Eureka! True Integration Has Arrived
Many years ago the ancient Greek scholar Archimedes mouthed the word, “Eureka” after stepping into the bath and noticing that the water level rose. He discovered that the volume of water displaced is equal to the volume of the part of his body which was submerged. Yes, it was a great discovery.
I am equally excited. Not about what I have discovered, since it already existed, but about what I learned while attending a conference hosted by my new custodian, TradePMR. “Trade who?,” you might ask. TradePMR. Remember that name because I’m absolutely convinced you will be hearing a lot about them in the future. Here are some of the reasons for my enthusiasm.
TradePMR has created an integrated platform which enables the advisor to do more with less. We all know that technology can provide valuable assistance, but I have to say, TradePMR must have the most advanced technology I have ever seen in our industry.
The eCustody platform is where advisors view all aspects pertaining to a client’s investment and is extremely intuitive. Among other things, it incorporates account and performance reporting, trading, and all of the other routine items you’d typically find with most custodians and broker/dealers, but there’s much more. Here’s one example. You can set your fee deduction for any frequency you desire (monthly, quarterly, etc.). You can also select “in advance” or “in arrears,” and tiered or flat rate. Once you set these parameters, when it’s time to deduct fees, you simply click a button and it pulls up every account, reads the account value as of the end of the selected period, and deducts the fee. If there is insufficient cash, it will alert you to this. Can you imagine how many hours this will save? This is only one example.
TradePMR’s platform also includes a streaming quote system via another vendor and it is fantastic. Historical information on just about anything you ask plus advanced charting for the technical analyst. Because I’ve only seen the demo, and have not actually used it yet, it would be impossible to go into much detail yet. I’ll do that in a later blog.
Coming Soon
Account aggregation is coming…Eureka! How about providing clients with a report on ALL of their debt, bank accounts, company retirement plans, etc. Yes, this is coming very soon.
The bottom line is this. TradePMR is a smaller firm (at this time) and because of this it’s very flexible. The firm listens to its advisors and has incorporated their best ideas. I’m loving it!
Mike-
Thanks for sharing! I have found this blog to be quite useful and interesting.
I am on the Fido platform. As a techie, I have looked at TradePMR in the past. I was impressed with their offering.
As a small/solo RIA I have felt that having a well know custodian is a plus, when the client has concerns of the legitimacy of my practice. Has this issue come up with your clients or prospects?
Thanks – Cali
Mike I think it is great you found a custodian you like.. I am interested in converting to RIA platform.. I noticed on the TradePMR website that they have a hyrbid. Would you suggest something like that for someone newer in the business? What type of AUM does TradePMR require?
Cali,
You’re welcome! When I began as an RIA (and as an indie) I wanted a custodian with a “brand” name. This may have been a plus (???), but now that I am a little more established it doesn’t matter. What matter’s is that you have a platform which works well for you. TradePMR has more mutual funds, lower fees, and better technology, so I am very excited about them!!!
Cecil,
Should you use a hybrid platform? It depends. If you have enough AUM to go fee-only, I’d do that. If not, then you may need some commission business to keep you afloat until you are established. As soon as possible though, I’d go RIA only. It offers the least amount of conflicts, at least in my opinion.
Does TradePMR require a certain AUM?
No minimum AUM at TradePMR
Mike, does information from Trade PMR integrate with Morningstar Advisor Workstation? Will it when aggregation is available?
HK,
Trade PMR integrates with MS’s Enterprise Edition now. They are working out the final bugs to enable full integration with MS’s Office Edition. Should be ready in a few days.