RobustWealth currently offers security mapping for all covered mutual funds and ETFs, but it gives the advisor total control over the mapping. By default, RobustWealth assigns an asset class to each asset, but advisors can change them. Furthermore, you can rename asset classes and create new ones. If you like, you can create a whole custom hierarchy of asset classes and sub-classes and reassign assets as you see fit. Although individual equities are not currently part of the default security mapping, I’m told that capability will be added this year.

The fee schedules and billing look flexible. You can build your own tiered fee schedules. You can then create billing groups and assign households to each.

In a nod to basic financial planning, the platform includes something called the “Wealth Projection.” This page shows the projected value of a portfolio over time. This particular functionality is very simplistic. It shows the current value of the portfolio and the projected value over time based on the anticipated rate of return. You can insert a target date (such as the retirement date) onto the graph to illustrate the amount available at retirement, and you can illustrate withdrawals beginning and ending at specified dates. If the projections do not meet the goal, you can illustrate the impact of a onetime contribution to the results. Luckily, this is one feature that advisors can turn off in the client portal if they choose to do so.

Speaking of the client portal, it very much looks and feels like the advisor view, minus some features and controls. It is clean, modern and easy to navigate.

The pricing for the offering is competitive. The full platform costs 20 basis points. One thing that distinguishes RobustWealth’s pricing from that of competitors is that the company lets the advisor turn off the “robo” feature, and only charges for the assets with robo “on.”

“Operationally,” says Kerins, “we believe that advisors should have all of their assets on one platform, so we want to support their ability to do so.” This means that if you want to manage some accounts manually, you can still use RobustWealth to view the accounts and to have a consolidated view of all your business. It also means that all of your clients get access to the modern, user-friendly client portal.

Although RobustWealth is still a work in progress, the initial indicators are highly encouraging. It has a great deal of flexibility built in. If advisors want to outsource investment management to RobustWealth, the robo feature, default asset allocation models and investment frameworks allow them to do it.

Those firms with investment expertise can use RobustWealth as a platform to create models and frameworks, customize asset classes, and still automate as much or as little of the trading and rebalancing process as they like. The ability to load all your accounts on the platform, and only pay for those with “robo on,” is another appealing feature.

Although the platform is not complete, it is clear that the designers made the user interface a priority. So far, it feels intuitive.

The platform was created by institutional investment professionals. They offer institutional quality asset allocation models and glide paths at no extra cost. The ability to create personalized glide paths is an attractive feature not commonly offered by competitors. You can tweak the defaults to make them your own, or you can create your own models and glide paths from scratch.

The cost is competitive, especially since you only pay for the features that you use.

While my initial take is positive, much work remains to be done. Today, RobustWealth rebalances at the household level. I’m told that advisors will be able to rebalance at the goal and household level within three months.

The Wealth Projection, however, is too simplistic. It needs to be improved or removed.

And again, the platform is at present only integrated with the one custodian, TD Ameritrade, and there is not yet third-party account aggregation to bring in assets held away. But we expect to see more custodians and aggregation providers integrated with the system in a matter of months.

RobustWealth does not provide CRM or financial planning. The company will need to partner with industry leaders that do.

Perhaps the company’s greatest current impediment is the lack of performance reporting. I’m told that the functionality is currently under construction, with a planned launch within three months, but even if RobustWealth meets this ambitious deadline, the devil is in the details. Given the firm’s institutional background, one expects that the company can get it right, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Many advisory firms are still trying to figure out their digital strategy. A number of advisors I talk with understand that newer digital technologies can provide them with operational leverage and a better end user experience for their clients, but they are still struggling with implementation. Some firms will ultimately choose one of the well-known B2B platforms for advisors, while other firms are concerned those platforms will not offer them the flexibility they need. For those that fall into the latter camp, RobustWealth is a firm to keep an eye on. If it can continue to execute its plan over the next several months, it will likely win its share of business from advisors.

 

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