New York-based Focus Financial Partners and Omaha-based Orion Advisor Solutions announced today a joint partnership to add cash-and-credit-related services to Orion’s platform.
The cash and credit capabilities, developed by Focus subsidiary Focus Client Solutions, stem from relationships with a network of banks and non-bank lenders. Focus previously offered these solutions to its partner firms. They include cash management and lending alternatives for personal, business and non-profit needs, allowing independent advisors to compete with banks and wirehouses.
"FCS offers a highly innovative approach to meeting the needs of ultra-high-net-worth and high-net-worth clients for traditional and specialized banking services,” said Rudy Adolf, founder, CEO and chairman of Focus. “The FCS team manages all aspects of delivering these services, making it extremely convenient for advisors to use them. FCS is a tried and tested solution that we have successfully deployed for our own partner firms."
The joint venture puts similar capabilities into the hands of firms using Orion’s wealthtech platform, who will now have access to:
• Lending and cash management capabilities, which include FDIC-insured deposit programs at competitive rates for client portfolios and held-away balances, and securities-backed and insurance premium finance lines of credit, commercial and business loans, mortgages and air and watercraft financing.
• A service team with more than a century of collective banking expertise that can offer high-touch service to guide advisors and clients through the lending and deposit life cycle.
• Confidentiality and protection of client relationships via lending and deposit programs delivered by a vetted network of partners.
Once the services are integrated into Orion’s platform, users will be able to connect a client’s cash deposits and loans to financial plans via Orion Planning, allowing advisors to monitor and report on the entire portfolio.
"The ability for RIAs to offer competitive banking and cash management solutions through our platform will create an added ‘stickiness' to our advisors' businesses, driving client loyalty by streamlining their entire wealth management experience," said Eric Clarke, founder and CEO of Orion, in released comment. "In a digital service environment where RIAs go toe-to-toe with big banks for new business, we can now arm independent advisors with a huge equalizer."
While the full release of the joint initiative is planned for this summer, a limited number of advisors will have access to it via an Orion beta program starting at the end of the first quarter.