Advisor Group Expands Rollout Of Enhanced UMA Platform To Drive Greater Portfolio Management Flexibility And Simplicity Across Market Cycles

PHOENIX, July 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Advisor Group, the nation's largest network of independent wealth management firms, today announced that it has expanded the rollout of its enhanced Unified Managed Accounts (UMA) platform, making it available to all financial professionals affiliated with Advisor Group network firms.  The UMA platform enhancements provide independent financial professionals with significantly greater flexibility and simplicity in managing client portfolios on a holistic basis, while also making a greater array of investment options and capabilities more affordable and accessible to a broader range of clients.

Advisor Group's enhanced UMA platform allows professionals to actively manage a portion of a client's assets in a "Representative as Portfolio Manager" (or "Rep as PM") format and gives them access to more than 7,000 mutual funds and ETF options with which to construct a blend of investments customized to each client's risk tolerance and goals.  At the same time, the UMA platform enables advisors to allocate assets to approximately 1,000 separately managed accounts (SMAs) and more than 200 model portfolios, while managing all three groupings of assets on a single, consolidated platform.

Shannon Larson, Advisor Group's Senior Vice President for Platform Management and Product Development, said, "The expanded rollout of our enhanced UMA platform reflects our commitment to continuously investing in the asset management tools and capabilities that our financial professionals want and need.  As everybody adjusts to a 'new normal' characterized by heightened economic uncertainty and market volatility, financial professionals are seeking asset management resources that are affordable, accessible and easy to use, all while elevating the client service experience they can offer.  Our enhanced UMA platform accomplishes just that."

New 'Investor Journey' Framework

With such a broad range of investment options available on the UMA platform, Advisor Group also introduced a new 'investor journey' framework as part of its enhancements. This approach enables financial professionals to engage in discussions with clients on the optimal mix of investments that can help them pursue their goals during specific phases of their lives. The framework includes the following phases:

• Build a Foundation: In this stage, clients are accumulating capital as they embark on their first "real" jobs, get married and purchase first homes.
• Use Your Wealth: As their lives become more complex and require more resources to support, clients are spending their savings on big-ticket items such as starting a family, buying a second home and paying for college.
• Make it Last: During the sustaining phase of their lives, as they are managing health, caring for aging parents, retiring and developing their estate plans, clients are trying to preserve their capital.

Additional Enhancements

Other significant features of Advisor Group's re-imagined UMA platform include:

• Increased flexibility and simplicity: Financial professionals can segment a client's portfolio into portions they manage in a "Rep as PM" format, as well as portions managed by other managers, either through model portfolios or SMAs.

This allows professionals the flexibility to exercise direct control over part of the client's assets while leveraging outside expertise to complement their own portfolio management offerings. Additionally, the enhanced platform simplifies the process of making asset allocation changes by not requiring repapering as long as the change in risk tolerance for the overall client portfolio is within a predetermined range.

• Greater affordability: Pricing for use of the platform has been reduced and standardized so that fees are the same between "Rep as PM" portfolios, model portfolios and SMAs. The harmonization makes the enhanced platform Reg BI-ready should the professional and client opt to shift the allocation of assets.
• More client accessibility: The account minimums for Advisor Group's Genesis Model Portfolios and other model portfolios have been reduced to as low as $5,500.

Since the beginning of the year, financial professionals have added 56% more assets to Advisor Group's overall wealth management platform compared with the same period in 2019. More than 40% of the increase in assets came from assets in new accounts opened on the enhanced UMA platform, which was made available to financial professionals and their clients earlier this year.

Aimee Tanneberger, a financial advisor in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, who is affiliated with Advisor Group subsidiary Royal Alliance, said, "With the new low minimums in the UMA, I can start a client out with a smaller account and then, as their wealth grows, we can add to the account without having to move them. The great thing about the new UMA is that it simplifies a core function of my business while also making Advisor Group's offerings more affordable and accessible."

Jamie Price, President and CEO of Advisor Group, concluded, "Periods of economic disruption and market uncertainty are when our financial professionals shine, as they tirelessly help individuals and families address immediate concerns while continuing to advance towards their long-term goals.  Our enhanced UMA platform reflects the continuous investments we are making in our business to ensure that our financial professionals have the resources they need to best serve clients across the widest possible range of market conditions.  As the nation's only multi-clearing, multi-custody and multi-brand network of independent wealth management firms, our success continues to be defined by the success of our financial professionals and the clients they serve."

About Advisor Group
Advisor Group, Inc. is the nation's largest network of independent wealth management firms, serving approximately 11,300 financial professionals and overseeing over $450 billion in client assets. The firm is mission-driven to support the strategic role that advisors can play in the lives of their clients.  Cultivating a spirit of entrepreneurship and independence, Advisor Group champions the enduring value of financial professionals and is committed to being in their corner every step of the way. For more information visit https://www.advisorgroup.com.

Securities and investment advisory services are offered through Advisor Group, Inc. subsidiaries, FSC Securities Corporation, KMS Financial Services, Inc., Royal Alliance Associates, Inc., SagePoint Financial, Inc., Triad Advisors, LLC, and Woodbury Financial Services, Inc., broker-dealers, registered investment advisers, and members of FINRA and SIPC. Securities services are offered through Investacorp, Inc., Securities America, Inc., and Securities Service Network, broker-dealers and members of FINRA and SIPC. Advisory services are offered through Arbor Point Advisors, LLC, Investacorp Advisory Services, Inc., Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management, Inc., Securities America Advisor, Inc., SSN Advisory, Inc., and Triad Hybrid Solutions, LLC, registered investment advisers. Advisor Group, Inc. is a holding company. Advisor Group, Inc. is separately owned and other entities and/or marketing names, products or services referenced here are independent of Advisor Group, Inc.

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SOURCE Advisor Group

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