Operational efficiency at scale
Since implementing Addepar, Redbud has scaled its operations
significantly without adding proportional headcount. As the
firm's single source of truth, Addepar aggregates and
structures data from across custodians and fund
administrators, replacing the manual consolidation that
previously drove each reporting cycle. The firm’s reporting
function is managed by a single team member, supported by
Addepar — and the impact has been measurable. “We were able to
manage a 25% growth in revenue over the year while maintaining
the same headcount,” says Hood.
That efficiency has also changed the firm’s approach to
hiring. When Redbud evaluated its staffing needs, the team
determined it could support continued growth without adding
another operations role. “We decided we just didn’t need the
person once we saw what we could do with AI parsing data and
then syncing it into Addepar using the API,” Hood explains.
Client onboarding has seen a similar shift, going from a few
days of manual data entry to a few hours, and the time saved
is being reinvested into client-facing work. “We’re able to
focus more on the human touch and less on the data wrangling,”
says Hood.
A complete picture for complex family portfolios
With over 350 entities spanning trusts, LLCs and partnerships,
Redbud’s clients require reporting that can map real ownership
rather than simply listing accounts. Addepar allows the firm
to model multi-layered entity structures and calculate
beneficial ownership across trusts, partnerships and other
vehicles. "One of my favorite reports includes a simple
pie chart that shows what everyone in the family beneficially
owns through the multi-layered entity structure," says
Hood. "It sounds simple, but to have it maintained
automatically saves a lot of time and quickly informs estate
planning conversations."
The firm has also built custom dashboards showing year-to-date
taxable activity across both private and public markets,
helping the team anticipate current-year tax liabilities and
implement year-end planning strategies that would otherwise be
too time-consuming to pursue. Hood credits Addepar's
engineering-led approach with making that level of flexibility
possible.
Consolidated visibility across alternatives
Alternative investments are central to Redbud’s advisory work,
with the firm tracking 1,200 private investments across its
client base. Addepar’s flexibility allows the firm to manage
hedge funds, LP real estate deals, oil and gas projects, VC
funds and private equity funds within a single system. “We can
have all of those in the same report, and it all looks good in
the same table,” says Hood. “I don’t know if you can do that
anywhere else.”
That visibility has changed the nature of client
conversations. With reports sent ahead of quarterly meetings,
clients now arrive prepared with feedback and data updates,
making meetings more productive. And because the firm operates
on a flat-fee model, it can track a client’s entire portfolio
objectively, including those assets managed elsewhere. “We
often spot hidden costs that others miss or may not want you
to see,” says Hood. “With a consolidated view, our clients can
hold their managers responsible and see the fees, the
underperformance, the misallocation right there in Addepar.”
Hood sees the cost of fragmented infrastructure as one that
compounds over time. “Every family you onboard onto a
fragmented setup is more manual work forever,” he says. “It
caps how much complexity you can take on, which caps who you
can serve and how you can grow.”
Every family you onboard onto a fragmented setup is more
manual work forever. It caps how much complexity you can
take on, which caps who you can serve and how you can
grow.
Carsten Hood, COO, Redbud Advisors
