Morningstar launches new client portal to tap data aggregation capabilities

Morningstar launched a new client portal for advisers on Monday, saying the service will free up adviser time and strengthen relationships between advisers and their clients. Client information will be updated daily, and includes a stream of personal financial information from ByAllAccounts, the data aggregator the company acquired two years ago. The portal is accessible on mobile devices, and shows cash flows and asset allocation, as well as total wealth and liabilities. "Investors want to work with financial advisers who have a more holistic, or complete, view of their financial situation," Tricia Rothschild, head of adviser solutions for Morningstar said in a statement. Advisers can brand and generate reports with the portal, which has a document vault and account alerts for investors. If advisers have any of these functions on another program, they can individually select any of the tools to use. This year started with a spotlight on client portals, during the Technology Tools for Today conference in early February. Vendors have either created or updated these dashboards for advisers to offer as a customizable space for clients who want to keep tabs on their accounts. Meanwhile, data aggregation has also been a hot trend for financial institutions, especially in pulling in all types of client accounts to view their full financial picture. Betterment announced in March it was pulling in external accounts on its retail and institutional dashboards. Soon after, so did Vanguard and Wealthfront. Envestnet put data aggregation at center stage when it acquired Yodlee last August.