Why Do Asset Management Video Production Projects Get Delayed, and How Do You Keep Them on Schedule?
Last updated on 13th November 2026
Video production projects in asset management are delayed by nessy approval processes, not by filming or animation. The work delays when compliance first sees it late, or when feedback arrives from too many different people at different times.
At Keystone Media, we keep financial services video production on schedule by agreeing the message and the approval route before any design work begins, by encouraging compliance approval at the scripting and storyboard stages in particular, and by welcoming your feedback at every stage of the animation or video production process.
Why do asset management video production projects really run late?
They run late because the slowest part of the process is the people, not video production process itself.
The animation, the edit and the shoot are predictable, but sign-off often isn’t.
In our experience, two main causes account for most of the delays.
Compliance sees the work too late
The first cause is timing, not compliance itself. Compliance teams are doing their job when they ask for a risk warning, a softer verb or a different chart.
The trouble starts when they first see the work at the end, which is where most rework in asset management video production comes from.
Imagine a fund explainer for a new global equity strategy for example. Marketing approves the script, the storyboard and the full animation.
Then compliance reviews the finished film and asks for the past performance chart to show a longer period with a risk warning beside it.
In a script, that is a ten minute edit. At the storyboard stage, it means redrawing a frame or two.
In a finished animation, it means redesigning scenes, re-animating, re-timing the voiceover and re-rendering.
The same comment costs a day or two of work instead of a few minutes or a couple of hours.
Feedback arrives by committee
The second cause is feedback by committee, which is common in asset management video production, especially with expert interviews, because so many teams have a stake.
Each reviewer sees only their part, and their comments contradict each other. The investment team wants more nuance. Marketing wants fewer words. Compliance wants a caveat.
Without one person to consolidate, the video production team gets three sets of notes and has to guess which wins.
The hardest version of this is a senior voice arriving late. If the chief investment officer first sees the film at the final edit, any change they ask for lands at the most expensive stage.
Show senior stakeholders the script and storyboard, ask them to approve both in writing, and agree up front that new changes after the storyboard reset the timeline.
When should compliance get involved in financial services video production?
In pre-production, at the script and storyboard stages, and again at the final edit as a last safety check.
Involving compliance early is the most effective way to keep asset management video production on schedule, because a change made later costs far more time and money.
The table shows how the cost of a change grows at each stage of asset management video production.
← Swipe to see the full table →
| When compliance first sees the work | What a typical change involves | Relative cost and delay |
|---|---|---|
| Brief | Adjusting the audience, claims or channels before anything is written | Minimal |
| Script | Rewording a line or adding a caveat | Low |
| Storyboard | Redrawing a frame or changing on-screen text | Moderate |
| Finished animation | Redesigning scenes, re-animating, re-timing voiceover, re-rendering | High |
| Finished filmed edit | Cutting around a remark or, at worst, re-shooting | High, and sometimes impossible without a new shoot day |
The rules that apply to asset management video production
Financial services video production is held to the same standards as any other financial promotion.
In the UK, COBS 4.2 in the FCA Handbook requires a firm to ensure that a communication or financial promotion is fair, clear and not misleading.
The FCA’s guidance on financial promotions on social media (FG24/1) makes clear its rules are technology neutral and apply across all channels, including social media.
If you also market in the US, the SEC’s marketing rule sets its own conditions on performance, testimonials and endorsements, so plan any US version with your compliance team from the start.
We are not compliance advisers, and this is not regulatory advice. But your compliance team will apply these rules whether they see the work early or late, and earlier is cheaper.
What compliance typically flags
In our experience, most compliance changes to fund explainer videos and expert interviews fall into a few predictable areas. Check your brief and script for these issues before you send them to compliance.
• Past performance. The FCA’s past performance rules, such as COBS 4.6, require the reference period and source to be clearly stated, with a prominent warning that past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Plan where that warning sits on screen and how long it stays there.
• Risk to capital. FCA guidance says a promotion for a product that puts capital at risk should make this clear. Decide early whether the warning is shown, voiced or both.
• Imagery that suggests wealth or certainty. On one private equity project, we made sure to rule out any reference to gold or anything suggesting vast riches in a vault.
• Charts that imply a predictable return pattern. Even a stylised chart can be read literally, as the J-curve example in our FAQ shows.
What compliance should see at each stage of asset management video production
In our experience, most compliance changes to fund explainer videos and expert interviews fall into a few predictable areas. Check your brief and script for these issues before you send them to compliance.
• At the brief: the audience tier, target markets, channels and any performance data you plan to show.
• At the script: the full script or interview questions, every on-screen claim, and the risk warnings with their wording.
• At the storyboard: how charts, figures and disclaimers will look on screen, including how long each roughly stays visible.
• At the final edit: a check that the film matches what they approved, plus each cutdown as its own item.
Make sure you don’t miss that last step. A one-minute social cutdown from a three-minute film can lose the context that made a claim balanced. Treat each version as a separate promotion.
How do you keep an asset management video production project on schedule?
You keep an asset management video production project on schedule by inviting feedback from compliance at the script and storyboard stages, not just at the final edit.
Give one person the job of consolidating everyone’s feedback at each round, and limit who can reopen decisions once they’re signed off.
How long a realistic schedule takes
At Keystone Media, animated videos such as financial explainer videos have historically taken around four to six weeks from start to finish, including amendments.
For filmed projects, the edit has historically taken one to two weeks after the shoot day. Both figures are benchmarks from our published pricing, not guarantees, and they assume feedback comes back promptly.
The biggest variable is review time, so ask your compliance team how many working days they need at each stage and build that into the plan from day one.
A checklist to keep you on schedule
Use this checklist before you brief any financial services video agency or animation studio, and whilst you’re working with them.
Before kick-off
Before production
During production
If you can tick every box, you can avoid most delays and keep your video production on schedule.
Conclusion: what’s the real fix for delayed asset management video production?
In financial services video production, treat approval as part of production process and not as the step after it.
Most delays in asset management video production are decided in the first week: who signs off, what the audience is and when compliance looks.
Get those right and the creative work tends to run on time.
We built our process around this. You approve the message before any visual work starts, compliance can review at every stage and nothing is published without your sign-off.
You can see how this worked for a private equity firm in our Maven Capital Partners video case study.
If you are planning fund explainer videos, expert interviews or animated videos, see our fixed video pricing and browse our asset and wealth management video portfolio.
If you need a steady flow of content rather than a single project, see our Keystone Content Partnership.
Frequently asked questions about keeping asset management video production projects on schedule
Do we get to approve a storyboard before animation starts?
Yes. In our asset management video production process, you approve the script, then the design frames, then the storyboard, before full animation begins. After the script, this is the cheapest point to change a scene, a chart or on-screen wording.
How many rounds of amendments should we expect?
It depends on the supplier. Financial video production services and animation studios for financial services vary widely, so ask before you partner with them. Some include a fixed number of rounds and charge for more, which can turn every late compliance change into a cost discussion. Our published packages include revisions without a fixed maximum within the agreed scope, including compliance amendments. Re-shoots of filmed footage are excluded.
What happens if compliance reverses a decision?
Treat it as normal and plan for it. On one private equity explainer, compliance asked for a J-curve chart, then felt it implied exponential returns, then asked for the original graph back. We keep earlier versions of each scene so a reversal takes minutes rather than a redesign. Our revisions cover compliance changes, including when compliance changes its mind and changes it back.
Can work continue while we wait for compliance sign-off?
It depends on what we are working on for you. Some work can carry on safely, such as the next video in a series, or social cutdowns taken from scenes compliance has already approved. What should wait is anything compliance has not yet approved. Avoid fully animating, filming or cutting down scenes that contain claims, figures or risk warnings until they are signed off.