First Allied announces wealth management platform

First Allied Securities Inc. has high hopes for its new wealth management platform,Guided Portfolio Solutions, the first piece of which was unveiled Thursday. The San Diego-based independent broker-dealer is working with Foliodynamix of New York to develop the platform that is designed to be able to compete with firms such as UBS AG, Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. or any other firm, said Frank Campanale, chairman and chief executive of Advanced Equities Wealth Management Inc., a unit of First Allied. The first piece of the platform available for adviser use is the Fund Allocator, a managed mutual fund program that relies on market models to screen managers. Advanced Equities Asset Management Inc., First Allied's in-house money management firm, created the models. Among the components planned for later this year is a separately managed account program that can use AEAM's asset allocation models, or allow advisers to customize them for clients. Unified managed account capabilities are scheduled to be in place by yearend, covering overlay management, tactical asset allocation, ongoing manager search and selection, as well as tax optimization features. The platform would grow by one new component a month through December, said Mr. Campanale. When completed, Guided Portfolio Solutions will include everything an adviser needs to run a fee-based book of business, from the client proposal through account implementation, trading, performance reporting and ongoing support. Mr. Campanale was formerly president and chief executive of Smith Barney Consulting Group of Wilmington, Del., where he helped develop some of the first fee-based investment management systems in the industry.