Case Study
How UST helped a leading UK asset manager cut client onboarding time by 40%
UST redesigned KYC and compliance operations to accelerate onboarding, eliminate unnecessary rework, improve regulatory efficiency, and update Pega with zero disruption to the business.
OUR CLIENT
Our client is a large UK-based asset management organization serving institutional and retail clients. It provides investment management, wealth advisory, and financial planning services. Client onboarding sits at the intersection of customer experience, regulatory compliance, and operational efficiency, making the speed and rigor of the Know Your Customer (KYC) process critical to growth.
THE CHALLENGE
Growth was being slowed by compliance processes designed for control rather than speed.
For the asset manager, client onboarding was more than an operational process. It was a growth engine. However, increasingly complex KYC, compliance, and related-party screening activities were extending onboarding timelines and creating unnecessary administrative effort.
The consequences compounded quickly:
- Manual risk assessment consumed time. Analysts spent significant effort completing KYC evaluations accurately and compliantly.
- Screening created avoidable rework. Updates to related parties could trigger unnecessary rescreening across associated cases.
- Workflow dependencies slowed progress. Screening events could interrupt work already underway and extend onboarding timelines.
- Dated technology added another constraint. The existing Pega 8.x environment faced end-of-support risk.
These were not separate problems. The same operating model that protected compliance was also creating delays, rework, and higher operational overhead. The asset manager needed to reduce onboarding turnaround time without weakening governance. It also needed to modernize the technology underneath those processes without interrupting business operations.
THE TRANSFORMATION
Redesigning KYC around risk, not repetitive process
UST did not treat faster client onboarding as simply automating more steps. The team first examined where workflows stalled, why screening work repeated, and which dependencies prevented cases from progressing.
That assessment exposed an opportunity to change the operating model itself. UST redesigned client lifecycle management around parallel workflows, targeted screening, automated risk evaluation, and clearer decision signals. The approach maintained regulatory controls while removing work that added no compliance value.
From there, the transformation focused on the points creating the most friction:
- Accelerated onboarding throughput. UST removed unnecessary sequential dependencies by allowing legal, onboarding, and compliance activities to progress simultaneously.
- Automated risk evaluation. Introduced KYC risk assessment automation with real-time Red-Amber-Green (RAG) risk indicators and historical tracking, giving teams clearer information for compliance decisions.
- Reduced compliance rework. Risk-based screening ensured only affected parties were rescreened when new information emerged, eliminating large amounts of unnecessary effort.
- Separated screening from parent cases. Decoupled screening case management from onboarding cases so in-progress work could continue instead of restarting.
- Modernized the underlying platform. Used Pega Client Lifecycle Management (CLM) and the Pega KYC framework to support the redesigned workflows, while completing the Pega 8.x to Pega 24.x migration.
Individually, these changes removed specific delays. Together, they created a more risk-driven onboarding model. Compliance teams could focus effort where risk required it, while viable cases continued moving instead of waiting on unnecessary work.
THE IMPACT
Faster growth. Better compliance efficiency. Lower technology risk.
The engagement transformed onboarding from a process constrained by rework and dependency management into a faster, more scalable operating model.
Redundant or unnecessary screening activities were eliminated. Legal and compliance activities were consolidated into one streamlined workflow. Risk indicators gave teams clearer signals for decision-making. Manual screening closure activities disappeared. The organization could move clients through onboarding with less friction while maintaining governance and regulatory controls.
The results make that shift concrete:
What began as an effort to improve KYC and client onboarding automation ultimately created a more durable operating model. The asset manager can now move onboarding work forward with fewer unnecessary interruptions while applying compliance effort more precisely where risk demands it.
Client growth should not require a tradeoff between onboarding speed and regulatory compliance.
Explore how UST helps financial services organizations modernize client onboarding, automate compliance workflows, and improve customer experience through intelligent automation and risk-based operations.