Leading Real Assets through transformation
The Citco group of companies (Citco) Co-Heads of Real Assets on growth, innovation, and the future of alternatives.
Q: You stepped into your roles at a pivotal time for the real assets industry. What has defined this period of leadership?
Joep Hamers, Co-Head of Real Assets:
The defining theme has been focus. As Co-Heads, we were very intentional about aligning our leadership around where we could each add the greatest value—by expertise, by region, and by client need. That clarity has enabled us to scale our offering at pace. Over the past year, we’ve seen strong growth across Real Assets, expanded our service offering with existing clients, and extended Citco’s footprint into new regions, including Japan. This combination of geographic expansion and deeper client engagement has been a defining milestone.
Michelle Clements, Co-Head of Real Assets:
Another defining factor has been the acceleration of technology, particularly AI and automation. The pace of change across data, machine learning, and robotics has fundamentally influenced how we think about service delivery. Our leadership focus has been on integrating innovation in a way that enhances—not replaces—human expertise. Striking that balance has been central to how we evolve the offering.
Q: How have your complementary leadership styles shaped the direction of the business?
Michelle Clements:
While we have distinct strengths, we lead as one. That unified leadership model—internally and externally—has been critical in a complex and fast-moving market. We’ve deliberately aligned responsibility to capability, ensuring that decisions are made efficiently while maintaining a consistent strategic direction for our teams and clients.
Joep Hamers:
Our differences are a strength. Different perspectives, focus areas, and experiences allow us to challenge each other constructively and lead with balance. That combination has helped us drive growth while staying close to both our people and our clients.
Q: What achievements from the past year stand out as most meaningful?
Joep Hamers:
The establishment of our Japan office is a significant milestone—not only for Real Assets, but for Citco as a whole. While initially serving a strong real assets client base, it also supports the broader Citco offering, reinforcing our global, integrated approach. In parallel, several large global client mandates are helping shape our future operating and technology models. These engagements are defining how we scale, innovate, and deliver consistently across regions.
Michelle Clements:
The launch of our retail alternatives offering represents another important step forward. Supported by the opening of our Kansas City office, this expansion allows Real Assets to enter the non-traded Real Estate Investment Trust space—an area of sustained growth and increasing investor interest. It reflects Citco’s ability to evolve alongside market demand and open new growth avenues for our clients.
Q: Where are you seeing the biggest shifts in client expectations?
Michelle Clements:
Clients are increasingly focused on asset-level transparency and insight. In response, we launched our Property Services offering, extending reporting, accounting, and data capabilities beyond the fund level and directly to the underlying assets. There is also a growing expectation for a more consultative relationship—where Citco provides insight, perspective, and subject-matter expertise, not just operational execution.
Joep Hamers:
At the same time, clients are becoming leaner organisations, outsourcing more back- and middle-office functions, driving demand for integrated services and reinforcing the importance of scalable, high-quality technology and long-term relationships with outsourced providers such as Citco.
Technology as an enabler, not a replacement
Q: What advancements best reflect Citco’s approach to innovation?
Joep Hamers:
Citco Document Intelligence (CDI) platform –– the industry’s first ‘AI Plus Human’ platform to offer fund managers and allocators a fully-managed document management service by combining AI and fund reporting experts – is a strong example. By applying automation to documents such as SPAs, valuation reports, and invoices, we’re significantly improving efficiency while enhancing data quality and accessibility. The scale of documentation in real assets makes this a transformational capability, bringing us closer to a fully connected digital operating model.
Michelle Clements:
Equally important are enterprise initiatives such as Business Optics and our end-to-end administration model. These programmes strengthen workflow, governance, and consistency—ultimately improving the client experience from onboarding through ongoing service delivery.
Q: How do you modernise while preserving deep asset-class knowledge?
Joep Hamers:
Real assets will always rely on human judgment and expertise. Technology’s role is to remove friction, automate where possible, and allow professionals to focus on higher-value work. The future lies in combining deep asset-class knowledge with modern, data-driven delivery models.
Michelle Clements:
That shift also changes how teams work—moving from transactional processing toward exception-based and analytical approaches. It’s a necessary evolution to remain operationally effective in a growing and increasingly complex market.
Q: What are your key priorities over the next 12–24 months?
Joep Hamers:
Data readiness is fundamental. Our focus is on ensuring that all relevant data—whether generated within Citco or sourced externally—can be captured, standardised, and delivered seamlessly to clients. Alongside this, we’re focused on deepening existing client relationships and creating new opportunities across regions and services.
Michelle Clements:
Geographic expansion, particularly across North America, will be a major priority, alongside continued investment in talent. Developing and retaining skilled professionals is essential to sustaining growth and delivering consistent value to clients.
Looking ahead: shaping the future of alternatives
Q: What opportunities could reshape the real assets and alternatives ecosystem?
Joep Hamers:
Clients are increasingly diversifying across asset classes and expanding through acquisitions. Citco is uniquely positioned to support this evolution through unified data, reporting, and service delivery—while maintaining asset-class expertise at the operational level. That combination will define the next phase of growth in alternatives.
Q: Do you have any words about Citco’s real asset business?
Michelle Clements:
Citco’s ambition is clear: to continue evolving as a trusted, integrated partner for our clients as markets change. Our Real Assets offering unites every facet of Citco Fund Services (CFS), from our industry leading Waterfall tool to Middle Office Solutions and Loan Services, ensuring a seamless, integrated experience for our clients and teams.
Joep Hamers:
And this holistic, one-stop shop approach allows us to deliver end‑to‑end solutions that combine deep asset‑class expertise with cutting‑edge technology, enhancing transparency, efficiency, and value across the entire investment lifecycle.
We’re proud of our teams and the progress we’ve made. Our focus remains on innovation, client partnership, and staying ahead of the industry—ensuring Citco continues to set the standard in real assets servicing.