Fidelity Investments Launches WealthCentral

WealthCentral, first announced by Fidelity more than a year ago (see “Fidelity Integrates Wealth Management Systems into One Workstation“), brings together portfolio management, customer relationship management (CRM), financial planning, portfolio rebalancing, and trading into one unified workstation, according to a Fidelity release. The platform has been implemented with 25 clients, and will be rolled out to Fidelity’s remaining 3,500 RIA clients throughout 2009 and 2010.

Fidelity expects the platform to simplify the advisory business. The firm said unlike other platforms in the industry, WealthCentral’s core applications are all compatible with one other, so that advisers will only have to enter client information into their system once. The system then automatically updates, and through the integration of Advent Back Office Services (ABOS), reconciles information across the platform’s various applications.

Other third-party capabilities include, according to the release:

• Portfolio management—utilizing Advent’s APX-hosted multi-custodial platform via ABOS, this application can help enable quicker trading decisions and more reliable client reporting.
• CRM—a customized version of Oracle’s CRM On Demand system specifically designed for RIAs to manage all aspects of their client and prospect relationships.
• Financial planning—utilizing Emerging Information System Inc.’s NaviPlan Central, this application offers advisers holistic, goal- and cash-flow-based plans to help them address the complex planning needs of their clients.
• Portfolio rebalancing—using Northfield Information Services, these tools allow advisers to use rules and risk factors to help identify, measure, and manage overall portfolio risk for their accounts.
• Account servicing and trading—All of the third-party capabilities within WealthCentral are integrated with Fidelity’s account servicing and trading platform. Advisers can conduct online cashiering, service requests, and new account opening, helping them enhance customer service by maintaining control over their service transactions and reduce errors.

“Since we announced the development of WealthCentral, the response from advisers has been overwhelming,” said Scott Dell’Orfano, executive vice president, Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services, in the release. “Now more than ever, advisers see that efficiency is a way to help enhance profitability. WealthCentral is designed to address this need by helping to relieve advisers of the burdens of managing technology and conducting data reconciliation.’