Cetera Introduces My Advice Architect

Cetera Financial Group, a network of independent firms supporting the delivery of objective retail financial advice, announced the launch of the first of its new Advice Architect Ecosystem suite of tools for financial advisers and their clients: My Advice Architect.

My Advice Architect is a technology-driven, investment solutions offering that provides advisers with a seamless and streamlined approach to conducting advisory business. The platform constitutes a key component of the broader Advice Architect Ecosystem, a series of integrated platforms and services that the company will be announcing in the coming months as it works toward its strategic vision of creating a truly advice-centric experience for its advisers and their clients.

My Advice Architect, developed in collaboration with Envestnet, brings Cetera’s three core adviser-driven investment programs together on the same technology platform, enabling advisers to serve their clients with an unprecedented degree of flexibility, choice and transparency, the firm says. The new platform is being made available to financial advisers and financial institutions supported by Cetera in a phased rollout across the network, beginning with Cetera Financial Institutions, its firm specifically focused on serving the wealth management programs of banks and credit unions.

Adam Antoniades, president of Cetera says, “We’re excited to take the next step forward in our ongoing mission of redefining what it means to provide retail financial advice with the launch of the first platform in our Advice Architect Ecosystem suite of tools—My Advice Architect. With this platform, Cetera is giving advisers the ability to seamlessly match their clients’ individual needs with the right investment program—and then offering further options for customization within those programs. My Advice Architect provides our advisers and institutions with a level of flexibility, breadth of investment options and access to expert third-party asset managers that has not previously been available from a single, consolidated source. By rewriting the rules of engagement between advisers and clients with the introduction of breakthrough technologies, Cetera is showing how the advice-centric experience is an idea whose time has arrived.”

My Advice Architect combines the following investment programs on a seamless technology platform under a single client agreement with no ticket charges, allowing advisers to position their clients among the three solutions as needed:

• Unified Program: Enables advisers to combine any number of advisor-directed models, fund strategist portfolios (FSPs) and separately managed accounts (SMAs) into one custodial account, thus eliminating the artificial silos around the different investment solutions and allowing advisers to invest their clients in the most appropriate portfolio. The platform provides advisers with access to a broad selection of nearly 100 strategists offering more than 800 mutual fund and exchange-traded fund (ETF) strategies, as well as approximately 300 managers offering more than 700 SMA models.
• Guided Program: A solution that allows advisers to leverage asset allocation models created by third-party model providers and enables them to apply these models to their clients' needs through asset-class weight adjustments and fund selection.
• Advisor Program: A purely adviser-directed solution that offers a wide selection of asset types for both discretionary and non-discretionary client accounts.

Robert Moore, CEO of Cetera, says, "A number of rapidly converging industry, regulatory, demographic and consumer trends are creating a new era in financial advice. Firms that work to relentlessly put advisers' client interests first, with the support of technologies that help drive a transparent and personalized experience, will define the future of this industry. We're very excited about My Advice Architect, as this platform is the first component of a much larger story. In the coming months, we will be announcing additional comprehensive service offerings, including a client-driven, digital advice solution that will also be offered as part of My Advice Architect. In its entirety, our Advice Architect Ecosystem will transform how advisers guide individuals and families towards the achievement of financial well-being at every stage of life."