American Portfolios Officially Launches Client-Facing Portal Within its Proprietary Technology Platform
Holbrook, N.Y. (PRWEB) August 14, 2018 -- American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc. (AP)—a privately-held, independent broker/dealer which provides services and support to investment professionals throughout the country—officially launched Client Access, a new investor-focused application on the company’s proprietary technology platform, HomePort. Designed with the express purpose of creating value-added services all around, AP’s affiliated colleagues may now offer their clients the ability to engage more directly with their accounts by performing various online functions.
HomePort – Client Access, which was conceived and built in-house by AP’s platform development team, increases efficiencies in investment professionals’ practices, as well as AP’s home office, providing back-end support and services to the firm’s growing advisor community. “We are entering a new world in which customers are willing to do more things on their own, and should at least be given a choice to do so where feasible,” states AP CEO Lon T. Dolber regarding AP’s further push toward technology independence. “We need to create an environment where we can do more with less. To mitigate price compression on a firm level, we have to live within our own technology bucket by building our own systems that are specific and strategically driven to address advisor needs. When we build a program or process for scaling and efficiency, then we want to make sure that it helps both our advisors and their clients—the investing public.”
The objective of driving operating and workflow efficiencies stems from AP’s commitment to develop innovative business solutions that reap the benefits of trending technology for meaningful change, spanning from home office operations to end-client households. “HomePort – Client Access is an important step in our constant pursuit of using technology to improve scalability and to lower the cost of serving our customers,” states Executive Vice President of Technology Strategy Atindra Barua, who spearheaded the development of the client portal along with Vice President of Platform Development Andrew Dorfman. “This is the first phase in connecting our investing public to our investment professionals. It sets the stage for incorporating new features in the future to increase the scale of servicing our clients, improving service quality and supplying features that can only be offered online.”
Through HomePort – Client Access, investors can view any mailings that the independent broker/dealer has sent them on behalf of their AP-affiliated investment professional. Within the self-service application, investors are also able to opt out of receiving mailings and will be notified via e-mail when new documents are on file. Investors who have access to their accounts through Albridge or NetX Investor will also be able to conveniently login to those applications from within HomePort – Client Access. The end-client verification and login process is quick and user-friendly; once established, they are brought to a Welcome Page from which they can navigate to several tabs to view their personal documents and notifications, as well as perform various functions, such as choosing to opt out of receiving physical mailings for all of American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc. (APFS) and the firm’s Registered Investment Advisory (RIA) American Portfolios Advisors, Inc. (APA), or view any documents that APFS or APA has mailed to them.
As AP’s platform development team continues to enhance HomePort – Client Access for the utmost benefit of investment professionals and their customers, it is expected that future editions of the application will allow investors to opt out of Pershing’s physical mailings; to update New Account Form information tied to their Investor Record held at AP; and program the application to automatically grant portal access to any investor whose e-mail address, cell phone number and client signature page are all on file.
American Portfolios looks forward to the limitless potential of HomePort and its newest application, HomePort – Client Access, as well as its future technological endeavors, as it moves ever further along the path to platform and technology independence—making the firm a leader among independent broker/dealers.
About HomePort
The HomePort environment is tailored to each user’s needs through single sign-on access (SSO), providing them with a streamlined user experience. HomePort’s architecture brings together all of AP’s proprietary technology—including STARS, the firm’s main operations system through which all business and transactions are entered and recorded, and Portfolio Insight, the firm’s custom-built advisory technology platform—as well as vendor-licensed programs and services, such as Albridge Wealth Reporting; NetX360, Pershing’s digitally enabled wealth management platform; and CommWeb, a sales management software and performance measurement system through Xtiva Financial Systems. The platform features a diverse interface that includes every tool that an investment professional needs in order to run their practice and manage their clients’ accounts, including, but not limited to, compliance, fixed income, general securities, insurance and product resources, as well as advisor-generated proposal reporting capabilities. It also includes a staging ground for an e-commerce environment, currently called “The Place,” offering financial services business solutions to affiliated investment professionals, with an initial rollout of models and strategies on the Nine Points Advisory Services Platform, under APA.
About American Portfolios
Headquartered in Holbrook, N.Y., American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc. (APFS) is a full-service, independent broker/dealer and member firm of FINRA and SIPC, offering a complete range of financial services, including personal financial and retirement planning, securities trading, mutual funds, access to investment research, long-term care planning, insurance products and tax-free investing. Fee-based asset management is offered through its sister subsidiary, American Portfolios Advisors, Inc., (APA), an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Both entities, along with technology entity American Portfolios Advisory Solutions, LLC, collectively reside under the legal entity American Portfolios Holdings, Inc. (APH). Full-service securities brokerage is available through a clearing firm relationship with Pershing, LLC, a BNY Mellon firm, the securities of which are held on a fully disclosed basis. The company currently serves 811 independent investment professionals located in 376 branch locations throughout the nation. It was named Broker-Dealer of the Year* (Division III) by Investment Advisor magazine in 2015, 2016 and 2017, as well as one of the top 10 Best Companies to Work for in the state of New York for 2016, 2017 and 2018 by the New York State Society for Human Resources Management (NYS-SHRM) and the Best Companies Group (BCG).
*Based on a poll of registered representatives conducted by Investment Advisor magazine. Broker/dealers rated highest by their representatives are awarded “Broker/Dealer (B/D) of the Year.”
Melissa Grappone, American Portfolios, http://www.americanportfolios.com/, 631.439.4600, [email protected]
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