HD Vest Launches 1040 Analyst™, Seamlessly Integrating Personal Wealth Planning and Tax Analysis to Empower Delivery of Holistic Financial Advice

IRVING, Texas, May 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- HD Vest Financial Services, Inc. – the independent broker/dealer focused on empowering holistic financial advice that encompasses both tax and wealth management solutions – today announced the launch of its new proprietary 1040 Analyst tool for its affiliated Advisors.  This new automated tool, unique within the independent financial advisory space, enables HD Vest-affiliated Advisors to analyze and seamlessly integrate Form 1040 client tax data to generate a holistic, tax-intelligent, customized client output inclusive of potential investment considerations for each client on a highly efficient basis.

Fully integrated with the most popular professional tax software packages, the 1040 Analyst draws upon each client's directly uploaded tax data, and incorporates relevant information about his or her personal financial situation, goals and needs, to deliver tax-sensitive insight that enables the Advisor to introduce a detailed discussion of specific, immediately actionable investment and wealth management recommendations. The scalable tool allows HD Vest Advisors to generate customized reports illuminating blind spots and investment planning opportunities for each client. Advisors can create multiple customized reports at a time, resulting in unprecedented efficiency for delivering personalized counsel while discerning new client opportunities.  Additionally, the 1040 Analyst enables each client to receive an updated report annually, identifying new opportunities that may arise as financial status and goals continue to evolve.

Scott Rawlins, Managing Sales Director at HD Vest, said, "The beauty of the 1040 Analyst is that it enables our Advisors to reinforce with clients all of the myriad reasons why their tax advisor should also be their financial advisor. There is no question that taxes today represent the single largest expense for the average American household, and have continued to rise rapidly, from claiming 18.1% of family income in 2010 to 19.4% in 2013.  Making sound, tax-intelligent choices is now front-and-center to any meaningful financial planning process.  With the 1040 Analyst, our Advisors will be equipped with a clear roadmap for guiding conversations that start from issues raised by the tax return and move into identifying an array of industry-leading investment solutions that directly support the ability of their clients to achieve their financial goals despite increasing tax burdens and tax complexity."

Long time HD Vest Advisor Gene Bell said, "The 1040 Analyst is positive proof of HD Vest's strong commitment to listen to its Advisors and deliver tools and technology that enrich the natural way we, as tax professionals, approach the financial services conversation with our clients. They have really outdone themselves with this tool, and I am confident that the automation and customization will help deepen my client relationships and allow me to run a more efficient practice."

In addition to enabling the export and transfer of data from the most commonly used professional tax software programs, 1040 Analyst is completely integrated with Vest 360, HD Vest's Advisor-facing technology platform, and provides a comprehensive review of HD Vest-approved 8 Wealth Management Issues^®, allowing Advisors to elect which to include in their client output report.

Drawing upon HD Vest's more than 30 years of comprehensive tax expertise, a sophisticated algorithm enables the 1040 Analyst to analyze individual line items, as well as several line items in combination, to identify areas of opportunity and vulnerability for the client. Whether uploading one client's tax return or leveraging the ability to upload up to 1,000 clients' tax returns for larger practices, the tool is designed to systematize an Advisor's practice.  Additionally, HD Vest has designed the 1040 Analyst to enable Advisors to manually input appropriate Form 1040 data, which can be necessary for certain new clients who have not gone through a professional tax preparation process recently, and may therefore not have recent tax information available in a tax software context.

Roger Ochs, President & CEO of HD Vest, concluded, "The 1040 Analyst is a breakthrough in empowering truly holistic financial guidance encompassing tax and wealth management solutions that our industry has been waiting for.  It was designed with our Advisors' precise needs in mind, and showcases the unique depth of intellectual expertise in the fields of tax, accounting and wealth management that HD Vest-affiliated Advisors bring to their client relationships.  We look forward to helping our Advisors utilize this new resource to further serve their clients' needs and successfully grow their businesses on an efficient and scalable basis."

The 1040 Analyst will be offered on a complimentary basis to all HD Vest-affiliated Advisors, and the firm will showcase the new resource at its annual national CONNECT Conference to be held in Denver, CO, June 4-7, 2014. The rollout follows two initial pilot programs, the second of which will be completed by the end of May.

About HD Vest Financial Services
HD Vest is a leading, privately-owned independent broker/dealer empowering the delivery of holistic and objective financial advice through a network of Advisors whose roots began and continue as tax professionals. HD Vest provides tailored training, practice management support, turnkey asset management solutions and comprehensive technology platforms to nearly 5,000 trusted independent Advisors across all 50 states, as well as facilitating opportunities to share best practices and obtain peer group mentoring. The firm is currently ranked number 20 in Financial Planning magazine's 2013 list of top independent broker/dealers across the nation. HD Vest is headquartered in the Greater Dallas area, in Irving, Texas. For additional information, please visit www.hdvest.com.

HD Vest Financial Services^® is the holding company for the group of companies providing financial services under the H.D. Vest name. Securities offered through H.D. Vest Investment Services^SM, Member SIPC, Advisory services offered through HD Vest Advisory Services^SM, 6333 N. State Highway 161, Fourth Floor, Irving, TX 75038, (972) 870-6000.

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SOURCE HD Vest Financial Services