Investment research and reporting firm, Markov Processes International, is bringing online a new quantitative research framework advisors can use to analyze and monitor mutual funds, ETFs, separately managed accounts, hedge funds and other managed products. MPI said Stylus Workspace brings 25 years worth of fund analysis and factor modeling. Advisors can select a fund for analysis, and Workspace will automatically apply benchmarks, peer groups and factor models (either by choosing one from MPI’s library or by creating their own).
MPI co-founder and CEO Michael Markov said Workspace enables advisors to perform tasks with greater precision, speed and clarity.
“Identifying the right mix of benchmarks, peer groups and factor models for fund analysis is critical to understanding and communicating fund dynamics over time and essential to making smarter investment decisions," said Markov.
The product will be featured in the latest version of MPI’s Stylus Pro Suite, which also includes non-return economic data like rates, yields, spreads and volatility that can be integrated into fund analysis.
Laser App Acquired by iPipeline
Laser App’s automation software used by approximately10,000 RIAs announced that it had been acquired by iPipeline, a provider of cloud-based software for the life insurance industry. Laser App already carries a large number of insurance forms, which users can pre-fill with data from their CRM to eliminate errors and reduce NiGO submissions. Larry Berran, the COO and CFO of iPipeline, said in a statement that the move will help expand his company’s customer base and its ability to offer its products to RIAs, broker-dealers, carriers and mutual funds. Laser App CEO Ed Beggs added, “Whether the transaction is for an annuity, insurance policy or mutual fund, it needs to be completely, electronically and quickly to meet the expectations of today’s consumer.”
“iPipeline is ideally positioned to fill this need, and I am confident that Laser App’s complementary solutions and content will serve as strong technology assets,” he said.
Fi360 Updates Fiduciary Education Tool
The latest updates to Fi360’s Fiduciary Focus Toolkit now provides advisors with comprehensive reporting on prospective clients’ past versus recommended holdings so the advisor can show how they can improve investment performance. The idea is to give advisors a way to demonstrate value and continue growing their business while remaining in compliance with the Department of Labor’s fiduciary standard. The Toolkit also gives home offices on-demand insights into how advisors are performing and communicating with clients.
Orion Integrates with FutureVault
Orion Advisor Services’ portfolio accounting technology has a new integration with FutureVault to provide advisors a secure digital storage space for financial, legal and personal documents. FutureVault also includes smart-filing technology and a digital, filing cabinet infrastructure to organize forms. Orion CEO Eric Clarke said in a statement that the integration can improve an advisor’s sharing and fiduciary tracking of documents going to and from clients, and “improve the robustness of their compliance regimes.”
55 Institutional Appoints Financial Engines Exec ss CEO
Paul Gamble, who formerly served as the executive vice president of Financial Engines, was named the new chief executive officer of 55 Institutional Partners, a science and technology research firm focused on the wealth management industry. Gamble worked with Financial Engines as it grew from a fintech startup to a publicly traded company with $150 billion in assets under management. Prior to his new role at 55 Institutional, Gamble oversaw Financial Engines’ institutional business.
