The choice of custodians plays a crucial role in delivering optimal service to clients and limiting the operational burdens for advisors and their staff. To accommodate certain clients or to access select solutions, advisors often utilize multiple custodians, which multiplies complexity, workload and risk. Advisors with many accounts across multiple custodians can streamline their practices by employing an overlay platform that unifies all accounts and tools in one place no matter the custodian. In this blog post, we'll delve into the considerations advisors should weigh when making this decision, ultimately aiming to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in managing client portfolios and account operational functions.
Diversification vs. Consolidation
Advisors understand the importance of diversification in managing investment risk. Utilizing multiple custodial platforms may allow clients to keep their current custodian, and in some cases provides access to a broader range of investment options and strategies, catering to different client needs and preferences. This approach can provide clients with peace of mind, knowing their accounts don’t get moved from a safekeeping custodial financial institution they are comfortable with, but they still are able to engage the advisor of their choice.
However, managing accounts and investments across multiple platforms can present challenges in terms of administrative overhead and complexity. Advisors must navigate different user interfaces, account management procedures, and reporting systems, which can be time-consuming and prone to errors, jumping from one screen to the next throughout the day. As a result, some advisors may opt for utilizing a unified platform on which all accounts can be managed no matter the custodian. This is more convenient for the advisory team by decreasing workload and streamlining operations to improve efficiency.
Consolidation Does Not Mean One Custodian
Unified turnkey platforms offer advisors a centralized hub for managing client portfolios, aggregating non-managed accounts, storing documents, automating cash management, offloading and streamlining operational processing, and accessing a wider range of investment solutions. By consolidating all client assets on a single platform, advisors can provide a better client experience and enhance the scalability of their practice as their client base grows.
Furthermore, unified platforms often provide robust reporting and analytics tools, allowing advisors to gain valuable insights into portfolio performance and make data-driven investment decisions. This integrated approach not only saves time but also enables advisors to deliver a higher level of service and value to clients.
Conclusion
The decision of whether to work in multiple custodial systems directly or through a unified turnkey platform demands thoughtful deliberation, and the need is almost always driven by the number of moving parts in an advisor’s practice: the number of custodians, clients, accounts, portfolios, transactions, and ongoing maintenance changes. Busy and growing advisors can maintain custodian flexibility without compromising.
At Freedom Advisors, we provide a turnkey asset management platform that seamlessly integrates with multiple custodians and aggregation services. We manage the custodian relationships on your behalf, freeing you to focus on what you do best. Download our brochure to learn more about Freedom Advisors, the custodians we work with, and our fractional share and whole share technology.
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