"Working with a team that has fintech experience, financial services experience... you guys know where to go and how to talk all sides of the language."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lr-AnA3FtYU
Background
Advisors Capital Management is a registered investment advisory firm and separate account manager with over two decades in the industry. The firm builds customized portfolios for individual clients using individual stocks and bonds, working with independent broker-dealers across the country to deliver tailored investment strategies.
As the firm looked to expand its technology capabilities, it faced a familiar challenge: how to execute a complex development project without the internal team or technical project management expertise to support it.
The Challenge
Michael Liberman, a partner at ACM for 23 years, initially assumed he could work with engineers directly. "I was like, oh, this just seems like another layer... why can't I just work with these engineers directly and tell them what I want?" he recalled. It took just two meetings to realize that approach was not going to work.
Beyond the project management gap, Liberman had experienced a common frustration with other development teams: a tendency toward literal execution. He described giving teams a design he liked as inspiration, only to receive a near-exact replica. "It's not really what I wanted. I wanted that to be sort of part of the creative idea for what the end result should be," he explained. He needed a partner who would push back, offer alternatives, and engage in a genuinely creative process.
ACM turned to Fraction, a company specializing in fractional software development with deep experience in the fintech and financial services space. What set the engagement apart was Fraction's domain knowledge, which Liberman described as transformative.
Fraction's team delivered value in several key areas:
Industry Expertise: Liberman discovered Fraction through a LinkedIn connection and was drawn to the team's depth of experience in tech and financial services. "The learning curve effectively went to zero, and that was an incredible timesaver," he said. The team understood how to communicate across all sides of the business, from APIs and third-party integrations to the strategic goals driving the technology.
Creative Collaboration: Rather than taking instructions at face value, Fraction's team pushed back constructively, offering alternatives and bringing their own perspective to the work. "You want that interactive, creative feedback type of process to deliver a better product," Liberman noted. "Somebody who's going to push back and say, 'I think this might look better this way' or 'I think this would work better that way.'"
Project Management: Fraction's project management was a critical piece of the puzzle. With both Liberman and the engineering team juggling other responsibilities, having a dedicated PM to keep everyone focused, on schedule, and moving toward a shared goal proved essential. "I could never do this without you. It's not possible," he said.
Cost-Effective Engagement: For a project with a defined scope and timeline, Liberman recognized that outsourcing to Fraction was far more practical than hiring full-time employees and absorbing all the costs that come with that. "Most projects that firms want to work with are projects that have end dates. They're defined. So you want to be able to have a timeframe and expense as opposed to doing it yourself."
ACM saw meaningful benefits from the engagement with Fraction:
Accelerated Onboarding: Fraction's existing expertise in financial services and fintech meant no time was lost explaining industry fundamentals. The team could speak the language of developers, API integrations, and financial strategy from day one.
Better Product Outcomes: The collaborative dynamic between ACM and Fraction led to a stronger end product. Instead of receiving literal replicas of inspiration, Liberman got a team that contributed creatively and helped shape the final result.
Reliable Delivery: With dedicated project management keeping engineers and stakeholders aligned, the project stayed on track despite the competing demands on everyone's time.
Cost Efficiency: By engaging Fraction for a defined project rather than building an internal team, ACM avoided the overhead of full-time hires while still accessing senior-level expertise across development, project management, and fintech strategy.
Liberman summed up his recommendation simply: "I would definitely recommend Fraction." Between the domain expertise, the creative partnership, and the project management discipline, the engagement delivered exactly the kind of outcome that would be difficult to replicate through traditional hiring or generic outsourcing.
