Seeing the evolution of the advisory market, many TAMP firms are rolling out new features that they hope will be attractive to advisors and help forge a partnership. Chicago-based Morningstar, which is known for its research, has also been involved in supporting advisors having launched its Wealt Management Solutions Group.
Daniel Needham, president of that group, said that Morningstar sees the need with advisors and is hoping to position the firm to be an ideal partner for many advisors.
Morningstar already provides many of the traditional services normally associated with a TAMP including back-office support and bill work. The firm is also eyeing the future with several more rollouts coming later this year.
“We think that digital self-service is going to become more important not because advisors don’t want to have that white-glove service it’s because they want to be able to set their own agenda, manage their own practice and engage with us when it works for them,” Needham said.
The firm will roll out those services in a few months with plans to introduce direct indexing in the fourth quarter, Needham said it will bring together many of the services that Morningstar has to offer.
“We are excited to bring about all these capabilities for advisors that they are going to need for flexibility and choice,” he said.
Different TAMPs offer a variety of services and the participants told advisors that it is important that they choose the one that works well with them. To determine that they must first decide what their own goals are and choose accordingly.
“Find a TAMP partner that is right for you that is aligned with your investment thesis and stick to it,” Levine said.