Utmost
About the Client
When a regulated firm acquires a new business, the documentation and compliance challenge is immediate.
Thousands of assets need to be absorbed, rebranded, restructured and made accessible to new teams, often across different countries, languages and IT systems. The pressure to move quickly is real, but in a regulated environment, speed without control creates risk.
Utmost is a leading global provider of insurance-based wealth solutions. Utmost provides trusted, unit-linked offerings designed to help clients manage and preserve their wealth globally. As at 31 December 2025, Utmost had £116bn (€133bn) in assets under administration held on behalf of 190,000 clients. Utmost has a clear focus on being a leader in the provision of insurance-based wealth solutions for the international affluent, high net worth and ultra-high net worth market.
As the business has grown, each new acquisition has brought new documentation, new brands and new teams into scope. Since 2016, Utmost has used bethebrand, known internally as Nexus, as its central platform for document workflow, version control and cross-border collaboration.
Eight legal entities and their respective branches now operate on the platform, with teams accessing Nexus from Ireland, Luxembourg, UK, Guernsey, Italy, Spain, France, Portugal, Dubai, Belgium, Switzerland, Singapore and Hong Kong.
The acquisition of Lombard International Assurance in December 2024 was the latest test of seamlessly integrating a new entity into Nexus and implementing a rebrand.
The challenge
Lombard International Assurance (now Utmost Luxembourg S.A.), based in Luxembourg, had previously managed its documentation through SharePoint. Documents were stored, but there were no structured workflows for tracking and no automated tracking of validation process, with document history more manual to access.
When multiple people needed to work on the same asset, or when a stakeholder needed to confirm what had been approved, the process relied on manual checks and email trails.
The acquisition brought approximately 2,500 documents into scope, spanning multiple languages, product lines and partner relationships. At Utmost, a single product brochure can exist in several variants according to country, language and regulatory jurisdiction, each with different stakeholders. The incoming Lombard documentation needed to be mapped against that structure before anything could be uploaded.
At the same time, the Luxembourg team operated on entirely separate IT infrastructure from the existing Utmost systems. They needed seamless access to Nexus without managing separate credentials.
The challenge was to bring all of this together quickly, without compromising the controls that the rest of the business relied on.
“Our previous system didn’t give us the validation workflows or version history we needed. There was no structured way to track changes or ensure everyone was working from the right version.” Rudi Berckmans, Senior Document Manager, Utmost.
Our solution
The project was delivered in phases from Q1 2025 to Q1 2026, with bethebrand working alongside both the established Utmost team and the incoming Luxembourg colleagues throughout.
Data mapping
Before any documents were uploaded, the bethebrand team worked with Utmost and the Luxembourg team to analyse the metadata held in SharePoint, map every field against the existing Nexus structure and agree how it would translate.
“The data mapping was the most intensive part. Getting it right at that stage makes everything else run smoothly.” Rudi Berckmans, Senior Document Manager, Utmost.
Bulk migration
Documents were extracted from SharePoint and matched to a standardised upload template. The migration was completed in three batches covering all 2,500 documents.
“The bethebrand team were extremely helpful. They linked the documents to our requirements and handled the naming conventions, which saved us a huge amount of time.” Karen Hardman, Studio Manager, Utmost.
Rebranding 2,500 documents
Every document was then rebuilt to reflect Utmost Luxembourg’s brand identity: new stylesheets, templates, imagery and colour palettes. This went well beyond visual changes. The team caught every abbreviation, ensured content consistency across multiple languages and used native speakers to sense-check translations.
New branded documents were loaded by the end of October, with the rebrand effective from 1 November 2025.
Extending single sign-on across teams
Utmost International Isle of Man Limited, Utmost PanEurope dac and Utmost Worldwide Limited and their branches employees already accessed Nexus through single sign-on via Microsoft Entra ID. The Luxembourg acquisition introduced users across multiple organisations, on a completely different IT infrastructure.
Rather than require these users to manage separate credentials, bethebrand extended the platform to support multiple SSO configurations simultaneously. This allowed the Luxembourg teams to be onboarded with the same ease of access as existing users, while keeping authentication managed centrally.
The work also future-proofed the platform. If Utmost brings further businesses onto Nexus on different IT infrastructures again, the multi-endpoint SSO capability is already in place.
A dedicated digital workflow
The Luxembourg team needed to follow the same structured governance process for approvals used by the UK and Ireland, but with specific flexibility for their digital assets.
bethebrand configured a dedicated workflow that mirrors the existing approval process but is restricted to digital assets only. It includes a separately configured final approval stage, with a specific group of approvers authorised to sign off digital content. This ensures digital assets go through the right hands without being routed through the broader approval chain.
The separate workflow also gives Utmost clearer reporting. By isolating digital approvals, the team can track approval trends, turnaround times and any differences in the sign-off process for digital versus other asset types — providing the management information needed to monitor and refine the process over time.
The results
Cross-border collaboration in real time
Teams in multiple countries now access the same platform, see the same current versions and participate in the same workflows. A change made in Luxembourg is immediately visible in Singapore.
“Nexus allows us to have genuine cross-border teams. Someone in Luxembourg can see exactly the same thing as a colleague in Ireland or Singapore, in real time. That flexibility is essential for how we operate.” Laura Dennis, Head of Document Management, Utmost.
Full traceability
Every change is tracked with version history, named approvals and impact assessments. Nexus now provides the validation and audit trail that were absent under the previous approach.
“Workflow is essential when you’re operating across multiple locations. We can track people’s work, trace any mistakes and run impact assessments, all within one system. It gives us one version of the truth.” Laura Dennis, Head of Document Management, Utmost.
Structured triaging and task management
Incoming work requests are assessed for impact, allocated across the team and tracked through to completion, giving the distributed team a consistent way of managing document maintenance and review.
“When a change request comes in, I can immediately assess the impact, see which documents are affected and allocate the work. It’s made the whole process much more structured.” Karen Hardman, Studio Manager, Utmost
A partnership that adapts
Over ten years, bethebrand has responded to each new requirement, from configuring new workflows to extending SSO across separate IT environments. The relationship has remained hands-on, responsive and personal throughout.
“bethebrand are personal, responsive and genuinely solutions-oriented. They’ve helped us navigate the complexity of managing multiple brands and jurisdictions. We’d absolutely recommend them.” Karen Hardman, Studio Manager, Utmost.
“The system is efficient, innovative and cost effective. For what it does and the support you get alongside it, it’s excellent value for money.” Laura Dennis, Head of Document Management, Utmost.