Helping Financial Services Leaders Reduce Risk, Modernize Operations, and Support Growth.
We Partner With
Firms are scaling faster than their IT can keep up.
Financial services CIOs and IT Directors sit at the center of competing pressures — expected to move faster, tighten controls, support new entities, and modernize legacy systems, often without growing the team.
Eight pressures shaping the financial services CIO role
- Lean internal IT teams expected to support rapid organic and inorganic growth
- Expanding regulatory obligations — SEC cyber rules, FINRA, NYDFS Part 500, SOC 2, GLBA, PCI DSS
- Sponsor, investor, and board expectations for operational efficiency and value creation
- Acquisition and carve-out activity that adds users, tenants, and entities on compressed timelines
- Legacy infrastructure blocking modern cloud, AI, and collaboration initiatives
- LP and auditor due diligence requiring documented, mature IT and security programs
- Vendor sprawl and overlapping tools that add cost, complexity, and third-party risk
- Pressure to optimize technology spend and prove value without slowing the roadmap
PSM Partners is built for this environment. We serve as an extension of your internal IT team — bringing senior engineering talent, a full-service PMO, 24/7 support, and deep Microsoft expertise to accelerate your roadmap without adding headcount.
A full-stack technology partner, organized around how financial leaders actually buy.
Improve Operational Resilience & Efficiency
Keep critical systems running, strengthen the internal IT organization, and reduce the operational burden on your team. Senior, Chicago-based engineers handle day-to-day operations, proactive monitoring, help desk, endpoint and vendor management.
Reduce Cyber & Regulatory Risk
Understand your exposure, strengthen controls, and improve readiness for regulators, auditors, investors, and clients. Managed SOC and MDR, identity and access management, GRC, incident response, and vCISO advisory.
Modernize the Technology Environment
Modernize legacy infrastructure and build a secure, scalable foundation for growth and AI. As a Microsoft Solutions Partner, we get the most out of Azure, Microsoft 365, Entra, Intune, and Defender.
Navigate M&A and Business Change
Reduce technology risk and disruption before, during, and after a transaction. Our in-house PMO runs integrations, carve-outs, tenant splits, office relocations, and enterprise-wide migrations on time and on budget.
Prepare the Business for AI
Establish the data, security, governance, and operating foundation required to adopt AI responsibly. Copilot readiness, data and permissions clean-up, acceptable use policy, and adoption support.
Make Better Technology Decisions
Bring experienced technology leadership to strategy, investment, vendor, and operating-model decisions. Virtual CIO advisory, technology roadmaps, board reporting, cost optimization, and the people to execute.
Built for firms that grow through acquisition.
Whether your firm is preparing for a transaction, rolling up portfolio companies, or carving out a business unit — PSM brings the project discipline and technical execution to move quickly and reduce risk. We work directly with IT leaders at financial firms, sponsor-backed portfolio companies, and PE operating partners.
Phase 01
Pre-Close
Due diligence, gap assessments, and 100-day planning before the transaction closes.
- IT and cybersecurity due diligence
- Technology gap assessments and risk scoring
- Integration cost modeling
- Tech stack rationalization recommendations
Phase 02
Day One & TSA
Standing up independent environments and executing the technical cutover.
- Independent IT environments for carve-outs
- M365 tenant splits, mailbox and file migrations
- Identity provisioning, SSO, endpoint cutover
- Help desk transition and end-user onboarding
Phase 03
Value Creation
Rationalizing, standardizing, and reporting against the sponsor’s thesis.
- Consolidating redundant tools, licenses, and MSPs
- Standardizing security across portfolio companies
- Tenant, domain, and infrastructure consolidation
- Sponsor-grade reporting cadences
“Deal activity doesn’t wait for quarterly IT planning. Neither do we.”
Discuss an Upcoming Transaction →Compliance is the operating floor, not a checkbox.
Our engineers and advisors align your technology controls with the frameworks that govern financial services firms. We’ve sat through the audits and exams — we know what matters, and we help you get there without the scramble.
| Framework | How We Help |
|---|---|
| SEC Cybersecurity Rules | Incident reporting processes, material event determination, disclosure controls, Form ADV support |
| FINRA | Books and records retention, cybersecurity notices, vendor risk management, supervisory controls |
| NYDFS Part 500 | Annual certifications, CISO function (fractional or full), 72-hour reporting, access controls, MFA |
| SOC 2 | Readiness assessments, control mapping, evidence collection, and audit liaison |
| GLBA Safeguards Rule | Risk assessments, the nine required security elements, annual board reporting |
| PCI DSS | Scope reduction, control validation, QSA coordination, network segmentation |
| NIST CSF / CIS Controls | Baseline assessments, maturity scoring, roadmap alignment, executive reporting |
Where this shows up in practice: governance, risk and compliance programs, virtual CISO leadership, and cybersecurity risk assessments scoped to what your examiners and investors actually ask for.
Why financial services leaders choose us.
Senior Talent, Not Ticket Escalation
Our engineers are experienced professionals, not Tier 1 call center staff. When you raise an issue, you get someone who can solve it.
Executive & Former-CIO Perspective
Our advisory bench includes former CIOs and IT executives who have carried the budget and sat in the board meeting. You get guidance from leaders who understand business decisions, not only technical tasks.
Microsoft-First, Multi-Cloud Capable
Solutions Partner expertise across Azure, M365, Entra, Intune, Defender, and Copilot — with support for the legacy and specialty apps your firm runs.
Boutique by Design
Privately held, Chicago-based, and deliberately sized to keep senior talent close to every engagement. Built to stay independent and focused on our clients, not an exit.
PMO-Driven Execution
Our in-house Project Management Office runs the complex work: M&A integrations, security remediation programs, migrations, and AI rollouts.
Compliance & Audit Experience
We’ve supported firms through SEC exams, SOC 2 audits, LP due diligence, and regulatory inquiries. We know what examiners look for.
Flexible Engagement Models
Fully managed, co-managed alongside your internal team, or project-based. Engagement scales with your roadmap and transaction activity.
Financial services segments we support.
Wealth, Advisory & Investment
RIAs & Wealth Management
Secure, scalable technology that supports client engagement, regulatory obligations, and firm growth.
Family Offices
Private, high-touch technology environments designed to protect sensitive financial and personal information.
Hedge Funds & Asset Managers
Resilient infrastructure, cybersecurity, and operational controls that support institutional investors and due diligence requirements.
Emerging Managers
Institutional-grade technology foundations that help growing firms scale efficiently and inspire investor confidence.
Insurance, Benefits & Brokerage
Insurance & MGAs
Secure, integrated platforms that improve operations, protect policyholder data, and support business growth.
Benefits Consulting Firms
Technology and security solutions that help manage sensitive employee data while enabling exceptional client service.
Broker-Dealers & Trading Firms
Secure and compliant environments that support trading operations, communications oversight, and business continuity.
Boutique Trading Firms
High-performance technology platforms designed to reduce operational risk and support fast-moving markets.
Banking, Credit & Lending
Community Banks
Modern infrastructure and cybersecurity solutions that strengthen operations, customer experience, and regulatory readiness.
Credit Unions
Secure and reliable technology that helps credit unions improve member services and operate with confidence.
Specialty Finance & Commercial Lenders
Technology solutions that streamline lending operations, protect borrower data, and support scalable growth.
Mortgage & Loan Servicing Firms
Secure, compliant environments that improve operational efficiency across servicing and lending functions.
Capital Markets & Alternative Investments
Private Equity Firms
Technology platforms that support deal execution, portfolio operations, cybersecurity, and post-acquisition integration.
Venture Capital Firms
Secure collaboration and information-sharing solutions that connect investors, advisors, and portfolio companies.
Real Estate Investment Firms
Data, cloud, and cybersecurity solutions that improve visibility across portfolios, assets, and stakeholders.
Fund Administrators
Reliable technology environments that support fund accounting, investor servicing, reporting, and operational controls.
How we've helped financial firms move faster.
Case Study
FinServ Client
Fundraise-ready security for a growing financial firm.
- →Passed third-party audits and secured private funding
- →Real-time threat monitoring with executive-level reporting
- →Scalable, compliant IT foundation ready for the next transaction
Thought leadership for financial services leaders.
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A focused review of your environment against the pressures financial services firms actually face: security and regulatory exposure, cloud and infrastructure readiness, M&A and integration risk, and where technology spend is working against you. You leave with a prioritized view of where you stand and what to fix first.