Financial services consultancy Leading Point FM acquires LMMC

Leading Point Financial Markets, a consulting firm specialised in the financial services industry, has acquired LMMC, a data and transformation insights boutique for the insurance market. As part of the deal – terms and conditions have not been disclosed – Phil Foley, founder of LMMC, has joined the senior team of the London based consultancy.

Founded in the summer of 2016 by Rajen Madan, Leading Point Financial Markets is consulting firm that supports executives and change teams with the design and execution of transformation initiatives. Prior to launching the company, Madan gained over 15 years of experience at both large consultancies (Accenture and Capco) and a boutique consulting firm (Axis Corporate), additionally serving as an independent interim manager / consultant. Clients he has worked for include Deutsche Bank, HSBC, ING, Barclays, Credit Suisse, RBS, UBS, Santander, Northern Trust, Sberbank, Willis and Lloyds of London.

One year into its existence, Leading Point Financial Markets has bolstered its service offering with the acquisition of LMMC. Established by Phil Foley, a veteran in the insurance industry and a former Director at Marsh and Minet (a legal predecessor of Aon), LMMC is a data and insights consultancy focused on insurance market modernisation, fraud elimination, security, compliance and blockchain.

The combined resources of Leading Point Financial Markets and LMMC will create “a full service consultancy” in the financial services space according to Madan, from strategy through to insights, execution and solutions. “The acquisition of LMMC complements our mission of helping organisations tackle their data, compliance and operating model change requirements. We now have capabilities to use insights, research data and professional expertise across banking, capital markets and insurance sectors” explained the founder.

The move by Leading Point Financial Markets comes at a time when banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions are facing significant changes in regulations, including client conduct and GDPR, entry of new players and startups such as FinTechs and InsurTechs, rapid adoption of new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, and the uncertainty pressures of Brexit, which, according to Oliver Wyman, may put 40,000 investment banking jobs at risk in the coming years.

“Our work with insurers has focused on the London Market Modernisation agenda, with research and insights on fraud elimination, security, compliance and blockchains for (re) insurers, brokers, managing agents, industry associations and service providers. Joining forces with Leading Point will strengthen our end-to-end execution capabilities and provide greater client value”, remarked Foley. The deal sees Foley transition to Leading Point Financial Markets, where he has become a member of the senior team, tasked with leading the firm’s insurance propositions in the market.

Recent projects Leading Point Financial Markets has delivered include the setup of a shared services function for several finance activities (OTC Derivatives, Clearing), strategy implementation support for PSD2, supporting the design and implementation of regulatory compliance (MiFID II, SMCR, KYC/ AFC, GDPR) and delivering the roll-out of a new target operating model. 

Last month, two other London based consultancies with a solid track record in London’s financial services ecosystem, P2 Consulting and Certeco, decided to merge in a bid to accelerate their growth ambitions.