New Web Site Provides Perspective On Managed Accounts

CheckFree Investment Services of Jersey City has established a Web site dedicated to providing information and historical perspective on individually managed accounts.

Called the Kings of Wrap, at www.kingsofwrap.com, the site offers news, research, commentaries, publications and association and conference listings, as well as other information pertinent to wrap technology and separately managed accounts.

The site is fundamentally about education and sharing best practices in relation to front-, middle- and back-office requirements in the wrap arena, CheckFree says.

The site, while hosted by CheckFree, provides unbiased information, reflecting a collaborative effort on the part of many industry participants.

One of CheckFree‚s products is its APL Wrap, which offers remote processing services to professional money managers and financial advisors for the automation of investment management, trading, portfolio performance and investor reporting.

The firm says 38 of the top 50 Wall Street firms and 36 of the top 40 managers connect with each other and operate their respective wrap programs on CheckFree APL WRAP.

CheckFree also owns M-Search, formerly Mobius, a leading database of investment-manager performance.

Software Tools For Advisors

Wiesenberger, Thomson Financial of Rockville, Md., has jumped into the game of offering software that helps financial advisors manage their businesses from start to finish.

The firm recently introduced AdvisorViewpoint v1.0, a Web-based asset-allocation, risk-assessment and portfolio-management platform that it says is the first of an integrated suite of tools that will be known as Thomson Advisor.

AdvisorViewpoint helps advisors build and manage client relationships, improve overall profitability and increase assets under management. AdvisorViewpoint can be private-labeled and customized to fit a firm‚s needs.

For more information about Wiesenberger, visit www.wiesenberger.com.

Managed Accounts Offered

Lockwood Financial Group, based in Malvern, Pa., is offering Managed Account Xpress, a Web-based product that allows any financial advisor to offer individually managed accounts, some with minimums as low as $50,000.

Because the entire process is Web-based, Lockwood says, it‚s easier for advisors to develop proposals, create account-opening paperwork and track and service client accounts.

For more information, call

(866) 926-8629.

Stock-Trading Service

DATAlynx has introduced an Internet-based stock-trading service for financial advisors. Advisors can buy and sell stocks and do market and limit orders online. The StockLynx service is available at DATAlynx‚s Web site, www.datalynx.com, to any advisor who is not affiliated with a broker-dealer. DATAlynx is a unit of Denver-based First Trust Corp.

For RIAs Only

Sincere & Co. of Holliston, Mass., and Oberon Financial Technology Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif., have launched a separate-accounts service for independent registered investment advisors.

Sincere Separate Accounts is a Web-based platform that delivers private-label managed-account services. Account minimums are as low as $100,000, depending on the manager. For more information, visit www.sincereco.com or www.oberonft.com.

B Shares Introduced

Harris Insight Funds has introduced B Shares for investors and commission-based brokers. This compliments their current classes of shares, which include A shares for commission-based brokers; N shares for advisors, including those who are fee-based; and Institutional shares. For further information, including a prospectus, call (800) 982-8782 or visit the firm‚s Web site at www.harrisinsight.com.

New Value Funds

Fidelity Investment Institutional Services Co. of Boston has launched Fidelity Advisor Equity Value Fund and Fidelity VIP Value Portfolio. Stephen DuFour has been appointed portfolio manager of the two funds. Equity Value is one of 49 Fidelity Advisor funds offered exclusively through advisors. VIP Value is one of 17 VIP portfolios offered as investment options within variable-insurance contracts. For more information, visit www.advisorxpress.com.