Global Asset Management Firm
Financial Services
SAFe Implementation | Team Augmentation
£13Bn Platform Delivered On-Time for Major Wealth Management Joint Venture
How we helped a global asset management firm implement SAFe and augment delivery teams to support £13Bn platform migration for a major wealth management partnership.
£13Bn Assets Migrated
12→6 Weeks Time to Market
81% Fewer Defects
>80% Predictability
Full Compliance
At a Glance
Client: Global Asset Management Firm (acquired by major European investment manager)
Industry: Financial Services - Asset Management
Challenge: Scale delivery capability to support £13Bn joint venture platform
Duration: 18-month engagement (2019-2020)
Services Delivered
→ Delivery & Transformation (large teams → Scrum teams)
→ Team Augmentation (3 complete Scrum teams, Delivery, DevOps)
→ SAFe Training & Implementation (entire business)
→ Migration Support (£13Bn AUM)
Key Results
◘ £13Bn platform delivered on-time and on-budget for major UK Wealth management JV
◘ Time to market: 12+ weeks → under 6 weeks (2.5x improvement)
◘ Delivery predictability: >80% consistently
◘ Critical defects: down 81%
◘ Full regulatory compliance maintained throughout
The Starting Point: Acquisition, Alignment, and Rapid Scaling
In 2019, the business faced a perfect storm of challenges following their acquisition by a FTSE 100 investment firm.
The Immediate Challenge:
The company had been acquired and needed to align their software development lifecycle with their new parent company which used SAFe across their technology organisation - the business needed to adopt the same framework for consistency and collaboration.
The Existing State:
Their delivery teams were working in very large groups without a defined process. There was no formal Scrum structure, no clear framework, and limited predictability in delivery timelines.
The Strategic Opportunity:
Shortly after acquisition, the company was selected as the asset management platform of choice for a major joint venture between two multinational investment managers. This was a significant opportunity but came with immense pressure.
What This Meant:
To support the joint venture launch, they needed to deliver new critical functionality: Suitability Reports, Fact Finds, and Illustrations, etc. They also needed to support the migration of £13Bn in assets under management from existing providers.
Timeline was tight. Regulatory scrutiny was intense. Failure was not an option.
The Gap:
Their existing delivery capability couldn't support the scale and speed required. They needed to transform how they worked AND scale capacity simultaneously - all while maintaining operational stability and regulatory compliance.
What Was At Stake:
£13Bn client assets at risk if migration failed
Joint venture launch timeline (non-negotiable)
Regulatory compliance under FCA oversight
Parent company's confidence in the acquisition
Competitive positioning in wealth management market
How We Delivered: Transform, Scale, Support
Our engagement had three parallel workstreams that needed to succeed together.
Workstream 1: SAFe Transformation
The Challenge:
We couldn't just implement agile practices. We had to design a delivery approach that satisfied both business speed AND regulatory control.
What We Did:
We delivered comprehensive SAFe training across the entire business. This wasn't just certification - it was practical implementation support to ensure SAFe worked in their context.
Training Programme:
Leading SAFe for leadership and executives
SAFe for Teams across all delivery personnel
SAFe Scrum Master for team facilitators
SAFe Product Owner/Product Manager for product roles
Implementation Support:
We didn't train and walk away. We embedded with teams to help them implement SAFe practices in their daily work. This included establishing Agile Release Trains, Programme Increment (PI) planning, and Scrum team ceremonies. We added an experienced RTE to oversee the initial adoption.
Why This Mattered:
SAFe adoption wasn't just about compliance with Schroders' standards - it provided the scaled agile structure needed to coordinate delivery across multiple teams for the joint venture.
Workstream 2: Team Formation & Delivery Optimisation
The Challenge:
The firm's large, unstructured teams needed to become focused, cross-functional Scrum teams.
What We Did:
We helped them transition from their existing large team structure into properly formed Scrum teams. This meant defining team boundaries, establishing clear roles, creating cross-functional capability, and implementing Scrum ceremonies.
Team Restructuring:
Working with senior leadership, we designed a team topology that balanced product ownership, technical capability, and coordination needs. Teams were sized appropriately (7-9 people), cross-functional, and empowered to deliver end-to-end.
Process Implementation:
Each team adopted Scrum practices: daily standups, sprint planning, reviews, and retrospectives. We coached teams through their first several sprints, helping them adapt the framework to their reality.
Results from Restructuring:
The move to focused Scrum teams dramatically improved delivery speed and predictability. Time to market dropped from 12+ weeks to under 6 weeks as teams gained clarity, focus, and rhythm.
Workstream 3: Capacity Augmentation
The Challenge:
Even with improved structure, the company didn't have enough capacity to deliver joint venture requirements on the aggressive timeline.
What We Did:
Agilicist augmented the existing delivery pipeline with three complete, pre-formed Scrum teams. These weren't individual contractors - they were fully functioning teams with developers, QAs, and Scrum Masters who had worked together before.
Team Composition (Per Team):
1 Scrum Master (facilitation and coaching)
1 Lead Developer (technical direction)
3-4 Developers (feature development)
2 QA Engineers (testing and quality)
What They Delivered:
Our augmented teams took ownership of critical joint venture functionality: Suitability Reports, Fact Finds, and Illustrations, etc. These were complex, regulated components that needed to work perfectly from day one.
How They Worked:
Our teams embedded completely with the business' organisation. They attended the same Programme Increment planning sessions, collaborated daily with internal teams, and delivered to the same standards and cadences. To stakeholders, they were indistinguishable from permanent staff.
Migration Support:
Beyond feature delivery, our teams actively supported the migration of £13Bn in assets from existing providers to the Schroders Personal Wealth platform. This involved data validation, reconciliation, testing, and production support during cutover periods.
Knowledge Transfer:
Throughout the engagement, our teams worked alongside Benchmark's permanent staff. Pairing, code reviews, and collaborative problem-solving meant knowledge was transferred continuously, not just at handoff.
Measured Business Outcomes
£13Bn Platform Delivered On-Time and On-Budget
The major joint venture launched on schedule with the firm's software solution as the asset management platform. All critical functionality delivered. £13Bn in assets successfully migrated from legacy providers. Zero regulatory findings.
Time to Market: 12+ Weeks → Under 6 Weeks
Moving to focused Scrum teams and implementing SAFe practices cut delivery time by more than half. Features that previously took three months now delivered in 6 weeks. This velocity improvement was sustained post-engagement.
Delivery Predictability: >80% Consistently
Before our engagement, delivery commitments were unreliable. Post-transformation, the company consistently hit 80%+ of their sprint and PI commitments. Planning became meaningful. Stakeholders regained confidence in delivery timelines.
Critical Defects: Down 81%
Improved team structure, better testing practices, and quality focus reduced production defects dramatically. Fewer firefighting incidents meant more capacity for value delivery. Customer experience improved measurably.
Full Regulatory Compliance Maintained
Throughout the transformation and joint venture delivery, the organisation maintained full FCA compliance. All audits passed. No regulatory findings. Quality and speed weren't traded off against each other.
Secondary Benefits
Organisational Capability Built
The entire organisation gained SAFe knowledge and Scrum experience. They could sustain and evolve their delivery approach without ongoing consultancy dependency.
Schroders Integration Succesful
SAFe adoption enabled seamless collaboration between both the firm's and their acquirer's teams. Shared language and practices made the acquisition integration smoother. traded off against each other.
Competitive Positioning Strengthened
Delivering the joint venture platform on-time positioned the comapny strongly in the wealth management market. Speed to market created competitive advantage.
Team Confidence & Morale
Successfully delivering such a high-stakes programme boosted team confidence. What seemed impossible became achievable through better structure and support.
In Their Words
"Working with Agilicist transformed not just our delivery speed but our confidence as an organisation. The SAFe training gave us a common language with our parent company, the team restructuring gave us focus and clarity, and the augmented teams gave us the capacity to deliver one of the most important programmes in our history. The joint venture launched on-time, and we've sustained the improvements long after Agilicist left."
- Global Asset Management Firm Leadership
Parallel Workstreams
We didn't try to transform first, then scale. We did both simultaneously. SAFe training, team restructuring, and capacity augmentation happened in parallel because the timeline demanded it.
Pre-Formed Teams
Our augmented teams weren't individual contractors thrown together. They were established teams who'd worked together before. This meant they were productive from week one, not week twelve.
Embedded Model
Our teams didn't work separately from the organisation's teams. They embedded completely - attending the same planning, using the same tools, following the same standards. Integration was seamless.
Practical SAFe Implementation
We didn't just train people in SAFe and leave. We supported practical implementation, helping teams adapt the framework to their reality. Theory became practice through hands-on coaching.
Knowledge Transfer Throughout
From day one, our teams worked alongside Benchmark's permanent staff. By the time we transitioned out, the company could sustain everything we'd built.
Critical Success Factors
How We Helped
SAFe Training & Certification
Comprehensive SAFe training across the entire business. Leading SAFe for leadership, SAFe for Teams for delivery personnel, role-specific training for Scrum Masters and Product Owners.
Delivery Transformation
Restructured large, unstructured teams into focused Scrum teams. Implemented Scrum ceremonies and practices. Established Agile Release Trains and Programme Increment planning.
Team Augmentation
Three complete, pre-formed Scrum teams (21 people total) plus key specialists in areas such as DevOps, Delivery and Architecture, embedded for 18 months. Delivered critical joint venture functionality and supported £13Bn asset migration.
Ongoing Support & Coaching
Continuous coaching and support throughout the engagement. Helped teams adapt SAFe and Scrum practices to their context. Built internal capability for sustainability.
Similar Transformations
Facing Similar Challenges?
If your organisation is dealing with:
Post-acquisition alignment and integration challenges
Need to scale delivery capability rapidly
Critical programmes with tight, non-negotiable timelines
Regulatory constraints in financial services
Requirement to implement SAFe or other scaled frameworks
We can help. The Global Asset Mangement firm transformation required us to deliver speed, scale, and quality simultaneously - in a highly regulated environment with massive stakes.
Book a free consultation to discuss:
Your specific scaling and delivery challenges
How SAFe or team augmentation might help
What's realistic given your timeline and constraints
Whether our approach fits your context