When seeking a financial advisor, today’s savvy investors look for a support system that intersects portfolio management with their passions and inspirations. Based on conversations we’ve had with SS&C Advent clients in the advisory segment, many RIAs and independent advisors recognize this, and have embraced the role of “financial life coach.” However, to fully thrive in that role, advisors need to develop expertise and professional alliances in areas that matter to their clients, like home mortgages, education finance, tax, and estate planning.
One common need among advisory clients is freedom from worry about unforeseen events with costly consequences, which is the purpose of insurance. Historically, independent fee-based advisors could do little more than discuss insurance with their clients or perhaps refer them to a commission-based agent, but generally have been hands-off in their actual buying decisions. Whether it was because of a lack of fee-only products designed with advisors in mind, operational challenges, or difficulty obtaining and maintaining proper licenses, it has never been easy for advisors to play a more active role in this aspect of their client’s financial lives.
We set out to change that. Earlier this year, we announced plans to launch the Advent Insurance Marketplace, powered by DPL Financial Partners, providers of the leading turnkey insurance platform for RIAs. Our goal was to eliminate the barriers that fee-based advisors face in trying to help their clients select and buy insurance products for financial security and peace of mind. In August 2021, we launched a first-of-its-kind solution designed explicitly for independent fiduciary advisors. Now, through the Advent Insurance Marketplace Powered by DPL, advisors can access and manage a wide range of fee-only insurance products directly through the Black Diamond® Wealth Platform. In addition, a number of well-known insurers have signed on with DPL to make a variety of insurance products available through the Marketplace, including whole and term life, annuities, long-term care, and disability coverage.
The Marketplace, allows advisors to easily incorporate insurance solutions into their practices and integrate insurance options into their financial planning conversations with their clients. Powerful comparison tools enable advisors to quickly evaluate a variety of solutions to find those suited to their clients’ insurance needs. DPL also has a team of knowledgeable insurance consultants on call to answer advisors’ questions and guide them through the evaluation process.
Lantz Financial Team, an independent advisory firm in Naperville, Illinois, was an early adopter of the Marketplace. Dan Rohlfing, a Senior Financial Advisor with the firm, spoke at our recent SS&C Advent Engage virtual conference about using the platform’s tools to run retirement income scenarios and compare various annuity products with help from the consulting team. “Having this platform gives us our own ‘back office’ of annuity and insurance resources,” he says. “It’s the best of both worlds because we’ve got that human touch and that detailed knowledge base that we just don’t have time for, and then we’ve got the quick resources for running scenarios as well.”
The Marketplace has already garnered attention from the industry as a timely innovation. In fact, ThinkAdvisor recently named SS&C Advent among its 2021 LUMINARIES in the Deal-making and Growth category based of this solution.
Advisors want to have a valuable impact in their client’s lives. At SS&C Advent, the Black Diamond team’s mission is to empower advisors to do just that, by delivering advanced tools and data resources that enable them to optimally serve their clients. The Marketplace makes it easier to provide truly comprehensive, objective financial advice, and solutions, in a client’s best interest. It’s one more way we equip advisors to build trust, strengthen relationships and engender life-long loyalty among their clients.
To learn more about the Advent Insurance Marketplace Powered by DPL, request your personalized demo today.
