TD Ameritrade Launches Institutional Market Center, an Enticing New Investment Platform for Advisors

TD Ameritrade Launches Institutional Market Center, an Enticing New Investment Platform for Advisors

One could argue that the majority of financial advisors would be better served by spending more time meeting with clients and prospects, and outsourcing investment management to outside experts.

“Money management is a commodity,” says Don Patrick, President and CEO, Integrated Financial Group. “It is rare that a financial advisor/planner can add Alpha. And, in the rare case they do, what is the cost/benefit?” he asks. “Investment management drains time and money. It should be outsourced by most.”

Proprietary research by Technology Tools for Today (T3) indicates that some RIA firms spend more than 80% of their technology dollars on investment related technology, yet that investment rarely produces superior investment results. With the cost of investment management shrinking to an all time low, many advisors would be better served devoting their resources to more productive pursuits such as financial planning, client engagement and prospecting.

A portion of the advisor population has already gravitated to some form of outsourced investment management, be it a turnkey asset management program (TAMP), an automated digital platform (robo-advisor), or some other similar solution. The reason, I suspect, that more advisors have not outsourced investment management is some of the constraints that outsourcing places on advisors. For example, TAMPs and robo-advisors do not typically allow advisors to control the timing of trades, thereby limiting if not eliminating their ability to control the tax consequences of trades for their clients. TAMPs and other similar platforms often limit advisors’ ability to customize client reporting.

UNPRECEDENTED FLEXIBILITY

The TD Ameritrade Institutional Model Market Center, however, which recently launched, allows advisors an unprecedented level of flexibility at a very low cost. For those advisors who want to exert more control of portfolio decisions, the Institutional Market Center provides the flexibility to do so in a streamlined fashion. Advisors can use their existing portfolio management and reporting solutions to deliver customized reports to clients.

This platform lets independent RIAs on the TD Ameritrade Institutional platform leverage the brain power of leading money managers right from their desktops, without the constraints and complexity that come with outsourcing solutions.

With Model Market Center, advisors can select from a broad menu of third-party investment models in one, central location. The platform then seamlessly leverages iRebal® on Veo® — TD Ameritrade’s trading and portfolio management technology — to execute those models in the manner they choose. As providers update their models, changes are automatically communicated to advisors.

For do-it-yourself advisors, Model Market Center can save the time spent building models from scratch, so they can devote more time working with clients and financial planning, while retaining investment management fiduciary control and responsibility, flexibility, and trading discretion.

And for those that employ traditional third-party platforms, Model Market Center can represent a less costly alternative. A broad menu of models is available to advisors at no additional fee, and there’s no investment minimum for assets held at TD Ameritrade Institutional.

A MODERN APPROACH

“Advisors are increasingly seeking efficiencies. With this platform, we are delivering what we believe to be a more modern approach,” said Danielle Fava, director of product strategy and development at TD Ameritrade Institutional. Model Market Center currently offers access to a selection of models from eight investment managers:

  • Anchor Capital Advisors
  • CLS Investments
  • Cambria Investments
  • Goldman Sachs Asset Management
  • Russell Investments
  • State Street Global Advisors
  • Wilshire Associates
  • WisdomTree Investments

Model Market Center is an open-architecture platform and we expect to add more providers and models over time,” Fava said.

ALTERNATIVE TO TRADITIONAL TAMPS

Model Market Center presents advisors with an alternative to the traditional TAMP model. After advisors complete their due diligence, they can subscribe to investment models and download them directly into iRebal on Veo®, the powerful, tax-efficient rebalancing tool available at no additional cost for accounts held with TD Ameritrade Institutional. There, advisors can implement one model or blend multiple models — including those they build themselves — based on the unique needs of each client account.

The models currently available are comprised of ETFs and mutual funds, but over time may include individual stocks and other securities. Some models leverage TD Ameritrade’s expanded menu of commission-free funds available through the ETF Market Center.

Since Model Market Center was activated on Oct. 30, 2017, more than 1,000 independent RIAs utilizing the TD Ameritrade Institutional platform have signed on; many are already putting the Model Market Center to work with their clients’ assets.

In my opinion, TD’s Model Market Center represents an important step forward in investment technology. When leveraged in combination with VEO and iRebal, it is a powerful, cost-effective tool for financial advisors.

Joel Bruckenstein
Joel Bruckenstein
Joel P. Bruckenstein, CFP®, is Publisher of the T3 Tech Hub (formerly the T3 newsletter) and the producer of the Technology Tools for Today (T3) Advisor Conference, the only annual technology conference for independent advisors, as well as the Technology Tools for Today (T3) Enterprise Conference. He also hosts other technology summits in partnership with thought leaders in the financial services industry (e.g., Brian Hamburger of MarketCounsel) and his own by-invitation-only fintech summit every summer. In 2020, Bruckenstein will produce for the first time a new one-day intensive called T3 Cyber University. Bruckenstein is an internationally acclaimed expert on applied technology as it relates to the financial service industry. He is the co-author of three books: Virtual Office Tools for a High Margin Practice, Tools and Techniques of Practice Management, and Technology Tools for Today’s High Margin Practice. Bruckenstein’s monthly technology columns appeared in Financial Advisor magazine and Financial Planning magazine for many years. In addition, he works in tandem with industry influential Bob Veres, publisher of Inside Information, to produce an annual technology survey for the financial planning community. Bruckenstein accepted the fifth annual Leadership Award bestowed by Bob Veres' Insider's Forum, a conference that brings together the leading figures of the financial planning profession during a main stage presentation at the Insider's Forum held September 6-8, 2017 in Nashville, TN. Bruckenstein has for more than twenty years advised financial service firms of all sizes on improving their technologies, processes and workflows. For more information about Joel Bruckenstein and the services his firm offers, please visit www.JoelBruckenstein.com.

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