Dynamics 365 Powers Financial Services Firm's Client Onboarding and Relationship Managment
Cross Point Capital prides itself on delivering the highest level of client service during the client onboarding process, but with a small staff and regulatory requirements, it was difficult to operate efficiently while keeping its client-centric ethos. New Dynamic’s Rapid Deployment Methodology for Dynamics 365 quickly captured Cross Point’s priorities and requirements, enabling a faster, more streamlined configuration, so the firm could keep up with new growth, without the risk of losing data – or the personal touch.
For Cross Point Capital, assessing downside risk and upside gains in financial markets is a core competency. Their clients depend on them to facilitate complex securities transactions with speed, accuracy, and confidence. They apply those same disciplines to all facets of their business, including their recent implementation of Dynamic 365.
The New York City-based boutique structured product bond broker makes trades on behalf of institutional clients worldwide. The firm seeks to set itself apart from others by leveraging its extensive network, deep product knowledge, and commitment to personalized client service.
Even though the firm has been open for just a short time, it’s grown quickly — which has meant new clients and new challenges – all at the same time.
“We’re adding new clients every week, and we have a very lean staff by design,” said Alex Navin, Cross Point’s Co-President and Managing Partner. “We want to make sure that every client interaction is personal, productive, and protected – meaning that all our data is backed up and secure.”
Before starting Cross Point, Navin worked at various trading desks around the world for one of the largest multinational investment banks, so he was accustomed to the extensive infrastructure and IT resources of a global corporation.
But as a startup, Cross Point had none of those systems in place at the beginning. The Cross Point team was tracking sales activity and managing the 15-step client on-boarding process manually, with spreadsheets, notes and email. They needed to streamline their client onboarding and relationship management resources, without missing a beat on current operations.
Cross Point embraced the Microsoft Dynamic 365 platform to collaborate internally and provide a central repository for data and required regulatory documents. Using New Dynamic’s D365 Rapid Deployment Methodology, Cross Point was able to implement a scalable and reliable client relationship management solutions, at a fraction of the budget that other much larger firms had proposed.
“We talked with several providers big and small, but New Dynamic stood out because they shared the same sense of urgency as we do, as well as the same commitment to excellence and value,” Navin said. “Their approach to Dynamics 365 design and delivery is practical, smart and cost effective.”
Pains & Gains
Pains
- Cross Point’s onboarding process was manual and time-consuming.
- Data and documents were stored in spreadsheets and email.
- Service levels and data integrity were at risk of degradation or loss.
Gains
- Cross Point Capital’s Dynamics 365 solution precisely tracks and stores the details of all client onboarding activities.
- Cross Point saves at least an hour of onboarding time for each new client.
- Client details and documents are secured and readily available for auditors and regulatory reporting.
Standing Out from Competitors, With Better Client Connections
In the highly competitive world of corporate financial services, Cross Point is dedicated to delivering a differentiated client service experience.
“We want to create rapport and relationships with our clients which means keeping careful track of every interaction, whether it was 5 days ago or 5 months ago,” Navin said. “We need complete client profiles that don’t just include notes from our last trade or transactions, but also the names of their family members, their favorite hobbies, and other interests that help us get to know them and serve them better.”
Cross Point focuses on trading Collateralized Loan Obligations (CLO) and Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities (CMBS) on behalf of financial institutions and large public or private corporations.
Using the Rapid Deployment Methodology – a framework for quick, initial deployments of Dynamics 365 – the New Dynamic team immersed itself in the business and workflow of Cross Point. Navin was impressed with the aptitude and speed of the team.
“Our products and services are complex, and that’s why we exist as a company, to help clients navigate these markets,” Navin said. “New Dynamic wasted no time learning, designing, and building what we needed. Their agile development, design sprints, and feedback loops worked very well for us.”
Bond trading tables were mapped to the primary sales forms in Dynamics 365. Opportunity fields were customized to capture client, product and market types. Teams and other collaboration tools were enabled to facilitate new client onboarding, document sharing and everyday transactions.
The client onboarding process that used to be done via email and spreadsheets, is now enabled with safely shared and stored documents that provide an audit trail for every step.
“We no longer have the nagging fear of broken spreadsheets, risk of data loss, or versioning problems,” Navin said. “We felt fragile before, but now feel solid and secure with our systems and the important information our clients have entrusted us with. It’s easier to share as a team, and work as a team.”
With a degree in engineering, Navin is meticulous in his analysis and preparation. Before hiring New Dynamic, he researched his options, tapped into his professional network, and did the necessary due diligence on potential vendors.
“New Dynamic simply presented as more knowledgeable, more responsive, and more credible than the other firms we looked at, including some of the biggest names in this space,” Navin said. “They got done in weeks, what others estimated would take months. They had a better plan and offered better value all the way around.”