Orion Event Showcases Integration, Inspiration

Advisors say their number-one pain point with technology is its lack of integration. Eric Clarke and the fast-growing Orion Advisor Solutions platform are doing all they can to address this challenge.

At the recent Orion Ascent conference — which took place at Orlando's ginormous Marriott World Center resort — 1,600-plus attendees gathered to hear details on how Orion is bringing together what's needed for a "most in one" technology and investing stack. (See highlights via the #OrionAscent hashtag on Twitter.)

Through a series of strategic acquisitions, Orion is now one of the largest advisor technology and investing platforms in the independent wealth space. Its platform has some $3.7 trillion in assets under administration and serves more than 100,000 advisors.

In his opening remarks at Ascent, Clarke showcased the timeline for that explosive growth spree, beginning with the 2018 purchase of the FTJ FundChoice turnkey asset management program, followed closely by the acquisition of Advizr financial planning software in 2019.

Fresh off those two deals, Orion then went shopping for an even larger TAMP and found it in 2020 with Brinker Capital, which brought a number of new capabilities. From there, Orion picked up several more entities in 2021, including BasisCode for compliance, Pantenix for alternative investments and Hidden Levers for risk profiling and portfolio stress testing.

Of course, the biggest deal for Orion was its Redtail CRM acquisition last year, followed closely by the addition of TownSquare Capital for outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) services.

"The typical advisor is using five components of software, with a third of [advisors] looking to add more" technology, Clarke said, citing industry research that points to advisors' desire for better integration as their businesses grow and become more complex.

To meet this challenge, Orion is creating an organizational framework to combine all this technology and its related investment platforms.

Known as the "fiduciary flywheel" — or the client journey from prospect to planning, investing and achieving — the components that Orion has built, merged and acquired are now coming together in various integrated bundles. Orion Stacks include several technologies for advisors, which are offered with a preferred pricing plan and integrated user experience and highlight the flexibility and customization of the firm's platform.

According to Clarke, "Advisors across various sizes and styles that have at least 75% of their technology integrated garner 30% more [assets] than their peers who don't."

He also said Orion's strategy is to have a "most in one" philosophy and design approach, as advisors want to be able to customize their service delivery and prefer not to have all their technology components sourced from one platform. As a result, Orion is dedicated to open architecture, enabling other vendors to integrate into its ecosystem.

Partnerships Galore

More than 100 integration partners had their technology on display in Ascent's exhibit hall, and the conference featured dozens of breakout sessions from partner firms.

One of the most widely attended sessions — "Fully Digital Account Opening in Under 5 Minutes" — led by Megan Hausmann, director of Advisory Success at Apex, and Brian Morgan, director of product for Orion. Apex and Orion have worked together to create an automated account opening solution that's paired with a financial planning workflow process.

With Apex as the custodian, advisors are able to send a link to clients and prospects and have them provide some basic information. Clients and prospects then receive a financial plan that features various model portfolios set up by advisors or available via Orion's model marketplace, Communities. Next, accounts are opened and funded via Apex technology and APIs, which are integrated into Orion's client portal.

According to Hausmann, this solution provides advisors with the ability to expand their reach and work with smaller clients with asset levels typically below their minimums. It also provides advisors with a modern, digital experience that can help them attract younger clients and advisors.

Crosby, Other Speakers

One of the big benefits of Orion's 2020 merger with Brinker Capital was the addition of Brinker's focus on behavioral finance, led by popular psychologist Daniel Crosby. Crosby, who is now Orion's chief behavioral officer, is having a big influence on how Orion frames its many technological capabilities.

Crosby's "Protect, Live, Dream" approach aims to help investor clients "bucket their money" in conjunction with various goals and provide them with better outcomes while providing advisors with a robust toolkit to enhance their client relationships. "Clients are 12 times less likely to go to cash during market volatility if they bucket their accounts according to various goals," he said.

"The number-one aspect that clients want from their advisor is that the advisor understands them deeply," Crosby noted. To help advisors develop a better awareness of their clients' needs, Crosby has created a number of new behavioral finance tools, including a broader way to discuss risk through a "3D risk questionnaire" and the "BeFi 20" client assessment tool.

These resources are part of the recently launched Orion Advisor Academy, which offers financial professionals access to tools, templates and behavioral finance research, as well as continuing education credits.

The Orion Ascent conference is also known for its non-traditional keynote speakers that bring fun and inspiration to advisors. Ben Nemtin, star of the MTV series "The Buried Life," for instance, recounted his experience of going through depression during college. He emerged from it after his friends asked, "What do you want to do before you die?"

This prompted him and his pals to write up a bucket list of 100 dreams they wanted to achieve. They hit the road in a borrowed RV to cross off as many activities as possible. "We knew we couldn't do this alone, so for each item we accomplished, we would help a stranger [complete] their own" dreams, too, Nemtin said.

Based on the group's initial success and notoriety for achieving highly unlikely goals — such as playing basketball with Barack Obama, being guests on Oprah, delivering a baby and having a beer with Prince Harry — Nemtin and his friends turned this project into a 10-year journey that ultimately became "The Buried Life" series on MTV, as well as a book, speaking tour and documentary.

For advisors working to help clients achieve their hopes and dreams, Nemtin delivered a highly inspirational message focused on doing what you want to do before you die — without hesitation. This was definitely one of the best keynotes I have seen in a long time and a great way to kick off the 2023 conference season.

*** Timothy D. Welsh, CFP, is president, CEO and founder of Nexus Strategy, a leading consulting firm to the wealth management industry and can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NexusStrategy.