Foundation Source Expands Philanthropic Services
Foundation Source, a provider of support services for private foundations based in Fairfield, Conn., has created a subsidiary, Foundation Source Advisors, to provide advice and philanthropic planning for family foundations.
Foundation Source Advisors will have a team of experts to help family foundations refine their mission, strategy and direction. The advisory teams will be led by Foundation Source executives aided by third-party philanthropic advisors knowledgeable about certain specialities and regions. One of the goals of the service will be to offer rapid decision-making and to quickly implement plans developed by a foundation.
Foundation Source Advisors will also help put philanthropic plans into action by identifying charities that best fit a family's mission, conducting due diligence on grantees, structuring major gifts and assisting with non-standard grants.
Foundation Source offers back-office support, online services and client services for private foundations wanting to outsource their administrative tasks. The firm was created to help foundations with little or no staff and it can eliminate a foundation's need to build infrastructure. Foundation Source manages nearly 900 foundations with aggregate endowments exceeding $3.2 billion.
Individual foundation endowments range from $250,000 to $250 million.
Additional information is available at www.foundationsource.com.
Hartford Offers Retirement Plan
The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. is introducing the Aviator Cash Balance Program, a defined benefit retirement plan to complement defined contribution plans for small business owners.
The investments from a cash balance plan can help offset market losses recently experienced by defined contribution plans.
Employer-funded contributions may be deducted on the firm's federal tax return. Additional information is available at www.thehartford.com.
Envestnet Offers Enhanced Accounts
Envestnet, a firm based in Chicago that offers a range of investment products, is introducing enhancements to its unified managed account.
The new offering will enable advisors to build customized UMA models and choose from more than 1,200 investment options, including mutual funds, ETFs and SMA portfolios for clients with investments ranging from $150,000 to multi-million dollar accounts. Additional information can be found at www.envestnet.com/UMA.
Drucker and Bruckenstein Offer Webinars
David Drucker and Joel Bruckenstein, financial industry practice management and technology experts, will present a series of free Webinars on best practices from the T3 Technology Tools for Today conference held earlier this year.
Technology can help achieve many of the efficiencies financial advisor firms need in the current recessionary environment, the experts say. To learn more about the subjects to be covered, visit www.TechnologyToolsForToday.com and click on "Sightings."
Broadridge Financial Creates Aspire
Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc., a Lake Success, N.Y., company that offers technology products for business outsourcing, is launching a suite of desktop productivity solutions for broker/dealers and investment advisors under the name Aspire.
The Aspire suite will offer programs for performance reporting, portfolio accounting and key broker capabilities. It will also offer wealth planning tools and an investor self-service portal. Aspire will enable firms to quickly reconcile significant volumes of data across a large number of accounts and to keep up with regulatory requirements. Additional information can be found at www.broadridge.com.
W.P. Stewart Now Open to Advisors
W.P. Stewart is now offering its W.P. Stewart & Co. Growth Fund to advisors for clients with less than $1 million, the amount normally required for a separate account with the firm. Until now, the fund was only open to friends and the family of existing clients.
The firm is a growth manager that was created during the 1974 recession. The Growth Fund holds a concentrated portfolio of 15 to 20 companies that are likely to double in earnings over the next five years.