RIA firms have often struggled with the redundant tasks of onboarding their clients through both a client service portal and then a separate custodian system. A seamless, do-it-once capability is what has made the large wealth management firms like Schwab or pre-merger TD Ameritrade attractive partners.
But a new collaboration between Advyzon and Apex Advisor Solutions hopes to give RIAs the same do-it-once experience by integrating client service and custodial platforms. The two companies have fully integrated the two formerly separate systems into a single technology that will save advisors time on task-switching, the firms said today in a press release.
Advyzon, which currently provides a client service and portfolio management platform to 1,500 registered RIAs, welcomed the collaboration because “when custodial integration is available, it takes things to the next level,” said John Mackowiak, chief revenue officer at Advyzon.
“If you’re running your business and you’re getting your brand out there, you want all your tools, client-facing and custodial, to look like your firm,” he continued. “That’s how the shop wants to present themselves to their client. If the client goes to the client portal, the advisor wants it to look like their firm, not like the client’s been sent off to some third party.”
Reports, mobile app, marketing tools, client portal and custody services all should play well together to create a single client experience, he said.
Apex, meanwhile, already counts more than 200 RIAs among its clients, the firm said.
“At Apex, we're laser-focused on boosting RIA efficiency," said Olivia Eisinger, general manager of advisory at Apex Fintech Solutions, in the press release. Apex Fintech Solutions is the parent company of Apex Advisor Solutions.
"Our straight-through processing helps cut through the clutter by allowing operational processes like account opening and funding to be accomplished in a streamlined workflow. No more jumping through hoops and disparate steps—it's seamless and real-time,” she said. “Secondly, advisors can initiate operational processes directly within Advyzon, a technology deeply integrated within the Apex Astra ecosystem, saving precious time and reducing frustrating system and context switching."
The integration of the two platforms provides new account opening workflows, initial account funding, money movement, custodian fee file submission and Financial Information eXchange (FIX) trading, the release said.
For example, when an advisor uses the integrated system and opens a new client account, it will automatically prefill the custodial application. The client can complete, review and sign the form though the client web portal, as well as complete the initial account funding process through either an automated customer account transfer (ACAT) or an automated clearing house (ACH) network, according to the release.
Mackowiak said he believed the collaboration would be a powerful draw for advisors, especially new RIAs and breakaways, looking for a higher level of integration for their firms.
“All the custodians are looking at better ways to service their clients, and their investment has been on integration,” he said. “But we don’t just have one piece of the puzzle. We have the reporting tools, CRM, a portfolio rebalancer, and a new platform initiative. We’ve got an alert system where if an alert is triggered at the custodian, it comes over to the advisor. That integration is powerful.”