Aggregation: Do You Really Need a Portfolio Accounting System?
By simplifying your aggregation architecture, you can potentially reduce points of failure and errors, lower reconciliation costs, and make data available sooner, all without sacrificing quality
BALA CYNWYD, Pa., Jan. 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Wealth Managers and Financial Advisors need access to complete, timely and accurate data about their clients' entire financial picture, including the assets and transactions in accounts outside of the Advisor's direct purview. Obtaining, validating, enhancing and presenting that data is the key to becoming the 'Alpha Advisor' and providing world-class client reporting according to InvestEdge.
By taking a fresh look at your Account Aggregation Architecture you may discover a new perspective on approaching aggregation challenges, and possibly:
- Improve your efficiency
- Make your aggregated data available faster
- Increase your agility
- Reduce errors
- Lower your costs
Account Aggregation has become a very widely-used service. Approximately half of all Advisors, and 86% of "Top-Performing Innovator" Advisors report that they provide it to their clients1. Traditionally, most aggregation solutions pass through a portfolio accounting system. However, is this an optimal approach to aggregation in all situations? Is a portfolio accounting system even necessary as a component of your solution? Surprisingly, in many cases today, the answer is NO.
The question is: Do you need a traditional accounting system to produce the reporting that you want? The answer depends on your specific requirements. However, InvestEdge's offering provides a simpler alternative aggregation architecture. As custodians improve data availability and quality, it becomes possible to implement an architecture that bypasses the accounting system in favor of an emphasis on award-winning reporting capabilities, that client's desire.
By simplifying your aggregation architecture, you can reduce points of failure and errors, lower reconciliation costs, and make data available sooner, all without sacrificing quality.
According to Brian Burns, President and COO of InvestEdge, "Advisors have a basic requirement to 'Know Your Customer', and getting access to all the client's investments is what aggregation solutions are for. Making that information valuable and actionable to the client is how Advisors can effectively compete, and distinguish themselves in the eyes of their client. We wanted to provide a streamlined and efficient way to do that, whether a firm needs or uses a portfolio accounting system or not, and we did."
ARCHITECTURAL SIMPLIFICATION
Often a key objective of informed IT executives is reducing the number of disparate systems, and the interfaces between them that are involved in supporting a complex business environment.
The three major benefits that you can achieve by simplifying your aggregation architecture through a Data Unification System approach are:
Higher Client Satisfaction through Improved Quality
Removing areas of manual intervention, data translation, and interfaces reduces the opportunity for error at each "point of failure." Fewer errors help to improve client satisfaction.More Confident Decision-Making with Earlier Data Availability
The simpler the architecture, the faster the throughput. Specifically, substituting streamlined automated data validation for accounting system reconciliation makes aggregated data available much sooner to those who need it.Higher Profitability through Lower Costs
Fewer architectural components cost less to maintain. Reductions in volume-based charges on a core accounting system can also contribute to lowering your Total Cost of Ownership.
Streamlining your architecture has one further benefit which is less measurable, but no less important. That benefit is improving your agility. With a simplified architecture there are fewer parts to consider when adding new capabilities, making a desired change to existing ones or responding to some unforeseen challenge when it arises.
Cultivate Deeper, Long-Lasting Relationships
With InvestEdge, Advisors can provide their clients with the unparalleled experience of translating data into insight. For your clients, that insight, supported with a personalized view of their true financial picture, will drive confident decision-making, from which everyone profits. If you would like further information about InvestEdge's Data Aggregation solutions, visit www.investedge.com/what-we-do/data-aggregation.cfm.
The full version of the white paper "Aggregation: Do You Really Need a Portfolio Accounting System?" was researched and written by WealthTech Alliance. WealthTech Alliance is a network of experienced management, technology and operations consultants to the Wealth Management, Investment Operations and Private Banking industries.
InvestEdge is a leading provider of innovative advisor solutions to banks, registered investment advisors, family offices, and brokerage firms. Founded in June of 2000, InvestEdge is now used by 106 investment firms that collectively manage assets totaling more than $936 billion and remains to be one of the fastest-growing providers of wealth management solutions to the U.S. UHNW and HNW advisor market. Through an integrated wealth management platform, InvestEdge automates key front-office functions including portfolio management, performance measurement, client communications and reporting, compliance monitoring, trade automation, data aggregation, and client portal solutions. To learn more about InvestEdge, visit www.investedge.com or call 1.800.830.1839.
1Source: InvestmentNews "2013 Adviser Technology Study"
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150115/169411
SOURCE InvestEdge, Inc.
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