Asset Management Firm

Strengthening IT Security and Enhancing Data Management for an Asset Management Firm

Client Overview

A mid-sized asset management firm handling investment portfolios for high-net-worth individuals and institutional clients. With a growing client base and increasing regulatory scrutiny, the firm needed to modernize its IT infrastructure, improve data security, and ensure seamless compliance with financial regulations.

Challenges

1. Cybersecurity and data protection risks:
   • Handling sensitive financial data. The firm was a prime target for phishing and cyberattacks.
   • Existing security measures lacked real-time monitoring, increasing the risk of data breaches.
   • No encryption policies were in place for client records and financial transactions.
2. Regulatory and compliance pressures:
   • Struggled to maintain compliance with SEC, FINRA, and GDPR due to manual reporting processes.
   • Lacked an automated system for tracking data access, making audits time-consuming and inefficient.
   • Data storage practices did not meet best-in-class encryption and security standards.
3. IT infrastructure and operational bottlenecks:
   • Outdated, on-premise servers resulted in slow performance and limited scalability.
   • Introduced data remote monitoring & management (RMM), resolving IT issues before they disrupted operations.
   • Manual data reconciliation processes slowed portfolio analysis and client reporting.

Axiom’s solution

Axiom implemented a secure, scalable, and compliant IT framework to safeguard client data, streamline compliance, and enhance operational efficiency:

1. Cybersecurity and threat management:
   • Deployed a 24/7 security operations center (SOC) with real-time monitoring, reducing security incident response times to under 15 minutes.
   • Implemented multi-factor authentication (MFA) and end-to-end encryption to protect financial transactions and client records.
   • Introduced dark web monitoring to detect and mitigate credential leaks before they became a risk.
2. Regulatory compliance automation:
   • Integrated Microsoft E5 security suite for automated audit logging, ensuring all data access met SEC, FINRA, and GDPR compliance.
   • Conducted quarterly vulnerability scans and employee compliance training, reducing human error in regulatory processes by 60%.
   • Deployed data loss prevention (DLP) policies, preventing unauthorized data sharing and reducing compliance violations.
3. IT infrastructure modernization:
   • Migrated on-premise servers to Microsoft Azure Cloud, improving scalability and reducing IT maintenance costs by 40%.
   • Introduced Datto remote monitoring & management (RMM), resolving IT issues before they disrupted operations.
   • Implemented workflow automation for data reconciliation, cutting portfolio reporting time by 50%.

Results achieved

1. Enhanced security and compliance:
   • Reduced cybersecurity threats by 98%, preventing unauthorized access to sensitive financial data.
   • Achieved full compliance with SEC, FINRA, and GDPR regulations, with zero audit findings in the first compliance review post-implementation.
2. Operational efficiency gains:
   • Increased IT system uptime from 96% to 99.99%, minimizing disruptions to trading and portfolio management activities.
   • Automated compliance tracking saved over 150 hours annually in manual audit preparation.
3. Scalability and performance improvements:
   • Cloud migration increased system performance by 35%, reducing delays in portfolio analysis and reporting.
   • Reduced IT helpdesk tickets by 70% with proactive monitoring and automated issue resolution.