We have all been in organisations where the Project Management Office are seen as an administrative body which slows down the rate of change insisting all “I’s” have been dotted and all “T’s” crossed. (e.g. all boxes must have been ticked before implementation into live). In APS, we believe that PMOs need to support, enable

We are seeing recent news articles highlighting that banks are poised to make a return into wealth management territory after having backed out as a result of the Retail Distribution Review (RDR). Banks are switching their emphasis from investments and high-street operations to wealth management. Some of the factors driving the decision are: the impact

APS have been awarded Asset & Wealth Management Consultancy of the year for 2021 – UK by the International Small Business awards Mark Blake, Director and Co-Founder at APS commented “we are delighted to accept this award, it shows the hard work our consultants and management team have put into supporting our Asset & Wealth

At this time of year most Financial Services businesses will be in the middle of agreeing their plans and budgets for 2022. For those who have legacy applications this will trigger the annual discussion about whether they should be replaced, or “patched up” for another year or 2. This year this discussion is likely to

We look into the how and why the importance of a Mission Statement using an Olympian Athlete as a model, a mission statement is the focal point of what a company, team or person is aiming to achieve.  Putting it into context using the greatest show on Earth (The Olympic Games) as the example and delving into specific disciplines (swimmers and rowers) set themselves a goal to break their personal bests. Their mission

Using trusted partners enables to provide depth and breadth in terms of value for the organisation.  Covid has accelerated the need for Asset & Wealth Managers to change from traditional ways of working and embrace the agile environment.  With new disruptive technologies gaining market share from traditional platforms in the industry, our Team at APS take

A company’s constant effort to drive its diversity and wellbeing couldn’t be more important in the ever-changing working landscape. As we all start to head back into offices there is strong evidence building that links employee diversity and wellbeing to a better and more positive performance for the organisation and for the individual. There is

Every industry creates an immense amount of data that can add value. However, most decision makers are constrained from fully embracing data-led decision making, due to a combination of poor processes and unsuitable technologies. Cloud-based software allows businesses to use their data without making massive changes or employing a huge workforce to interpret that data.

As we approach the end of H1 2021, what should Wealth & Asset Manager organisations have prioritised and are looking to deliver? APS will be diving deeper into each of the important subjects below over the coming weeks accompanied with some APS views and partner solutions Strengthening of current regulations within organisations needs to be

Recently, I was asked to write a blog about what it’s like working as a remote PMO and whilst I did consider going for the hour-by-hour breakdown of what I do and try to throw in an amusing observation or two about how my stairs aren’t as convenient as an escalator or how the coffee

So, here we are – a year on from furlough and a year on from not being in the office and one step closer to getting our vaccines and being able to see our friends and family again. And before you think anything…. Yes, this is another blog mentioning COVID and before you loose all

MSFT have announced Synapse Analytics and I predict that for most FS firms, especially Wealth & Asset Mgrs, it will become yet another MSFT bus that cloud competitors have to jump. AWS & GCP are going to need to deliver new “killer outcomes” rather than “my product is better than yours” to win big. Most

I attended LGIM’s excellent Resilience through Responsible Investing Webinar, where a Fund Manager described the process of dealing with ESG & Sustainable outcomes as a “data deluge”. I also learnt that ESG scoring is different to Credit Ratings as there is much greater divergence (see below). You manage what you measure but with Sustainable &

The IR35 myth………its not new. IR35 has been around since 1999, its not a new regulation only starting from April 2021, the change is that the liability is being moved from the contractor to the hiring organisation by HRMC, a clever move to shift the potential fines and liability to global organisations (who don’t need

The British Olympic Gold Medallist sprinter Linford Christie memorably quipped that he started his races not merely at the ‘bang’ of the starting pistol, but at ‘The B of the Bang’. Wise words indeed. Anyone developing software in the cloud should do a Linford and prioritise cloud security from their own “B of the bang”

Sustainability & its cousin ESG both give us a “why” that appeals and inspires. The transition from shareholder to stakeholder capitalism is long overdue and I am delighted with the Investment industry’s rapidly growing focus on ESG, Sustainability & carbon footprint reduction. Covid19 has also shown that to bring about accelerated change, there needs to

As the New Year kicks in after a family oriented and quiet Christmas, we still find ourselves being mandated to stay at home, not to socialise and follow the rules to keep safe. The desk in the spare room which has been converted into the office does not have the appeal it had at the

If you’re anything like me and you love getting in the Christmas spirit you will have welcomed Christmas decorations making their appearance in people’s homes on the first weekend of November, others I know will not share this mindset at all… ‘Bah Humbug’ I say! Christmas seems to be approaching rather more quickly than we

Well this year our forecast and planning when we sat down in January 2020 didn’t go as expected at APS; like many organisations across the UK and globally. Who could plan for a global pandemic? Maybe Mystic Meg (sorry for those of you who don’t know the very insightful Mystic Meg……) . So what did

Firstly, digital learning has been around for some time however the onset of COVID-19 has accelerated the need for organisations to better understand their learning landscape and in effect to bring learning to where the user is in a multitude of ways. In this blog I hope to simply how corporate learning has changed and

I’m, sadly, old enough to remember VisiCalc the original spreadsheet programme which long predates the recently infamous Excel which has caused so much grief for NHS Track and Trace.  Visicalc ran on the Apple 2 and Steve Jobs was quoted as saying that “Visicalc propelled the success of Apple more than any other single event”. 

I’m 57 ☹ but inspired by Michael Jordan’s “Last Dance” – I too fancied a last work shot at having fun, making an impact & being challenged, but lacked Michael’s outrageous talents & huge bank balance! I’ve worked flat out since ’87 for 4 large FS firms, including 10y of overnight support & 30y of a daily 3.5h

We have had a few calls with clients and consultants who have asked why have APS recently launched our certified training courses? Take a look at some of the reasons why we wanted to run courses in the UK. Providing training courses for your staff helps maintain visibility and supports your staff with belonging (a

APS took the strategic decision to embrace Slack at the start of 2020, the collaboration capability of Slack was the key driver for the adoption.  But with the global coronavirus situation, it really was a catalyst for APS to fully utilise Slack across our organisation. Slack has become our one stop shop where we get

With Business as Usual for most organisations having now settled, how do you innovate yourself out of COVID-19 while costs are under closer scrutiny and staff are now working remotely? With many organisations trying to work out current business issues or undertake a review of their organisational direction and digital transformation, all while innovating their

Is now the time to start looking at your current systems and operational costs and looking to save on those with a robust infrastructure, that is appropriately equipped with a fully integrated, scalable and future-proofed infrastructure, for example, order management, portfolio management and risk management into a single platform. This can deliver comprehensive sets of