Orion Advisor Solutions made two announcements Tuesday. First, the firm’s Advisor Tech division launched Orion Communities, a model marketplace that lets RIAs choose portfolios from a mix of 40 third-party asset managers yet retain control over client accounts and trade execution.
While some might argue that Orion launch its first model marketplace back in 2017 with Eclipse, the firm's trading and rebalancing tools, the new service is closer to what other providers in the space have either launched or evolved into, giving advisors more control over the implementation of the models.
Asset managers on the platform include well-known names like BlackRock, American Funds, and Franklin Templeton, as well as more boutique strategists including Clark Capital Management, Horizon Investments, and Main Management, among others.
With Communities, advisors can filter and compare models using multiple criteria and screens. This can include by model fee, by manager, by management style, minimum investment amount, or risk score, among others. An advisory firm can subscribe to multiple models.
Advisors on the Orion platform can work with Communities through either of Orion’s two trading tools, Eclipse or TOM, and are able to approve or deny any changes submitted by the strategist. Advisors can also chose to auto-accept trades that in turn generate a trade file.
For those without the cloud
For those last remaining client-server, in-office technology holdouts, Orion has also launched a program whereby these advisors lacking access to their own technology can sign up for two of Orion's cloud-based services.
The more sweeping of the two is the “Business as Usual” program whereby advisory firms who sign contracts within the next two weeks will receive priority onboarding of their firm to Orion prior to the end of the seond quarter. Advisors subscribing to this will have free access through July 1 and can have their payments deferred through Oct. 30. There are additional services listed in Orion’s prepared statement.
The other program offers Orion’s financial planning technology to advisors for free from April 1 until July 1. Non-Orion clients will get self-guided access to Orion Planning, the firm’s financial planning tools that evolved out of its 2019 acquisition of Advizr. Advisors will also have access to financial planning marketing materials with the program.A
Advisors unable to make it to their offices due to COVID-19 work restrictions will need access to a broadband connection at home to avail themselves of the service.
