Products September 9, 2014

DALBAR Gives AXIS Platform Seal of Approval

DALBAR Inc., which provides evaluation and accreditation of retirement plan service providers, has rendered a positive opinion on the methodologies used by the AXIS Retirement Analytics Platform.
Reported by

The AXIS analytics platform, provided by Castle Rock Innovations, is used by advisers to address the Department of Labor’s 408(b)(2) and 404(a)(5) fee disclosure requirements. The platform is designed to service all retirement plan types through a single web-based interface and data repository, and can interface with most recordkeeping systems supporting retirement plan data feeds. 

Advisers use the AXIS platform for automated data aggregation, reporting, and on-demand benchmarking that can be used during auditing processes. The platform links over 80,000 Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) plans, which are refreshed on a monthly basis to provide updated fee, service and plan provision insights.

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“After review of the methodology outlined by AXIS, we have found that the approach taken can be expected to produce reliable benchmarks, subject to an implementation that follows the outline presented and incorporating proper controls,” explains Louis Harvey, president of DALBAR. “Caste Rock Innovations is hereby granted the right to use the DALBAR Benchmark Methodology Certification Seal.”

Khash Sarrafi, CEO of Castle Rock, says the approval from DALBAR “validates our mission and objective to provide accurate real time data back to the industry.”

More information about the AXIS Retirement Analytics Platform is available at www.axisretirement.com.

Deals & People September 9, 2014

Independent Financial Partners Hires Recruiting Director

Independent Financial Partners (IFP), a hybrid registered investment advisory (RIA), has hired Louis Hanna as its new director of recruiting.
Reported by

William Hamm, CEO of Independent Financial Partners, says Hanna’s hiring is part of an effort to significantly increase adviser recruiting efforts, especially among the retirement specialist community.

“We’ve got about 36 people on our staff now supporting our 500 advisers, of which about 180 are retirement specialist advisers,” Hamm tells PLANADVISER. “While they are the minority in terms of the adviser network, their books of business actually represent the majority of assets under advisement. So retirement is a major portion of our business and our ongoing recruiting.”

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Hamm says much of Hanna’s focus will be on continuing to expand the firm’s hybrid RIA platform, “which means servicing and supporting existing IFP advisers, as well as recruiting and attracting new advisers from wirehouses, regional and independent broker/dealers, and small to mid-size RIA firms.”

Hanna has 25 years of financial services industry experience, including senior level positions with Conduit Advisors, ING Furman Selz, Corigin Holdings, Paradigm Multi-Strategy Funds and American Independence Funds. His previous experience includes adviser consulting and recruiting, financial intermediary wholesaling, liquid alternatives structuring/capital raising and family office capital allocation.

At IFP, Hanna will work with the IFP executive management team to identify RIA acquisition and “tuck-in” opportunities with small to mid-size RIAs. Based on his background, Hanna will also consult with IFP sub-groups and advisers in the network to assist in recruiting, practice and book acquisition, succession planning and practice management.

Hamm says IFP is gearing up to focus heavily on advisers and firms managing between $50 million and $250 million in assets under management. “IFP is committed to providing the ideal solution for these advisers,” he adds, “who are not featured in the media as often as ‘breakaway’ advisers, but run great businesses in their own right.”

More information on the firm and its recruiting efforts is available at www.ifpartners.com.

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