16 Nov Client story: Investment Management Company FLORNOY & Associés Gestion on the JUMP Front-to-Back solution

Interview of:

Mile Wang

Head of IS and middle office

Context and business needs of Flornoy & Associés Gestion 

Mile Wang: At the start of 2012, when we filed our application for approval by the AMF (French Financial Markets Authority), our Managing Director was already a believer in the importance of a PMS from the get-go, a conviction grained from many years spent leading investment management companies that were subsidiaries of major banks and mutual funds. However, this is not necessarily a decision/choice that all entrepreneurs need to make starting out. The challenge was not whether to go ahead, but which solution to use. Our Managing Director had the opportunity to see the JUMP project go through the asset management section of FINANCE INNOVATION’s labelling committee in 2010. At the time, JUMP was still a start-up, but the project stood out from the crowd and Didier immediately saw the benefits of the solution for our wealth and fund management approval application. We are now one of their oldest clients, the eighth oldest in order of arrival. Didier also identified the scalable potential of the platform as he realized the negative consequences that could affect the company if the platform was unable to scale up or progress fast enough to meet the needs of entrepreneurs – given their need for flexibility in order to take advantage of opportunities. ” 

Gains observed with the JUMP Front-to-Back solution

A solution tailored to expanding entrepreneurial management companies

Mile Wang: “I think we need to tell the story of our company to understand the significance of JUMP’s role in our development. FLORNOY is a family-run firm whose history is closely linked to the Paris stock market. The company was founded in 1819 and is still going strong today albeit through a rebranding under the name FLORNOY & Associés Gestion. We continue to promote the values of our founders who paved the way, while returning to the fundamentals of discretionary management. We serve our clients, whether private individuals or non-profits, from one of our four offices in Paris, Marseilles, Geneva and Brussels with investment solutions ranging from discretionary investment management and dedicated wealth funds to multi-management in open architecture. We are flexible and work with several custodians (depositories and appraisers) in France, Belgium, Switzerland and Luxembourg; several French and Luxembourger life insurers; and with our two entities within the group: the parent company governed by EU rules and our subsidiary in Switzerland.  It’s easy to be confused” 

Mile Wang: “I think that the promises of flexibility, local focus, and open architecture were made possible by early investments and can be more significant than in investment management companies of equal size elsewhere. Obviously, JUMP has a key role in such investments. We have managed to achieve uniformity in what we offer and our level of service within the group, with strong operational convergence. As such, there is a single repository for instruments, portfolios, configuration of commercial conditions and management constraints.  There is also one single process for placing orders, ensuring our Portfolio Managers can remain focused on their work and not have to worry about the multi-step process.  Our account managers can suggest a given custodian for the client based on their interests, and not merely to simplify things for us. This would not have been possible without a PMS like JUMP, as it means we don’t have to rely on custodian and fund valuer tools to unify data and control operations.” 

A partnership on good terms

Mile Wang: “I have no hesitation giving feedback to JUMP about my experience and any changes we would like to see in the software. Of course, Of course, as with any functionally rich software used for business as complex as ours, users may experience some problems (due to a lack of knowledge regarding the subtleties of the program); however, what’s most important   is that we are listened to and any incidents are resolved rapidly. And in this respect, they are extremely proactive. I have JUMP Helpdesk phone number on speed dial and do not hesitate to use it.”