Morningstar buys FCSI, Fidelity e-signatures

On Morningstar’s acquisition of FCSI
This week, Morningstar Inc. announced that it was going to acquire Financial Computer Support Inc., makers of the venerable dbCAMS portfolio management software used by thousands of advisers.
Several advisers and industry folks have asked me this week how this news might affect them, so I called Morningstar’s Chris Boruff, president of adviser business for the Chicago-based independent investment research company, in order to get more perspective.
“It [the deal] made perfect sense for us — to acquire rather than build a new application,” Mr. Boruff said.
Based on the strength of current sales, both the company’s CD-based Principia desktop product and the online Advisor WorkStation Office product would remain viable for the foreseeable future, he said.
But the Principia product has lacked portfolio management and that capability was something requested by advisers, said Mr. Boruff.
“Adding dbCAMS to it makes the desktop product more complete. We’ve had good experience on the [online] Office side in adding portfolio management,” he said.
“I can say with confidence that a dbCAMS user today isn’t going to notice any significant changes anytime soon. Integrations, data sharing, consolidation of reports over the longer term is likely. We wouldn’t do anything to remove any of the functionality that advisers rely on,” Mr. Boruff said.
While the various desktop components would be made to work together seamlessly they would remain modular offerings that are available separately or in a bundle.
“The intention is not to force [advisers] to buy something they don’t want, like buying Principia and then [being] forced to buy dbCAMS, or vice versa,” he said.
Key initial improvements to dbCAMS would include a new ability to bring in Morningstar investment data, style ratings, and style boxes into the software’s performance reports.
To help squelch any fears that Morningstar might just cut and run, Mr. Boruff confirmed that his company had signed a four-year lease on the building that houses the headquarters of FCSI in Oakland, Md.
For more information visit Morningstar or FCSI online.

Fidelity announces new Web-based e-signature capability
For all those registered investment advisers awaiting the rollout of Fidelity’s WealthCentral platform, there’s another new bell and whistle — an e-signature capability meant to help automate the new account opening process.
It will allow advisers to have their clients electronically sign all the documents, including Fidelity and adviser-specific forms, that are required to establish and fund a brokerage account.
Fidelity of Boston has developed a strategic relationship with Seattle-based DocuSign Inc., a provider of e-signature technology to help create the system.
“What this does for us is it enables true straight-through processing for clients and advisers. Until now we have still relied on a wet signature when it comes to account opening,” said Ed O’Brien, senior vice president of Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services.
“It’s going to eliminate rekeying data from CRM systems or other databases the advisers may be using and allow them to get that directly into Fidelity or non-Fidelity forms,” he said.
Mr. O’Brien said that the only thing a client will need to access the system is a valid e-mail address. They won’t need a Fidelity password because the system relies on the client receiving an e-mail and answering a few questions to which only they would know the answers.
“Online validation minimizes the number of applications and other forms that arrive to Fidelity ‘not in good order.’ So with this technology we’ve reduced the chances that an adviser will get a NIGO,” Mr. O’Brien said.
The system will be available from the “forms library” tab on the home page of the WealthCentral interface.
The company will be starting an initial pilot program in coming weeks. The feature will be part of the WealthCentral rollout to Fidelity’s 25 biggest clients in the fourth quarter.
For more information visit Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services online.