Samuel Steinberger -- (Wealthmanagement.com) -- Franklin Templeton-owned AdvisorEngine is integrating with Schwab Advisor Center in a move that will provide full portfolio management functionality to advisors using both, according to an announcement from AdvisorEngine.
The custodial integration with Schwab is a step up from the CRM-level integration between AdvisorEngine’s Junxure and Schwab’s Digital Account Opening, completed in 2019. There is real-time data flow between the two entities, according to AdvisorEngine CEO Rich Cancro.
In addition to the integration, AdvisorEngine will be redesigning and reconfiguring Junxure, said Cancro. The remodeling will evolve into “full integration of data and login between the CRM and portfolio management functionality,” he said, eventually creating “a unified offering.”
AdvisorEngine declined to break out the number of legacy users it has on the platform who came over with Junxure after it was acquired in 2018, and those who have joined post-transaction. It did not offer a timeline for the reworking of Junxure.
With the new integration, client onboarding and portfolio management will be improved, and NIGO rates will fall, according to Craig Ramsey, chief operating officer at AdvisorEngine. The improvements mean advisors will “essentially tailor their ‘client service model’ along a spectrum,” he said. One extreme of the spectrum would see advisors driving the entire client service model; the other would be quasi-robo, with clients almost entirely self-servicing. Ramsey expects most firms to utilize a middle-ground approach, with end-clients having more control over their servicing while advisors provide “high-end support.”
The AdvisorEngine-Schwab integration comes in response to advisor demand for simplified tech stacks. Compared to “several years ago,” firms are more interested in bundling, rather than piecemealing their tech stacks, said John Tyers, chief growth officer at AdvisorEngine.
For Schwab, the integration is an example of a commitment the firm has made to get more third-party tech providers integrated with the custodian. “Our deepening relationship with AdvisorEngine is a great example of the type of quality integrations we are focused on with our third-party solutions,” said Kartik Srinivasan, senior managing director of digital advisor solutions at Schwab, in a statement. Srinivasan is also overseeing the reconciliation of third-party integrations at Schwab compared to those at TD Ameritrade, as the two firms continue their post-acquisition integration.
This integration with Schwab marks the final major custodian for AdvisorEngine. It comes three years after the firm integrated with TD Ameritrade via Veo One. Integrations with Fidelity and Pershing pre-date the announcement, as well.
The entire process took eight months to complete, added Ramsey. “It’s a privilege to integrate with the major custodians,” he said. “You don’t just get to show up and do it.”