Mercer Global Advisors has launched a new proprietary program that streamlines its advisors’ ability to provide and implement advice on clients’ outside investment accounts, including 401(k)s and similar tax-advantaged workplace accounts.
Dubbed “Account Bridge,” the program aims to help advisors deliver more holistic and integrated services to clients with increasingly complex financial lives.
Specific use cases include improving clients’ overall asset allocation and ensuring regular account rebalancing, especially across retirement and college savings plans that are often operating outside of advisors’ view.
Since initially making Account Bridge available in a pilot program, more than half of the firm’s advisors have now adopted the solution to manage clients’ workplace retirement accounts such as 401(k), 403(b) and 457 plans, as well as 529 plan accounts.
“For many families, retirement and college saving accounts represent the largest portion of their assets, which means it was hard to access and benefit from holistic fiduciary advice,” said Daniel Gourvitch, president at Mercer Advisors, in a statement. “The addition of Account Bridge to our core advisor platform has streamlined the process of managing held-away accounts.”
The firm developed Account Bridge in partnership with the fintech company Pontera, and by working directly with custodial platforms and other technology providers. The solution is integrated within the company’s advisory portal, combining Pontera tools, proprietary technology and custodial interfaces.
“We are seeing firsthand the direct benefits that can accrue to thousands of Mercer Advisors’ families through highly personalized management of their qualified accounts that aligns with their unique financial objectives,” added Yoav Zurel, founder and CEO of Pontera. “By incorporating workplace plan assets, Mercer Advisors is making family-office services accessible to more American families.”
Credit: Adobe Stock
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.