Products January 7, 2011

Buckingham Financial Services Acquires Turnkey Program

The Buckingham Family of Financial Services has acquired Advisors Access, a turnkey 401(k) program, from Capital Directions.  
Reported by

Advisors Access will be offered by BAM Advisor Services (BAM), a Buckingham Family company.  According to a press release from Buckingham, the program gives independent registered investment advisers (RIAs) the tools and support they need to effectively compete against the largest providers in the 401(k) market. The program includes adviser-managed portfolios, access to exclusive institutional investments, one-on-one advice, fee transparency, and the fiduciary liability protection of working with both an ERISA 3(21) fiduciary adviser and an ERISA 3(38) investment manager.

The Advisors Access program will be offered in addition to BAM’s platform of RIA support services, which include back-office, technology, fixed income, marketing, compliance and risk management. Like BAM, Advisors Access maintains an emphasis on passive investing, the release said.

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“With the addition of the Advisors Access program to our family of services, BAM will greatly enhance its one-stop shop for value-added services that help RIAs focus on growing their asset levels, while providing an exceptional client experience,” said Mont Levy, CEO of BAM Advisor Services, in the announcement.   

Advisors Access was acquired from Capital Directions, a fee-only RIA with more than $800 million in assets under management. Advisors Access will maintain its name and will continue to be managed by Capital Directions. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.  

Products January 7, 2011

TD Ameritrade Working Toward Better Integration

TD Ameritrade Institutional has been collaborating with third-party technology providers in order to open its Application Programming Interface (API) with its VEO management platform.   
Reported by

By opening its API to third-party technology programmers, TD Ameritrade says the many programs advisers use (for customer relationship management (CRM), financial planning, and portfolio management software), will be able to be used in tandem with VEO, its trading and account management platform.

“Taking an open approach to technology integration supports our commitment to help advisors run more efficient and profitable practices by allowing them to use the software and tools that meet the unique needs of their firms,” said Tom Bradley, president of TD Ameritrade Institutional.

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More than a dozen technology providers have participated in the initial planning and development process, providing feedback on best practices to create an integration methodology.  Initial integration will include accessing critical data such as client balances, positions, and account alerts across applications. The next level of integration will involve expanding capabilities to include transactional functionality such as trading.

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