Raymond James Rolls Out New Advisor Portal: Tech Roundup

Raymond James has rolled out an enhanced portal that it said Tuesday creates “increased efficiency and collaboration among financial advisors and their teams.”

The new Alerts Portal is “fully customizable and allows for multiple ways to organize and forecast tasks for individuals and teams,” the company said. It consolidates firm, department and practice notifications into one centralized dashboard, according to Vin Campagnoli, Raymond James chief information officer.

“Developed with input from financial advisors every step of the way, this new tool supports greater efficiency and collaboration,” Campagnoli said in the announcement. “It simplifies advisors’ processes, ultimately allowing them to spend less time on administrative tasks and more time with their clients.”

“Integration across the Raymond James technology platform enables users to take quick action on any notification,” the company said.​

The tool has been fully rolled out to the firm’s advisors and initial feedback has shown “positive impact within branches” of the firm, it noted.

Like all Raymond James technology tools, advisors can access Alerts Portal on their desktops or on the go, the company said. They can also use the firm’s Advisor Mobile app, it added.

Orion Cash and Credit Goes Live

Orion Cash and Credit went live on the Orion Advisor Solutions wealthtech platform after completing a successful beta program, it said on Wednesday.

Orion Cash and Credit, unveiled by the company at its Ascent conference in August, is the result of a joint venture between Orion and Focus Client Solutions. The new solution will bring competitive cash management, credit options and other personalized banking services for high-net-worth clients directly to the Orion platform, Orion said at the time.

The new solution helps independent financial advisors become a “one-stop shop for all of their clients’ financial needs,” according to the company.

Orion Cash & Credit allows all advisors doing business with the firm to provide “sophisticated lending and cash management solutions that fully integrate with the firm’s advisor and client portals providing an efficient, simplified experience for advisors and their clients,” it said Wednesday.

“During the well-received beta program, advisors accessed the lending and cash management solutions provided” by Orion Cash and Credit to solve various financial challenges for their clients.

For example, multiple personal and trust accounts offered via a held-away cash management program enabled a family to protect the money it received from a liquidity event, Orion said. Meanwhile, a new line of credit through Orion Cash and Credit helped a business owner secure funding to increase production to meet increasing demand for their product. That positive experience resulted in several additional referrals for the advisor, according to Orion.

Orion supports more than 2,200 advisory firms with $1.7 trillion in assets under administration and an additional $60 billion of combined assets between Orion Portfolio Solutions and investment manager Brinker Capital across the wealth management platform (as of Sept. 30), it said.

After several months of speculation about the future of Orion Advisor Solutions, the platform provider said in June 2020 it was merging with Brinker Capital.

TD Bank Launches Its First Robo-Advisor

TD Bank has launched TD Automated Investing, its first robo-advisor, as well as a hybrid advisor called TD Automated Investing Plus.

The new offerings will enable the bank to “further meet the growing demands for individualized financial advice and investment solutions across all client segments,” it said.

Both provide clients with access to TD Strategic Portfolios, seven globally diversified portfolios of exchange-traded funds and mutual funds designed by TD Wealth to “help meet differing risk profiles and financial goals — as well as automated monitoring and rebalancing.”

TD Automated Investing is an “affordable digital advisory offering that aligns the client’s risk profiles with one of U.S. Wealth’s professionally managed portfolios leveraging an end-to-end digital account opening process,” according to the company. “Clients also get peace of mind, through automated monitoring and rebalancing, that their portfolio is always aligned to their risk profile,” it added.

Clients can open an Automated Investing account with a minimum of $5,000 and there is an annual advisory fee of 0.30% with a $75 minimum, TD Bank said.

TD Automated Investing Plus provides the same features as TD Automated Investing but with additional access to a centralized advisory team to assist clients with building a personalized financial plan and ongoing advice. It requires a minimum of $25,000 and there is an annual advisory fee of 0.60% with a $250 minimum.

TD Bank now has more than 100 licensed and trained financial advisors in stores across its footprint, with plans to add 350 additional advisors in the coming years, it added.

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