55ip Introduces New Tax-Optimizing ETF Platform
55ip LLC (formerly known as 55 Institutional Partners), an investment science and fintech firm, late last year announced the launch of the 55ip Investment Platform, which includes the company’s proprietary strategy builder and tax optimization tools. This suite of products help RIAs and wealth managers design tax-optimized and personalized ETF portfolios.
Among the first clients to use and adopt the 55ip platform are United Advisors, an advisor and wealth management support platform, and Vine Street Wealth Management LLC, an investment advisory firm based in Mill Valley, Calif.
The platform was designed and built by 55ip’s team of investment scientists, academic researchers and other industry professionals. It allows an advisor to design new investment strategies or enhance existing strategies with lower risk, taxes and fees. It also allows advisors to customize strategies with their own brands and features and allows transparency in portfolio design.
“There’s a new breed of registered investment advisor out there. They’re entrepreneurial, purpose-driven and understand that custom risk, tax and fee-sensitive investment solutions can help their clients achieve their goals,” said Paul Gamble, CEO of 55ip.
According to 55ip, advisors will now experience lower tracking and loss thresholds that will guide tax management.
“We’ve focused on empowering advisors with scientific and algorithmic features that can be used in isolation or mixed as desired to create personalized portfolios,” said 55ip founder and chairman Vinay Nair. That helps clients “keep more of their money, thanks to reduced fees, taxes and risk,” he said.
International Broker Chooses Mediant For Streamlined Communications
The brokerage firm Mirae Asset Securities (USA) has recently decided to work with Mediant, an investor communications company providing software and services to banks, brokerage firms, corporations and investment companies for processing and distributing proxy materials, prospectuses and other communications to equity, bond and mutual fund investors. (Mirae is a branch of Mirae Asset Financial Group, an Asian independent financial services group.)
“We needed a solution that offered total transparency and flexibility to adapt to changing business requirements and scalability that could grow with us,” said Lou DeSimone, the managing director and head of global operations at Mirae in the U.S.
Mirae will use Mediant to simplify its applications and promotional materials and maintain compliance.
Vanguard’s Latest Active Fixed Income Bond Fund
Vanguard has added the Vanguard Emerging Market Bond Fund to its active fixed-income fund roster.
The Vanguard fixed-income group, with $1.3 trillion under management, will be working to make the bond fund more profitable than JP Morgan’s EMBI Global Diversified Index. The group will invest in a more diversified portfolio of emerging market government debt and government enterprises.
According to the group’s global head, John Hollyer, the bond fund is one of the lowest-cost actively managed funds. It has the potential to offer higher returns that may occur from volatile emerging market debt.
American Portfolios’ Tech Platform: HomePort
American Portfolios Financial Services, a broker-dealer, has launched a new proprietary web-based platform that seeks to give its affiliates more independence. HomePort, an online platform accessible to advisors, their staffs and their customers, is designed to be an efficient and user-friendly tool for businesses, according to Lon Dolber, American Portfolios’ CEO.
The interface features tools for compliance, product resources and advisor-generated proposal reporting.
The platform also integrates the broker-dealer’s other proprietary technologies, including Portfolio Insight, an advisory technology platform that includes a robust model management and rebalancing tool, allowing advisors to create and manage their own model portfolios, and STARS, the firm’s business processing back-office solution.
Vanguard Launches Actively Managed ETFs
Vanguard recently registered six new factor-based ETFs and one factor-based mutual fund in the U.S.
The new funds extend Vanguard’s active suite and expand options for investors at a low-cost, the fund giant says. Five funds are based in single factors to appeal to financial advisors and institutional investors. The sixth fund, along with the mutual fund, uses multiple factors.
The five single-factored ETFs include the Vanguard U.S. Minimum Volatility ETF, the Vanguard U.S. Value Factor ETF, the Vanguard U.S. Momentum Factor ETF, the Vanguard U.S. Liquidity Factor ETF, and the Vanguard U.S. Quality Factor ETF.
The multi-factor fund is called the Vanguard U.S. Multifactor ETF.
Fi360 Redesigns Fee Benchmarker
Fi360 has announced an updated version of its Fee Benchmarker, released in 2009. The tool allows advisors to access a database of retirement plan advisors, refine searches to advisors offering similar services and design data-driven reports. Advisors can use the tool to supplement reports with commentary.
The tool is available to institutions and individuals.
The latest version features integration with Fi360’s other tech platforms like the Fiduciary Focus Toolkit. Fi360 offers Fee Benchmarker in a bundle with the Toolkit.