Introduction to how to build a Investment Management RFP

Investment management is the process of building and maintaining a portfolio of assets to achieve an organisation’s long-term goals. In the financial industry, requests for proposals (RFPs) are a common and essential process for firms seeking to manage assets and select investment partners. These assets may include equities, bonds, alternatives, or more complex strategies such as private equity or insurance investment. The investing organization is responsible for safeguarding and managing the organization’s assets, ensuring they are overseen in line with its objectives.

Effective investment management requires a clear understanding of an organisation’s risk tolerance, time horizon, and financial position. Institutional investors, such as plan sponsors, pension funds, and endowments, often issue investment management RFPs to identify the right partners. Investing organizations benefit from exploring financial service providers through RFPs to find those best suited to manage their investment needs. These documents help them assess investment advisory services. Investment management RFPs are often used to select investment advisers who will manage the organisation’s assets. They also help choose the most suitable investment manager, making it essential to select the right financial partner for effective asset management. Firms responding may include an investment management company, financial services provider, or other professional organisations such as InvestGlass partners.

Understanding Investment Management RFPs

A Request for Proposal (RFP) is a formal document that sets out an organisation’s goals, risk profile, and expectations when seeking financial service providers. An effective investment management request goes beyond listing services — it frames the entire process, from the initial search to the final selection. RFP creation includes defining the project’s goals, requirements, and priorities to ensure a clear and effective process.

Key benefits of the investment RFP process include:

• Helping issuers define their criteria upfront.
• Allowing interested firms, such as InvestGlass clients, to present quality proposals that meet the same standards.
• Creating transparency so both the investing organization as well as the prospective firms benefit from a structured process.
• Establishing an RFP timeline with clear deadlines so all parties can deliver responses on time. Meeting RFP deadlines is crucial, as many asset managers face challenges in this area and common questions often arise around the RFP process.

The RFP response process ensures that firms can present their capabilities in a structured and comparable way. In short, an investment management RFP makes the review process consistent, comparable, and focused on the organisation’s objectives, enabling sound decision-making while safeguarding sovereignty in financial choices.

Role of the Investment Committee

The investment committee is at the centre of the proposal evaluation. This group of decision-makers is responsible for assessing submissions, conducting follow-up discussions, and ultimately making the final decision.

Best practices include:

• Ensuring members have expertise across asset management, finance, and risk management.
• Conducting in-person interviews with shortlisted firms to understand their philosophy.
• Using structured criteria to evaluate proposals consistently.

By following this disciplined approach, committees ensure the final investment management RFP leads to the right partner, whether through InvestGlass guidance or independent evaluation.

Investment Management RFPs for Institutional Investors

🚀 Investment Management RFP: Your Power Move for Portfolio Success

Portfolio Management Using AI: Strategies for Success

For institutional investors, the investment management RFP process is the ultimate tool for robust portfolio oversight. By launching an investment management RFP, investors can clearly express their requirements and expectations, ensuring all providers are judged against the same criteria. This approach not only promotes transparency but also protects sovereignty by enabling comparisons of investment philosophy, allocation strategies, and risk practices.

The RFP process places institutional investors firmly in control of their partner search. By standardising evaluation, RFPs make it easier to identify which firms—such as those supported by InvestGlass—are equipped to meet unique organisational needs. In short, the process accelerates decision-making and helps investors build secure, long-term partnerships that strengthen their independence.

Institutional Investor Perspectives

Institutional investors—such as pension funds, endowments, and foundations—are the powerhouse drivers behind today’s most successful investment management RFP processes! These forward-thinking organizations don’t just safeguard assets; they’re revolutionizing how they scale growth and achieve breakthrough long-term objectives. The investment management RFP process delivers these savvy investors an all-in-one solution that’s both structured and transparent, ensuring they partner exclusively with best-in-class firms that deliver proven expertise and exceptional results.

By unleashing the power of an investment management RFP, institutional investors gain the ultimate competitive advantage to clearly communicate their game-changing expectations for investment management services—from risk tolerance optimization to cutting-edge asset allocation preferences and world-class reporting standards. This strategic approach doesn’t just attract high-quality proposals from top-tier prospective investment managers; it empowers investors to compare responses on a level playing field that maximizes value and drives superior outcomes. The RFP process is the secret weapon that helps institutional investors make informed, data-driven decisions, selecting the investment management partner perfectly suited to accelerate their unique needs and ambitious goals.

Ultimately, this revolutionary management RFP process serves as the critical game-changer for institutional investors seeking to partner with firms that demonstrate rock-solid track records, robust risk management capabilities, and crystal-clear understanding of their organization’s mission. By leveraging this powerful RFP solution, investors unlock maximum value, ensure bulletproof accountability, and build lasting, profitable relationships with their chosen investment management partners who help them scale faster and deliver exceptional results.

Best Practices for Responding to RFPs

For financial services firms and portfolio managers, responding to an RFP is a chance to stand out. A strong response should:

• Provide an organisation overview highlighting relevant experience.
• Outline complex requirements, covering performance, risk management, and fees.
• Demonstrate how the firm’s approach aligns with the organisation’s goals, showcasing tailored strategies, risk management techniques, and integration of client-specific requirements.
• Include references, case studies, and evidence of success with institutional investors.

Efficient processes are essential to meet RFP deadlines when responding to investment management RFPs.

Firms must also be ready for follow-up interviews and clarifications. With InvestGlass templates, responses become more structured, transparent, and sovereignty-friendly.

Investment Adviser Examples and Resources

Many institutional investors create RFPs using industry templates. Resources include:

• Sample RFPs from the Strategic Asset Alliance.
• Guidance from trade associations in the financial sector.
• Case studies from organisations such as Greater Rochester.
• Investment advisor examples, including sample RFPs and templates for selecting investment advisors.

These frameworks show how evaluation can incorporate alternative assets, passive strategies, and insurance investments. They also help investors maintain sovereignty by clarifying relationships with interested firms. There are also resources specifically tailored for financial service RFP issuers, supporting their role in creating and issuing RFPs within the financial industry.

Asset Allocation Strategies

Asset allocation—the division of a portfolio across asset classes—is central to achieving performance. In the RFP creation process, questions about allocation are essential.

Prospective firms should explain:

• Their methodology for balancing growth and risk.
• How strategies adapt to different time horizons.
• Whether they can adjust to market changes flexibly.

By evaluating allocation approaches, issuers ensure strategies align with organisational goals. Sovereignty in investment decisions means retaining control over allocation preferences—something InvestGlass tools are designed to support.

The Role of the Investment Consultant

An investment consultant is often engaged to support the process. Their responsibilities include:

• Advising on RFP creation, including criteria.
• Supporting proposal evaluation.
• Ensuring an effective evaluation process by helping design questions that gather comprehensive information efficiently.
• Assisting with interviews and clarifying technical aspects.
• Providing insights on broader market trends.

Consultants ensure RFPs meet best practice standards, while InvestGlass solutions empower clients to combine consultant expertise with digital sovereignty.

Financial Adviser Guidance

A financial advisor acts as a partner in the investment management RFP process, guiding organizations to define objectives and criteria. Their expertise ensures RFPs are comprehensive and tailored.

Financial advisors also bring objective perspectives to reviewing responses, helping decode complex proposals. With support from InvestGlass technology, organizations make informed decisions, confident that sovereignty and long-term goals remain fully aligned.

Asset Management Considerations

When drafting an RFP, investors can set themselves up for success with clarity on goals, allocation, and risk. By detailing strategy and costs upfront, they create a roadmap to excellence. It is also crucial to understand management fees and ensure transparency in fee structures when evaluating investment providers, as this allows for fair comparisons and cost-effective decisions.

InvestGlass enables investors to articulate requirements precisely, making their RFP a sovereignty safeguard as well as a selection tool. This clarity attracts managers who share their values and strengthens partnerships built on transparency.

Evaluating RFP Responses

Evaluating responses is the make-or-break stage. Clear criteria should focus on experience, performance, and risk. Evaluating the capabilities and track record of each financial services firm is essential for making the right selection. Scrutiny of allocation, construction, and philosophy ensures alignment.

Follow-up interviews offer deeper understanding. With structured evaluation, investors choose managers ready to deliver results. InvestGlass equips committees with digital tools that support sovereignty, transparency, and accountability throughout this process.

Creating an Effective RFP

A strong RFP is built on clarity and alignment. It should include:

• Organisation overview – objectives, constraints, and assets.
• Detailed requirements – including style, reporting, governance, and a clear assessment of prospective advisors’ investment services, such as their background, approach, and fees.
• Evaluation criteria – ensuring fair comparisons.
• Timeline – with clear stages and deadlines.

The stronger the RFP, the easier it is for asset managers to respond. InvestGlass templates make this process faster, clearer, and fully sovereignty-focused.

Investment Manager Responsibilities

You play the ultimate game-changer role in the investment management RFP process—you’re not just managing assets, you’re the trusted steward and financial architect helping clients crush their objectives! When you respond to an investment management RFP, you’re not simply listing services—you’re delivering a powerhouse showcase of your firm’s capabilities, investment philosophy, and battle-tested experience that sets you apart from the competition.

Your key mission? Prove you’re the disciplined investment champion clients need by showcasing rock-solid investment performance and demonstrating how your strategies perfectly align with client goals. You must tackle risk management practices head-on, present crystal-clear fee structures, and highlight your exceptional client service quality. Transparency and clarity in these areas aren’t just nice-to-haves—they’re your secret weapons for building unshakeable trust with institutional investors who demand nothing but the best.

You’re the accountability powerhouse in every management RFP, ensuring all investment decisions serve your client’s best interests while adhering to the highest fiduciary standards that matter most. By delivering clear, data-driven responses and highlighting your ability to deliver consistent, winning results, you help institutional investors cut through the noise, evaluate proposals with confidence, and select you as their ultimate investment management partner for long-term success.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Even well-prepared organisations can stumble. Common mistakes include:

• Unclear or incomplete RFP documents.
• Weak or inconsistent evaluation frameworks.
• Poor communication with service providers.
• Skipping in-person interviews before the final decision.

Another common pitfall is misunderstanding the category into which an RFP falls. Not recognizing how an RFP falls into specific classifications can lead to misaligned expectations and evaluation criteria.

By avoiding these pitfalls and using InvestGlass RFP solutions, investors secure both efficiency and sovereignty in their portfolio management journey.

Now let’s dive into this Portfolio Management RFP!

1. Portfolio & Investment Management

• Does the tool support multi-asset portfolios (equities, bonds, funds, alternatives, crypto, private equity, other asset classes)?
• Can it handle both discretionary and advisory portfolio management?
• Does it offer rebalancing and optimization features?
• Can it simulate backtesting and stress testing?
• Do you have access to the historical feed to power these tests?
• Does it support goal-based investing or financial planning?
• How does it handle risk management and exposure analysis?
• Does it support tax optimization or reporting?
• Can it manage multiple portfolios under one client?
• Does it allow model portfolios and automatic alignment?
• Is performance reporting customizable and compliant with standards?
• Can it handle multi-currency accounts and FX conversions?
• Do you manage multiple sources of FX?
• How are the price overrides managed?
• Does it support payments and transfers?
• Can it manage cash positions in real-time?
• Can it store historical prices?
• Can it store transaction history?
• Does it support credit, lending, and collateral management?
• How does it handle corporate actions (splits, dividends, mergers)?

2. Client Management & Compliance

• Can it link to multiple beneficiary owners and default advised contact?
• How does it handle KYC/AML compliance?
• Is there support for digital onboarding of clients?
• How is client money safeguarded and reconciled?
• Is the system compliant with regulations (MiFID II, SEC, FINMA, GDPR, PII)?
• Can it generate compliance-ready reports automatically?
• How does it support regulatory reporting and filings? Which ones?
• Are terms of services, privacy policy, and GDPR compliance features updated regularly?

3. Security & Access Control

• Does it offer strong authentication (2FA, SSO, biometrics)?
• How is client data encrypted (at rest and in transit)?
• Where is the data hosted? Can it be hosted on a private server and at what cost?
• Is there a full audit trail of user actions?
• Can permissions be customized at role/user levels?
• Are there disaster recovery and business continuity plans?

4. Reporting & Analytics

• What dashboards and KPIs are available out of the box?
• Can reports be branded and customized per client?
• Does it support real-time portfolio valuation?
• Can it generate consolidated reports across multiple banks/custodians?
• Does it provide benchmark comparison tools?
• How advanced are the risk metrics (VaR, Cash flow beta, drawdown)?
• Can advisors/clients access reports via mobile apps?
• Does it include ESG/impact investing metrics?
• How easily can reports be exported (CSV, PDF, API)?
• Are the PDFs customizable?
• How can reporting be exchanged with customers?
• Is AI used for insights or predictive analytics?

5. User Experience

• How intuitive is the user interface for both staff and clients? (look and feel, customization)
• Does it provide a white-label client portal?
• Are there mobile and tablet versions available?
• How customizable is the dashboard?
• Is onboarding and training included in the package?

6. Vendor Support & Costs

• What level of customer support is offered (24/7, local)?
• How often is the system updated with new features?
• Does the vendor provide implementation consulting?
• Are there references or case studies from similar firms?
• What is the total cost of ownership (license, support, customization)?

7. Market Data & Feeds

• What market data providers does the tool natively integrate with (Bloomberg, Refinitiv, Morningstar, FactSet, etc.)?
• Does it support both real-time and end-of-day data feeds?
• Can third-party data sources be added easily via API?
• How does the system ensure data accuracy and consistency across feeds?
• Are feeds normalized across multiple providers to avoid discrepancies?
• How does it manage delayed or missing data?
• Does it provide historical data cleaning and reconciliation tools?
• Can the system enrich data (e.g., mapping ISIN, CUSIP, ticker across sources)?
• How are data licensing costs managed and passed on (vendor vs. client)?

8. Data Quality & Governance

• Are there automated checks for anomalies or outliers in data feeds?
• How is stale or corrupted data detected and flagged?
• Does it support golden source management (choosing authoritative source)?
• Is there a reconciliation workflow for mismatched prices, holdings, or transactions?
• How much manual intervention is required for data validation?
• Does it provide audit logs for data corrections?
• Can it integrate with external data cleansing/validation tools?
• How frequently are reference data sets updated (securities master, clients, accounts)?
• Does it provide alerts when data providers change identifiers or codes?
• Can feeds be customized by geography, asset class, or provider?

9. Hosting & Deployment

• Is the tool offered on-premise, cloud, or hybrid deployment?
• If cloud-based, which providers are supported (AWS, Azure, GCP, private cloud)?
• Where is client data physically hosted (important for compliance)?
• Can hosting location be chosen (EU, US, APAC)?
• Is hosting multi-tenant or dedicated per client?
• How is system performance guaranteed (SLAs, uptime, latency)?
• Does it allow horizontal/vertical scaling as user volume grows?
• Are backups and disaster recovery included in the hosting service?
• How are system updates deployed (manual vs. automated CI/CD)?
• Does the vendor provide hosting cost transparency and monitoring tools?

 

Conclusion: Building Stronger Partnerships Through Smarter RFPs

Crafting and responding to investment management RFPs isn’t just about paperwork—it’s about building the foundation for long-term, high-impact partnerships. When organizations clearly define their goals, risk tolerance, and evaluation criteria, they create a transparent and fair process that attracts the right financial partners. Likewise, firms that respond with precision, evidence, and alignment stand out in a crowded market.

By following best practices—from detailed requirements to structured evaluation and in-person interviews—you’re not only ensuring compliance and consistency, but also setting the stage for better decision-making and stronger investment outcomes.

With tools like the InvestGlass Portfolio Management RFP Template v1.1, you can simplify the process, avoid common mistakes, and make confident, well-informed choices. This enables you to make an informed decision based on comprehensive and clear information. In the end, a well-executed RFP is more than a selection tool—it’s your strategic advantage for long-term portfolio success.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is an investment management RFP?

An investment management Request for Proposal (RFP) is a formal document used by organizations—such as pension funds, endowments, or plan sponsors—to find the right financial partners. It outlines goals, risk profile, and expectations, helping firms present proposals that can be compared on equal grounds.

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2. Why are RFPs important in portfolio management?

RFPs provide structure and transparency in the selection process. They ensure all firms respond to the same criteria, making evaluation consistent and helping organizations choose advisors who align with their long-term goals.

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3. Who typically issues investment management RFPs?

Institutional investors—like pension funds, insurance companies, or university endowments—commonly issue RFPs to select asset managers, investment advisors, or consultants who can oversee large and complex portfolios.

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4. What role does the investment committee play in the RFP process?

The investment committee is the decision-making body that evaluates submissions, conducts interviews, and makes the final selection. They use structured evaluation criteria to ensure fairness and choose the best-fit partner.

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5. What are best practices for creating an effective RFP?

Strong RFPs clearly define:

• Organization overview (objectives, constraints, assets)
• Detailed requirements (style, reporting, governance)
• Evaluation criteria (risk management, performance, alignment with goals)
• Timeline (clear deadlines from search to decision)

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6. How should firms respond to investment management RFPs?

Winning responses highlight relevant experience, outline performance and risk strategies, provide a clear fee structure, and show alignment with the organization’s objectives. Case studies and references help build trust.

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7. What mistakes should organizations avoid when using RFPs?

Common pitfalls include unclear requirements, inconsistent evaluation frameworks, poor communication with bidders, and skipping in-person interviews before making the final decision.

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8. What is the role of investment consultants in the RFP process?

Investment consultants advise on drafting the RFP, support the evaluation of proposals, and help interpret technical aspects. They provide expertise to ensure the process follows best practices and leads to a strong, defensible decision.

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9. How do asset allocation strategies factor into an RFP?

Asset allocation—balancing equities, bonds, alternatives, and other classes—is central to portfolio success. Firms should explain their methodology, flexibility, and how strategies adapt to different market conditions and time horizons.

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10. How can the InvestGlass RFP Template help?

The InvestGlass Portfolio Management RFP Template v1.1 gives organizations a ready-to-use roadmap with 84+ structured questions across nine categories (portfolio management, compliance, reporting, hosting, etc.). It simplifies vendor comparison and ensures no critical area is overlooked.