For advisors who require in-depth portfolio analytics, including various measurements of risk, Orion works with AdvisoryWorld, one of whose products is Batch Risk Assessment. This product automates the process of visualizing multiple risk factors across a financial service firm’s entire book of business. Both Riskalyze and AdvisoryWorld offer proposal tools that allow advisors to illustrate a client’s current portfolio risk and compare it with the risk inherent in a proposed portfolio constructed by the advisors.

Perhaps the single most talked about topic at T3 2015 was robo-advisors and what tools advisors need to compete against them (and there was no shortage of firms in attendance hoping to offer tools to help. The players included established firms such as Advicent eMoney and MoneyGuidePro, newer recognizable names such as Betterment Institutional, and lesser-known names such as Jemstep, Motif, NestEgg, Oranj, Trizic, WealthAccess, Wealthminder and Upside—the last one of which was recently purchased by Envestnet.)

Orion, in partnership with sister company CLS and with Riskalyze, had one of the more compelling new product launches: AutoPilot. This is essentially a turnkey robo-advisor platform that advisors can brand as their own and easily embed into their own sites. Online clients can then go through the Riskalyze process to establish their Risk Number and synchronize their assets through account aggregation. Software powered by CLS will then create an online proposal for the client. Once accepted, an Orion application powers the online account opening and allows the client to complete all paperwork digitally. Once the account has been established, CLS provides the ongoing trading monitoring and rebalancing of the account. Clients have access to their accounts 24/7 through Orion’s client portal technology.

Advisors can monitor client accounts through the advisor portal powered by Orion, and all assets will be custodied at TD Ameritrade.

This entire package, including the software, the asset management, the portals and the custody, is available for a flat fee of 25 basis points, a very competitive price. One overlooked aspect of this offering is that it may have applicability that goes beyond the individual investor. We believe that this platform could also be appropriate for advisors who offer 401(k) plans and other retirement plans to small businesses.

This low-cost technology package, combined with institutional-quality money management, makes this an intriguing small business retirement plan solution.

Orion exhibits many of the characteristics of good “fintech” vendors. First, the firm sticks to its core business of handling portfolio accounting services for advisors. When it offers software or a service outside that core competency—risk assessment, analytical data or financial planning software—the company tries to partner with the best of breed firms and integrate deeply with them so it can maintain a focus on its core mission. Orion also exhibits a company culture of innovation. For instance, it sponsors an annual hackathon with partner firms that fosters innovations in their use with other software.

Often, in the technology business, firms create something wonderful and then get complacent. Not all firms constantly try to improve upon what they currently offer, but the really good ones do. Orion is one of those firms. Perhaps that’s a function of the fact that the company is privately owned, or the fact that the company’s market sector is populated by other highly capable firms such as Envestnet’s Tamarac unit and Advent’s Black Diamond unit.

But whatever the case may be, we believe that there are fundamental changes taking place in the financial services industry, and in order to compete, advisory firms will have to continue to invest heavily in technology in order to provide 24/7 client access and offer a better online experience, similar to the ones that direct-to-consumer firms provide. The firms will also have to increase their efficiency. Orion is one of the firms within our industry well positioned to deliver the types of products and services that advisors will require in the years ahead, as long as it maintains its current structure and focus. Judging by current growth projections, it seems that many advisory firms have come to a similar conclusion.
 

First « 1 2 » Next