With Managed Opportunities, advisors can build their own custom asset allocations, build them from preset overlays or build from an existing model. Currently, there are over 400 models based on various risk groupings. These models represent various products (SMAs, mutual fund wrap, ETF wrap, etc.) as well as different styles (strategic, tactical, absolute return). According to Jeremy Robson, director of advisory services, the platform is very scalable and very efficient. "Advisors can create models and leverage them across their entire client base," he says. When necessary, they can swap out one manager for another easily."
Other advantages of the Managed Opportunities platform include the ability to customize at the account level (specify restricted stocks, set regular income withdrawals, etc.) and the ability to provide ongoing rebalancing for all UMA accounts without any action on the part of the advisor.

NextPhase allows advisors to create and implement a time-segmented retirement distribution strategy through the Managed Opportunities platform. The advisor can build, implement and manage a portfolio segmented into five or six sub-portfolios, each targeted to a different phase of retirement. Each segment is constructed and managed as an individual portfolio based on the clients' risk tolerance and objectives during the applicable five-year period. An optional guaranteed income segment can be included through a guaranteed living benefit or lifetime annuitization if desired.

Although each segment of the portfolio is managed individually, the investments are designed to work together, providing income throughout retirement. The plan can be designed to harvest investments within a segment when it reaches the target value necessary to generate the required income, thereby minimizing unnecessary market exposure.

Cetera
According to Barnaby Grist, executive vice president, wealth management at Cetera Financial Group, advisors are often frustrated by technology tools that look great on paper but disappoint in practice. "The integration does not live up to expectations," he says. Most advisors don't have the technical expertise to diagnose and solve integration issues, and the end result is that the client suffers because advisors do not have the integrated tools they need to best serve the client.

"Cetera is fully committed to providing our advisors with an integrated desktop. We've made a multiyear commitment to deliver this," says Grist. "Every one of our advisors gets our SmartWorks platform at no additional charge." SmartWorks is built on a combination of home-grown tools and best-of-breed third-party applications.

SmartWorks provides advisors with a view of all client assets, including held-away assets. About a year ago, Cetera announced new relationships with Wilshire Associates, Sage Advisory Services and UBS Global Asset Management. These relationships allow Cetera to offer their advisors a new mutual fund/ETF advisory program that can be implemented through SmartWorks. The idea is to make institutional investment services available to retail clients of advisors.

For example, with the Wilshire program, Wilshire experts design strategic asset allocation models based upon various risk tolerances and then select mutual fund managers that they have the highest conviction about to implement the asset allocation. Models can contain up to 17 different asset classes/sub-asset classes, and models are available for accounts starting at $25,000 in assets. These programs provide asset allocation, research and ongoing due diligence. "This program helps advisors spend less time on portfolio construction, monitoring and rebalancing so that they can spend more time connecting with their clients and building their business," says Grist.

Cetera also offers a new xMA Managed Account platform. This platform gives advisors the ability to combine more than 100 investment styles from over 70 institutional portfolio managers. It is more flexible than traditional SMAs because it allows advisors to add a manager or move assets among managers all within a single account. This limits the paperwork involved in opening multiple accounts and it saves time when performing portfolio maintenance tasks.

Both the Mutual Fund/ETF program and the xMA program are powered by technology from FolioDynamics that is built into the Cetera SmartWorks platform. The FolioDynamics platform provides additional benefits that include alerts, a proposal tool, the ability for advisors to build their own models, and deep integration with Pershing, Cetera's clearing firm.

FolioDynamics allows advisors to monitor activity throughout their business by setting tolerance bands for drift by asset type, asset class and security. The advisor can then monitor drift reports to quickly identify accounts that require attention.
Trade-order management tools are built in. Trade restrictions can be set to make sure trading activities are in alignment with client wishes and investment policy statements. Restrictions can be set on buys (don't buy this) and sells. You can also, for example, set cash minimums (don't let cash fall below x% or x dollars).