Orion adds bond-rating updates to portfolio system

Orion Advisor Services' latest update to its portfolio accounting system adds daily bond rating information for client accounts, thanks to a deal the Omaha, Neb.-based firm inked with Moody's Analytics. The change will give advisers a clearer sense of the risk associated with each client's bond portfolio without requiring them to manually look up and insert the ratings into the system, said Orion president Randy Lambert. "Advisers asked us to do this to help them manage client portfolios and be better able to assess risks," he said. (More: Adviser's Consultant: Incorporating clients' risk scores into all planning decisions) The tool also will help advisers operate under the Labor Department's fiduciary rule requiring advisers provide best interest retirement advice to clients, because it will help them show they are meeting their ratings requirements for clients' portfolios, Mr. Lambert said. That rule partially took effect last Friday and is scheduled to be fully implemented on Jan. 1, 2018. However, the rule could face changes or repeal as the DOL reviews it under an order from President Donald J. Trump. (More: As DOL fiduciary rule takes effect, B-D's focus on compliance) Later this summer, Orion plans to introduce a second tool to help advisers analyze client portfolios. It will provide attribution risk reporting for advisers so they can better examine the contributors to investment performance, Mr. Lambert said. About 1,100 advisory firms use Orion's technology.