Minneapolis-based Compass Capital Management calls Ridgeline “the next big thing” for investment management industry. They are the most recent firm to go live on Ridgeline’s front-to-back cloud platform, citing higher confidence in data and the ability to reallocate talent to more valuable work as top reasons for the switch.
After more than two decades on its previous systems, Compass Capital Management is the latest firm to transition to Ridgeline, the industry cloud platform for investment management.
Compass found Ridgeline when looking for solutions to automate trading and improve client reports. “We realized we could accomplish those goals and have the opportunity to start from scratch and put everything in one backbone — that was the appeal,” says Chief Operating Officer Phil Stern.
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Ridgeline’s single, front-to-back platform and unified data model was a refreshing alternative to “a l******* of trying to reconcile different systems and a ton of cost,” says Stern. “We don’t like technology for the sake of it, but we are very interested in tech that can help us be efficient, and that provides a return on investment.”
Another advantage Stern anticipated was the improved data quality through Ridgeline’s single book of record approach. “Having more confidence in our data, reducing errors — that’s the biggest impact.”
For Compass President and Senior Portfolio Manager Chris Kelley, the move enables the firm’s ambitious growth goals by helping reallocate talent from mundane tasks to more mission-critical work. “It’s really about repurposing time — where can we have people doing higher value work for the firm? There are a number of ways we can get some time back with Ridgeline, and that’s the excitement for us.”
As an early customer, Compass has enjoyed being part of Ridgeline’s forward-thinking community. “We took a bet on the people, and it paid off. Every person we’ve interacted with is massively impressive,” says Stern. This includes Ridgeline’s alliance partners, such as MD Solutions, who provided operational support during Compass’s transition. “They know our old system and Ridgeline, so they’ve been really good partners. They add a lot of value.”
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Ridgeline’s unique talent blend of innovative technologists and seasoned domain experts was key to building confidence among the Compass team. “We would never trust a tech-only company, and an industry-only company can’t think outside the box enough to really revolutionize software for this field. So it had to be a combination of the two,” says Kelley.
Stern agrees that Ridgeline is what the industry has been waiting for, saying, “Nobody has been able to do what Ridgeline is doing. The revolution is exciting.”
Ridgeline Co-CEO Dave Blair says, “Compass has been an excellent early partner to Ridgeline, providing valuable feedback in the development of multiple features. We look forward to helping them achieve their growth goals efficiently and serving them for years to come.”
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