that we stand on. That’s been a natural fit for Jigsaw Tree.”

It’s a feeling that goes both ways.

“What we love about 7IM is their honesty, integrity and the innovation that they bring into the relationship.”

– Chris Baigent-Reed, Jigsaw Tree

Looking ahead

Three years on, the relationship continues to grow. For other firms weighing up their options, Harley’s advice is clear.

“I’d say outsourcing should always be considered as an option. It’s about giving the internal teams here at 7IM, the chance and space to grow. Having a specialist like Jigsaw Tree was just a natural progression.”

Thinking about outsourcing your income reconciliation? Talk to Jigsaw Tree.