American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc. Named 2019 Broker-Dealer of the Year by Investment Advisor Magazine for the Fifth Consecutive Year

HOLBROOK, N.Y., Aug. 28, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc. (AP), an independent broker/dealer that serves affiliated financial advisors nationwide, is proud to announce that it has been named Broker-Dealer of the Year in 2019 by Investment Advisor magazine for its fifth consecutive year. It was 29 years ago that Investment Advisor magazine's editorial staff began inviting registered representatives of independent broker/dealers (B/Ds) to rate their B/D in 15 distinct categories. The B/Ds that receive the highest average rating from their affiliated professionals are named Broker-Dealers of the Year in four divisions based on their number of producing representatives. AP won Division III, gaining top votes in the category of B/Ds with 500 - 999 producing advisors.

Since AP's inception in 2001, the independent business model in its purest form remains the foundation and guiding principle upon which the firm was built, and a belief system drawing many affiliated colleagues and personnel to the organization who are personally and professionally invested in its future. "We are extremely honored to have earned this industry recognition for a fifth time," states American Portfolios CEO and President Lon T. Dolber. "This achievement serves to validate our steadfast commitment to strive for process excellence—making sure that we provide our valued affiliated investment professionals with the best financial services systems, tools, products, platforms and processes needed in order for them to do the very best job for their clients—the investing public."

The announcement of AP's Division III 2019 Broker-Dealer of the Year Award was formally made in the September issue of Investment Advisor magazine, recently distributed to its readers this past week. "Investment Advisor's Broker-Dealers of the Year, including American Portfolios, help their advisors thrive," said Janet Levaux, editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine. "These firms have been recognized by their advisor clients for service excellence. We are pleased to honor them for the innovative, entrepreneurial ways in which they support advisors looking to grow their businesses, while working in the best interest of investors."

In addition to being named B/D of the Year for the last four years by Investment Advisor magazine, AP has been named one of the Best Companies to Work for in New York by the New York State Society for Human Resources Management (NYS-SHRM) and the Best Companies Group (BCG) in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, as well as one of the Top Long Island Workplaces for 2018 by Newsday.

AP attributes the majority of its success to its strong commitment to providing top-notch customer service. Setting the bar higher throughout 2018 and into 2019, AP put in motion meaningful enhancements to its already highly-regarded customer service support and offerings to satisfy the needs of its affiliated investment professionals in serving an ever-more demanding investing public. Newly-offered services include AP's Advisor Support Center (ASC) Live Chat, whereby customers can chat directly with the firm's dedicated support specialists; and Virtual Administrative Services (VAS), a program that pair customers to a dedicated assistant so they're able to scale their practices. With consummate service readiness through ongoing training of its team, alternative modes of communication for quick and convenient problem resolution, and streamlining process management using AP's back office, its advisors are better equipped to scale and add greater value to their practices.

Similarly, the firm has always put a great deal of emphasis on building strong proprietary technology, including its business processing and supervisory Web service platform, STARS; its highly-developed and custom-built advisory technology platform, Portfolio Insight; and HomePort, a platform which brings together all of AP's proprietary technology so investment professionals may conduct their day-to-day business in an efficient, intuitive and user-friendly manner. AP's proprietary technology is consistently enhanced and improved through the development of value-added features and extended levels of service. Most recently, AP has developed Unified Solutions, its own Unified Managed Account (UMA), which allows for the consolidation of a wide range of investment products—including Separately Managed Accounts (SMAs), mutual funds, ETFs and individual securities—to be held in a single investment account. AP's UMA also allows advisors to use multiple third-party SMA managers in one account while also giving them the option to manage their own advisor sleeves.

Additionally, there is AP's Nine Points Advisory Services Platform, which is comprised of its advisor- and institutionally-managed programs, including Nine Points Investment Management (NPIM)—an alternative asset management solution and resource providing research, due diligence, product support and in-house model management. Since its inception, NPIM is quickly approaching $200 million in the firm's investment portfolios and recently launched the NPIM individual fixed income product suite, which includes investment grade corporate and municipal bonds, as well as short duration CDs and Treasury securities.

As always, the firm remains committed to providing peer-to-peer networking and business building opportunities through a strategically planned series of meetings. With best practices outreach for its affiliated advisors through its business development team and Connections Tour, the independent broker/dealer looks forward to hosting its annual national conference, bringing together affiliated colleagues, key AP staff members and business partners to engage in a full agenda of valued-added meetings and networking opportunities to further learn from one another. Positioned as an educational and business conference, Connections 2019 is set to take place at Connecticut's Mohegan Sun from Oct. 23 – 25. In addition to a wealth of practice management offerings and valuable focus partner symposiums, this annual event will feature compelling keynote addresses by magician, author, former NFL player and motivational speaker Jon Dorenbos, and author and CEO of Corgenius Amy Florian.

The firm holds itself responsible not only for its investment professionals who serve the investing public, but also to the community-at-large with its active involvement in many socially responsible endeavors involving veterans, individuals with disabilities, mentoring and education, and health and well-being. AP is proud to support and sponsor such non-profit organizations as World T.E.A.M. (WT), The Center for Discovery (TCFD), Virtual Enterprises International (VEI), The Butterfly Effect Project (BEP), Long Island Cares (LIC) and Honor Flight Long Island (HFLI), to name a few.

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 850 independent investment professionals located in 395 branch locations throughout the nation. It was named Broker-Dealer of the Year* (Division III) by Investment Advisor magazine in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, as well as one of the Best Companies to Work for in the state of New York for 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 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."

SOURCE American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc.