Premises too are in high demand in certain locations. Aside from the location and dependent on the number of functions being transferred, will the business require specific facilities and infrastructure?
Seek long-term partnerships
Part of acknowledging what you’re good at is understanding where firms need to look to others to deliver the services they require to meet client mandates.
This is no Brexit dilemma, but identifying the right third-party relationships is important and will likely be part of the business-as-usual outsourcing decisions.
Ultimately, building new European partnerships will be key to maintaining third-party services.
New suppliers or vendors may be needed depending on whether existing vendors are not looking to offer a service for EU27 clients from a European location.
As part of Brexit planning, existing service partners should be asked to provide their plans in the event of a hard Brexit.
This move provides firms with an opportunity to review what is core to their service offering and maintain existing client relationships, as that support will facilitate the build out of new EU27-based client business.
Best-laid plans often go awry
UK firms might not have existing exposure to EU27 investors today, or in eight months’ time, but that does not mean firms should not prepare for it.
As wealth managers increasingly grow through acquisition, the likelihood of acquiring a new book of business that includes EU27 investors is high.
Wealth managers and adviser firms could suddenly find themselves in-scope for Brexit-compliance, but without the infrastructure and legal and operational business processes to support them.
As part of a long-term strategic view on where a firm wants to be in five or 10 years’ time, this comes down to leaving as many options open as possible and not jeopardising what could be a straightforward M&A process as and when it arises.
It is becoming clear that cutting through the relentless tsunami of political headlines makes realistic and costed Brexit contingency planning difficult to do – and implement.
One thing that appears certain is that the UK’s exit from the EU will happen.
It is easy to get caught up in the political debate over the reality of a hard versus soft Brexit, but irrespective of what the UK’s exit from the EU looks like, becoming Brexit-ready needs to cover multiple touch points – including operational, staffing and third-party suppliers, and following these six steps should help progress that conversation with your internal stakeholders.
Linda Gibson is director of regulatory change and compliance at BNY Mellon's Pershing
