"We looked at platforms for a year before deciding on Oberon," explains Dennis King, CFP, and vice president of business development/fee based sales at Securities America. "We considered EnvestNet, Advisorport, Lockwood, but we were really comfortable with Oberon." According to King, a key element in the decision was not only the capability to access money mangers, but a solid infrastructure that allows the firm to reach out to advisors and train them on the asset management side of the business.
"The deciding factor was Oberon's willingness to meet our business requirements," says King. "That main requirement was to have a platform where advisors could not only access separate account managers, but also have an integrated platform through which they could access mutual fund managers. A lot of the other platforms' forte was separate account wrap, and that was it."
Kings adds, "The advisors like the convenience of a fully allocated portfolio using separate account managers all in one account with quality overlay portfolio management, from the asset allocation and tax management perspective. It's a full, Web-based turnkey platform." He goes on to explain that the firm also uses SunGard's platform, which allows their advisors to consolidate and aggregate assets and report this to clients. "It's a fully integrated financial planning and asset allocation modeling software program using their platform," he explains.
Dreffein of National Planning Holdings says her firm did not have to struggle with going from a mainframe world to an Internet-based world, which made it easier to introduce their own technology. "Our firm was launched in '98, so we didn't have the massive legacy systems to convert that others do. So, we use Curian, Manulife and Nationwide. Curian brings more uniqueness-lower minimums than most; it is totally electronic from the proposal, client confirms, and all the way to the communication with our compliance department." Dreffein says it's a win-win situation for both the advisor and the firm's back office.
Training, Coaching
Of course, having an integrated platform is one thing, but as King says, being able to train advisors on its various aspects is another. In the past, independent broker-dealers trained advisors on products and investments as unique parts of a portfolio. Today, however, the tools involved in separately managed accounts, as well as the training on managed money, have been folded into large-picture issues.
Securities America provides coaching and business development programs for their advisors. In addition to their national preconference transitioning workshops, where they bring in industry specialists like Scott MacKillop and successful SMA advisors, they also offer practice management and professional development training and coaching.
And Raymond James, for example, has created a training and educational effort that takes SMAs into account. In addition to online training, the firm has RJ University, which offers a program to explain the basics of the separately managed account program before moving into more detailed issues. SMAs also have been included in the firm's revamped proposal system, and are addressed in regional meetings with advisors held throughout the year.
"Our advisors already know how to find clients, so we're talking to them to find out why they're not doing more SMA business," explains Holland. "Maybe they thought it didn't make sense for them, or that there weren't enough tools, but we're doing e-learning as a broad educational effort." Holland adds that about 80% of their 5,500 advisors are independent, and tend to do managed account business more frequently.
As they do with technology, AIG's broker-dealers take a unified approach to SMA training. "We take the collective resources of all the [firms] and do personal training around the country, as well as online," offers Mark Goldberg, president and CEO of Royal Alliance, one of AIG's four broker-dealers. "I tend to think that, philosophically, training around a product for business building, is not the best way to go. It should include the technical as well as the business building and practice management, too."
Carolyn Armitage, ING's senior vice president of advisory services, agrees. "We always incorporate [in our training] how separately managed accounts can fit into an advisor's entire practice, explaining how the billing and performance reports can be combined on the other advisor-directed pieces."