Industrial and Commercial Operations Management

Operations Management

Group Project II

IMBA Sept- Group H

Jan Rene Aguirre

Evan Gold

Nitin Sharma

Niccolo Bacchi

Evelyn Karokora

Carol Lam

              Carlos Chamorro

Process Description

1. The Financial Advisors (FA) explain the different products to clients and, according to their investment objectives, help them identify the product that best matches their objectives. The Financial advisors only give advice based on their expertise but the ultimate decision is made by the clients who rarely disagree with the advisor.
2. Thereafter, the FA helps the client, if new, in the next phase of filling out forms for example the ‘Know your Client’ (KYC) form, through Client Services, which includes personal information and a product specific form including the terms and conditions.
3. Input: The client is then given the necessary banking information to deposit their Investment. No cash is accepted and each of the different Unit Trust Funds (UTF) has a separate bank account. The clients’ worth of investment deposited is the most important input in the process. Units are then issued to the investor depending on how much they invested and the day’s price per unit of the fund (i.e. number of units = amount invested/price per unit on day of investment).
4. Once the deposit is made, the trustee confirms the payment by email and the Fund manager and Finance manager who have access to the software double check to confirm the funds. Ideally, every day before closure of Business the fund manager checks if there are funds to be invested the next day. This is important in order to meet the client’s investment expectations by investing the funds immediately. Upon confirmation of funds, arrangements are made for investment the very next day.
5. The Investment Analysts (IA) are always monitoring the market for the most competitive rates for investment. The funds are then invested according to the recommendations of the analysts at the best possible rates and according to the fund specific objectives. An investment instruction is then prepared after the IA confirms the best rates in the market for Investment.
6. The investment instruction stating the UTF name, asset class and rate of investment, is signed by the Finance manager and the Fund manager and then sent to the Trustee who confirms all details and ensures all details of the investment order are in line with the Fund specific objectives.
7. The Trustee then sends back a copy of the investment order with a stamp confirming receipt and the time received. Timing is important because the transaction must be executed before midday when the trading of assets in the market closes. The trustee then follows up the investment to ensure that it is rightfully done.
8. Upon confirming that the transaction has been successful, the analyst updates the excel template where the funds are managed. He carefully puts in the amount invested on that day and the rates of investment. Other details like the price per unit and the Net Asset Value of the funds are then adjusted accordingly. This is also done daily as the price per unit changes daily depending on the amounts invested that day and the daily price movements.
9. Output: At the end of the month, clients receive a report on how their portfolios are doing. The report states the investor’s Initial investment, number of units purchased and then compares the price at which he/she bought against the price of each unit at the end of the month. When the price per unit is higher than the price at which the investor purchased units it is a good indicator to the client for growth in their portfolio.
10. The Client then decides whether to hold, invest more or sell some of his units, depending on his needs and objectives and their portfolio performance.  

2. Process Type: This is a linear Process as illustrated in Exhibit 1. The Highlighted path in the throughput time, as illustrated in Exhibit 1, is key because any delays in investing the clients’ funds after deposit could hurt their return. Interdependency of activities is sequential and in order to ensure reliable execution of clients’ investments, timeliness is important. The process also helps in ensuring quality service delivery by meeting or exceeding client expectations on return on Investment.