Commonwealth, IPS AdvisorPro Offer Investment Policy Software

The software enables advisers to create investment policy statements (IPS) reflecting their firm’s philosophy and the unique circumstances of their clients. The adviser can update all previously created statements if the firm changes its investment policy.

A subscription to the service includes:

• Eight client-type investment policy statement templates, which are populated through corresponding questionnaires.
• The ability to customize an unlimited number of additional templates.
• 33 asset classes with which to create unlimited asset allocation models, each with historical return and standard deviation data.
• A risk-tolerance questionnaire that scores responses using an algorithm.
• Integration with MoneyGuidePro financial planning software and Redtail CRM.

“Investment policy statements are not only a prudent best practice in private wealth management, but they are critical to relationship management, as well as an effective marketing tool,” said Gavin Morrissey, vice president of wealth management at Commonwealth.

AdvisorPro co-founders Norm Boone and Linda Lubitz Boone added, in a statement: “In this era of financial services industry reform and a focus on a fiduciary standard of care, the use of an IPS has become critical for financial advisers. The investment policy statement is rapidly being embraced by the industry as the go-to document and record of the agreements between financial adviser and client about how their money will be invested to ensure compliance with new regulations and to protect the firm from liability exposure.”

Commonwealth Financial Network is a registered investment advsier and independent broker/dealer that was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, and San Diego. IPS AdvisorPro, founded in 2006 and headquartered in Miami, has more than 1,600 users and has created 37,000 investment policy statements.