Fidelity using eMoney to create custodial competitor's nightmare

Fidelity using eMoney to create custodial competitor's nightmare
Fidelity Investments has set its sights on the ultimate data dashboard for its advisers, likely using eMoney Advisor's technology and the financial planning software's relationships with custodial competitors.
MAR 17, 2016
Fidelity Investments has set its sights on the ultimate data dashboard for its advisers, likely using eMoney Advisor's technology and the financial planning software's relationships with custodial competitors. The platform, called WealthScape, is the firm's expected single uniform platform, and will be for broker-dealers, registered investment advisers and family offices. The platform with Fidelity data is expected by the end of this year. The firm wants the dashboard to house and provide advisers the ability to manage multi-custodial data in 2017, and said eMoney is one of the options it is reviewing to do so. eMoney is custodian agnostic and will continue to work with other custodians for its advisers, a spokeswoman said. “Having multiple applications is never good,” said Tom McCarthy, senior vice president for product development at Fidelity. The dashboard would tackle performance measures, modeling and advanced reporting, client profiling, proposal generating and fee billing, as well as provide automation and analytics through an eMoney integration. It will be a replacement to WealthCentral, the RIA platform, and StreetScape, the broker-dealer platform. “I think it is a good concept but in reality they have a lot to do,” said Chris Casey, chief executive of WealthTechs, a new technology company that pulls custodial data for large firms. He said this offering would be better for smaller advisers, because larger advisory firms need more customization. Along with aggregating multi-custodial data, eMoney will tie in with Wealthscape, offering the end client a portal to view their portfolios and work with advisers. The financial planning software, which Fidelity acquired this time last year, is integrated with numerous custodians, including TD and Schwab. This may pose a problem for those other custodians, however. The data will be manageable, unlike the usual scenario where all sorts of technology platforms can pull data from custodians simply to get a snapshot of a client's held-away assets. TD Ameritrade does not manage held-away assets, but it can view other custodian's data through third-party vendor integrations on its Veo One platform, a spokesman said. Pershing LLC and its parent company BNY Mellon, acquired Albridge, a portfolio management software provider, that allows the firm to manage multi-custodial data on its NetX360 dashboard, said Patrick Yip, director of advisory market technology strategy at Pershing. He added that managing multi-custodial might one day go so far as to open accounts at other custodians. Charles Schwab & Co. did not respond for comment. Raef Lee, managing director and head of new services and strategic partnerships for the SEI Advisor Network, which also has a custodial branch, said custodians give up data all of the time, and it usually isn't a problem. “As long as it goes to the adviser,” he said. “On Fidelity, it is a different level.”

Latest News

SEC charges Chicago-based investment adviser with overbilling clients more than $2.5M in fees
SEC charges Chicago-based investment adviser with overbilling clients more than $2.5M in fees

Eliseo Prisno, a former Merrill advisor, allegedly collected unapproved fees from Filipino clients by secretly accessing their accounts at two separate brokerages.

Apella Wealth comes to Washington with Independence Wealth Advisors
Apella Wealth comes to Washington with Independence Wealth Advisors

The Harford, Connecticut-based RIA is expanding into a new market in the mid-Atlantic region while crossing another billion-dollar milestone.

Citi's Sieg sees rich clients pivoting from US to UK
Citi's Sieg sees rich clients pivoting from US to UK

The Wall Street giant's global wealth head says affluent clients are shifting away from America amid growing fallout from President Donald Trump's hardline politics.

US employment report reactions: Overall better than expected, but concerns with underlying data
US employment report reactions: Overall better than expected, but concerns with underlying data

Chief economists, advisors, and chief investment officers share their reactions to the June US employment report.

Creative Planning's Peter Mallouk slams 'offensive' congressional stock trading
Creative Planning's Peter Mallouk slams 'offensive' congressional stock trading

"This shouldn’t be hard to ban, but neither party will do it. So offensive to the people they serve," RIA titan Peter Mallouk said in a post that referenced Nancy Pelosi's reported stock gains.

SPONSORED How advisors can build for high-net-worth complexity

Orion's Tom Wilson on delivering coordinated, high-touch service in a world where returns alone no longer set you apart.

SPONSORED RILAs bring stability, growth during volatile markets

Barely a decade old, registered index-linked annuities have quickly surged in popularity, thanks to their unique blend of protection and growth potential—an appealing option for investors looking to chart a steadier course through today's choppy market waters, says Myles Lambert, Brighthouse Financial.