“Everyone has a stake in the success of the company and the freedom and autonomy to excel at what they do best.” – Steve Bernat, Founding Partner of ONE
As a private company owned by its employees, ONE is an unusual fund governance solutions provider, one that seeks to impress clients by first pleasing its staff.
Investment specialists invested in their own work
Over the past four years, ONE has been developing its reputation as a fund governance solutions provider, with a team of seventy highly motivated fund industry experts providing solutions to over 120 blue-chip companies in the global asset management industry. The company’s services cover all alternative asset classes, as well as UCITS, catering to the varying needs of its clients. Its success has been built on an unusually egalitarian business model, structured to make everyone involved more invested in their work. Every employee is a shareholder in the company. There are no corporate titles differentiating rank and status, and everyone shares a single office space. “This approach to business creates a unique environment for our team,” Steve Bernat of ONE explains, “where everyone has a stake in the success of the company and the freedom and autonomy to excel at what they do best.”
Empowering staff to delight clients
Changes in the industry have already provided interesting challenges for ONE. Clients have become more sophisticated expecting pragmatic solutions tailored to their circumstances. To succeed, these must be rigorously thought through, fully compliant with regulations, and efficient. Leveraging the latest technology helps to achieve these goals, and to establish the company’s credibility - an integral part of the ONE approach. But technology can’t solve everything, and talent is critical to providing a service. Staff who are empowered to do their best are more likely to deliver solutions that delight clients. To this end, the company encourages its staff to be authentic, honest, fair, and passionate in their work, creating an environment where people feel valued and empowered. This is reflected in the recognition they’ve received from the Great Place to Work© program.
Looking to the future
ONE takes a focused service approach. “We don’t want to be everything to everybody,” Steve Bernat explains, “but want to be the very best at what we do as a fund governance solutions provider.” As one of the last privately-owned companies left in its sector, ONE has more freedom to follow its own path. This means a focus on organic growth with clients the team are comfortable working with, while remaining focused on core products – third party management company, corporate secretary, and compliance solutions. Building long-term relationships with existing clients is important, but the company is also looking for opportunities to expand. It’s currently preparing to establish a presence in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Asia, and is growing its presence in Ireland.
We operate around the principle that if our people have a stake in the business, they will do a better job for our clients. We have a committed and stable team, as they see the benefit of long-term value creation through building long-standing relationships. We build value for clients, and their end customer.
You can have the best technology and the most efficient processes in the world, but if you don’t have the people to operate them, your business is worth very little. Thus, our biggest asset is our team of professional and passionate experts.
We operate next generation technology through a combination of in-house, and best in market solutions to deliver an impeccable service and use technology to excel in both service delivery and efficiency.
We delight in valued long-term partnerships with clients, team, industry partners and our stakeholders. We aim to work with clients who share our belief in the importance of building strong partnerships over time.
