Enhancing RIA Operations: The Case for Outsourcing Managed IT Services

As an executive within a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) firm, your main focuses are to deliver value to clients, manage risk, drive growth, and gain insights into industry trends that align with your firm’s needs.  

With such diverse responsibilities ranging from those of a Chief Operations Officer (COO) or Director of Operations to overseeing compliance and IT functions, your workload is undoubtedly substantial. However, by partnering with the right Managed Service Provider (MSP), you can effectively lighten the load while optimizing operations and maintaining your competitive edge. 

Read on as we delve into how some of the major challenges RIAs face can be alleviated by outsourcing managed IT services to a leading MSP like Agio. 

What’s Holding You Back 

Most RIA executives like yourself aspire to operate in a state of seamless efficiency, where your firm’s IT infrastructure is robust, compliance tasks are effortlessly managed, and resources are utilized optimally to drive growth.  

However, several factors often hinder you from achieving this ideal state. These include: 

• Limited Resources: You often find yourself constrained by limited resources, impacting your ability to fully support your RIA’s IT infrastructure needs. 
• Overwhelmed Employees: Routine IT tasks may fall on the shoulders of the most tech-savvy person in the office, overwhelming you and compromising your core business infrastructure.  This is especially difficult if you lack an in-house IT team or dedicated IT personnel. 
• Wearing Multiple Hats: Staff within RIAs often wear multiple hats, with the operations person possibly handling IT and even compliance duties all at once. Juggling these diverse responsibilities hampers your ability to specialize in any one area, particularly IT. Moreover, if your current MSP is often inaccessible, you’re left burdened as the point of contact (POC), facing issues like lack of transparency or incomplete tasks. These situations can significantly divert your time and energy away from your primary responsibilities. 
• Overworked IT Staff: Your existing IT staff may be overworked. As a result, this limits their capacity to maximize their value to your organization. With evolving SEC guidelines and cyber risk management rules, it’s easy for IT professionals to get overwhelmed and potentially lose track of the current guidelines. 
• Your Current MSP Falls Short: You might notice that your current MSP isn’t keeping up with your needs anymore. A lot of RIAs, like yours, turn to local MSPs, but you outgrow them all too fast. You need a solution that fits just right, and scales with you. Sometimes, your current provider grows too big too fast, maybe through mergers or acquisitions, and their service quality starts slipping. It’s about time you found a solution that’s more tailored to what you need and can rely on as you keep growing. 

These are just a few of the many factors that are potentially inhibiting your firm and RIA IT infrastructure. To solve these problems, consider reevaluating your outsourcing strategy. 

An MSP Has Your Back 

When facing these obstacles holding you and your firm back from growth, outsourcing is your best bet. Partnering with the right MSP grants your business cost savings, access to financial services expertise, and increased flexibility to focus on core activities. The right MSP can fill your resource gaps, alleviating burdens for executives and empowering IT staff to focus on driving business growth and seizing new opportunities.  

Agio, as your trusted MSP, understands the specific challenges you face. As a consolidation of managed IT and cybersecurity services, Agio goes beyond “just IT” and offers an approach that includes dedicated tech providers with a deeper bench of cyber services. As the MSP to a $800 million RIA firm, Agio is equipped and prepared to carve out solutions for your firm. With Agio as a part of your team, you will no longer have gaps in your service, as the 24x7x365 services will allow you to be informed and secure.  

Let’s dive deeper into the benefits of outsourcing managed IT services: 

• A Happier, Less Overwhelmed Staff: Outsourcing routine IT tasks allows your internal staff, including you, to focus on more valuable development roles. As a result, you will be more satisfied and productive rather than spreading yourself too thin. Agio becomes an extension of your team, handling the day-to-day IT operations efficiently. 
• Fewer Instances of Failure and Human Error: Managed IT services from Agio provide proactive monitoring and maintenance. You will reduce the risk of system failures. As your internal IT has less on their plate, you will also eliminate the potential for human error. This ensures a more stable and secure IT environment for your RIA firm.  
• Using Skilled Employees Effectively: Acknowledge the expertise of your skilled IT employees. With a partner like Agio, you can easily outsource mundane tasks. Therefore, your in-house professionals can focus on higher-value tasks. Rather than being bogged down by routine IT tasks, they can contribute to your business growth and development. 

Let Agio Carry the Weight 

Outsourcing managed IT services offers an opportunity to overcome resource limitations and capitalize on operations. By leveraging Agio, you will enhance RIA’s IT infrastructure, reduce the risk of errors, and empower your internal IT staff to contribute more effectively to your business growth and development.  

Agio stands out as the top choice for sophisticated investment managers, and it’s worth noting that we’re also a preferred partner of Schwab. Agio offers SEC Cybersecurity Governance Program for proactive cybersecurity corresponding with SEC regulations. 

With Agio, you have both integration and coordination, pushing your organization ahead of cyber threats. The goal is to provide peace of mind for your data, your people, and your reputation. Contact us today.