In software development, Agile refers to a set of principles and methodologies designed to make development flow faster, more adaptive, and more collaborative. It prioritizes responding to change, continuous feedback, and delivering working software frequently, unlike traditional waterfall methods that is rigid, slow, documentation-heavy. Similarly, “agile” in asset manager selection offers a clear answer to how to make the asset manager selection process more efficient and effective.
When applied to asset manager selection, “agile” means creating an adaptable system that brings the right information, people, and tools together at the right time.
To become agile, manager selectors must reimagine the way they operate across three key building blocks (see Exhibit 1)
1. Value Chain
Agility starts by mapping out the end-to-end journey of manager selection, from market research to funding and continuous evaluation. Each step, from sourcing managers to conducting due diligence, must be clearly defined.
This structure allows teams to identify bottlenecks, avoid duplicated work, and ensure nothing falls through the cracks. Common activities in this chain include:
2. Skillsets
Having the right roles in place is crucial, but so is understanding how those roles interact. Agile teams break down silos by fostering collaboration across specialists, strategists, and compliance experts:
Each person of the chain contributes unique expertise, but agility comes from how seamlessly they work together.
In agile manager selection process, responsibilities are clearly mapped, allowing teams to shift quickly without losing alignment.
3. Digital Tools
Technology is what ties everything together. Without the right infrastructure, even the best teams and processes struggle to scale. Agile investment manager selection relies on digital platforms that support:
When data infrastructure and governance flow are built to support human expertise, selectors can act faster, more confidently, and with greater consistency.
Most investment manager selectors already exhibit some agile characteristics. They have teams, processes, and networks in place, but their supporting technology and tools are often outdated. This often means stitching together performance databases, spreadsheets, and shared drives to manage selection work. It’s functional, but far from optimal.
That is where most teams are limited in making their manager selection process agile. Because they’re lacking the innovative technology that is built to support speed enhancement, collaboration, or decision quality.
The transition to agile may seem daunting, but it’s typically a small structural shift with large returns, as explained in previous section. During COVID time, remote work catalysed the need for change, revealing how fragile older workflows are under pressure. Now, as mandates become more specific and specialised, technology can dramatically improve both operational efficiency and search effectiveness.
Today’s teams face a strategic choice: maintain the status quo and risk continued inefficiencies, or take on the learning curve to adopt modern tools to enhance performance and drive better outcomes.
Agile model extends beyond internal efficiency. It actually raises result in measurable performance gains, such as additional net alpha of several basis points annually across a portfolio of external asset managers.
Shifting to an agile model can drive a 30–50% increase in operational efficiency
A simple explanation: agile teams spend less time navigating fragmented workflows and more time making better-informed decisions.
Advanced digital toolkits, like RFPnetworks, make this possible. They allow selectors to replace outdated manual steps, saving hours spent tracking down documents, versioning files, or coordinating evaluations over email. These platforms become enablers of organisational value creation, improving:
When every hour saved is reinvested in deeper analysis or smarter collaboration, the compounding impact is significant for teams and portfolios alike.
Agile process enhances team performance by pushing the evaluation frontier outward, giving selectors more time, better tools, and access to richer datasets.
As we can see, digital tools improve performance across three major dimensions:
Altogether, advanced digital tools specifically built for manager selection process elevates team productivity, strengthens governance, and leads to better investment outcomes.
Efficiency, productivity, and governance gains from agile processes are real and measurable, regardless of firm size.
In both cases, digitising selection process unlocks new capacity. Once administrative and operational friction is reduced, especially around sourcing, document management, and data collection, teams can shift focus to higher-value work: sourcing and evaluating more great managers.
Even with limited resources, teams that adopt agile methods can expand their asset manager reach, reduce time on manual due diligence processes, and drive better decisions. That’s the power of an agile operating model.
For institutional investors and investment manager selection teams looking to improve the manager selection process, agile manager selection brings together structured workflows, cross-functional collaboration, and digital tools to help investment teams make faster, smarter decisions. It replaces fragmented, manual processes with integrated systems that improve efficiency, transparency, and decision quality without sacrificing quality. By adopting agile methods, selectors can reduce admin load, evaluate more managers in depth, and improve outcomes, often gaining 30–50% in operational efficiency and unlocking real alpha in the process.
With contributions from: Abigail Dahlan is a Product Specialist responsible for enhancing the user experience of our manager selection and investment manager clients. Thao Do is a Marketing Specialist responsible for creating new thought leadership to help our users enhance their knowledge of our products.
Follow all our latest insights on RFPnetworks Linkedin page
