Customer Case Study
LBBW Asset Management & Infront: From manual processes to a modern, scalable infrastructure.
LBBW Asset Management, a division of Landesbank Baden-Württemberg, manages a wide range of investment products with a strong emphasis on efficiency, compliance, and investor trust. Facing increasing demands for speed, accuracy, and regulatory compliance, the firm partnered with Infront to modernize its price provision and valuation processes..
The Problem
Before partnering with Infront, LBBW Asset Management faced mounting operational challenges that impacted efficiency, compliance, and the ability to scale operations. Manual workflows consumed valuable time and introduced risks of human error. The regulatory landscape was becoming increasingly complex, requiring audit-proof processes and reliable, traceable data management. Moreover, with a lean back-office team, resource allocation was stretched, making it difficult to keep pace with investor demands and portfolio management requirements.
Key challenges included:
- Manual entry and selection from a high volume of prices, creating bottlenecks, error risks, and inefficiencies.
- Pressure to meet new investors, evolving complex asset classes and portfolio management requirements quickly, often without adequate resources.
- Rising regulatory demands, including the need for transparent, audit-proof compliance within NAV calculation, market conformity, best-execution and transaction cost calculation.
- Managing both liquid and illiquid asset classes efficiently within one workflow and sourcing from one data provider only.
- Limited scalability of legacy systems, hindering innovation and responsiveness.
"The challenge was to enter and select from large number of prices provided and feed them into the system in a short period of time. We were constantly under pressure, and compliance requirements kept increasing." Thomas Nees, Co-Head of Back Office Operations at LBBW
The Solution
In 2021, LBBW Asset Management implemented Infront’s comprehensive solution, designed around modular, digital, and compliance-focused infrastructure.
1. Automated Data Integration
Infront took over the procurement of prices and fed them directly into LBBW’s system via interfaces, freeing teams from manual data entry.
“Infront handles the procurement of courses. The data is entered into the system via an interface, allowing our team to focus entirely on quality.” Thomas Nees
2. Holistic Valuation & Testing Modules
Four integrated modules provided:
- Daily price delivery and NAV valuation
- Market conformity checks
- Best execution checks
- Arrival price calculation for transaction
It simply makes sense to obtain everything from a single source. To my knowledge, no one else in Europe offers such comprehensive, audit prove, solutions for Illiquid and liquid asset classes including a web front-end to steer daily routines.
3. Regulatory Compliance & Audit Security
- Dual control principle ensured validation and transparency.
- Rules, data, and selections tracked and stored for audit readiness.
- Full IAS / KARBV compliance embedded into workflows.
4. Collaborative Partnership
LBBW praised Infront’s responsiveness and proactive approach:
“When we formulate an idea, we work with an experienced Infront project team that knows us well, understands our requirements, and always supports us in finding the best solution.” — Thomas Nees
The Results
Since adopting Infront’s solution, LBBW Asset Management has achieved:
- Increased efficiency: Price provision in Stuttgart handled by a lean team of just 2–3 staff.
- Greater focus on quality: Freed from manual tasks, the team invests more time in monitoring and service.
- Regulatory assurance: Audit-proof, compliant processes that meet evolving standards.
- Scalability: Seamless integration of new requirements and enhancements since go-live.
- Trusted partnership: A fintech ally who adapts quickly to LBBW’s evolving needs.
What I personally love about working with Infront is the openness and mutual trust. From day one, I felt that the Infront team was absolutely committed to offering us this solution.
Conclusion
Through its collaboration with Infront, LBBW Asset Management transformed its back-office operations from manual, time-consuming processes to a modern, digital, and scalable infrastructure.
The result: streamlined efficiency, strengthened compliance, and a trusted long-term partner in meeting the demands of regulators and investors alike.
