If you subscribe to InvestmentNews, you probably know that the online magazine recently published its 2019 list of Best Places to Work for Financial Advisors. What you may not know is that nearly 30% of the top 75 firms are users of SS&C Advent technology.
It’s true. Just to name a few, Berman McAleer, the number one firm in the 15-29 employee category and #2 overall, is a client of the Black Diamond® Wealth Platform. Balasa Dinverno Foltz (#7) uses Advent Portfolio Exchange® (APX), Black Diamond Link and SS&C Salentica CRM. RegentAtlantic, #12 in the 30-49 category and #54 overall, also leverages Salentica.
I’d like to suggest this is more than a coincidence. Firms have to compete for top talent these days, and technology tools that make employees feel productive and successful in their jobs can be a powerful differentiator. Considering that employees spend most of their work day on their computers, the software they use is bound to have an influence on how they perceive their work environment.
Of course, all of these firms are doing some pretty innovative things to attract and retain the best and the brightest. For example, Berman McAleer, engages a relationship coach once a year to work with the entire staff. Balasa Dinverno Foltz offers exceptional work/life benefits, including a paid sabbatical. And, RegentAtlantic offers $5 lunches where associates place their order and the firm picks up the majority of the bill.
What these very different firms have in common is their choice of a technology partner which helps enable advisors to do their best work on behalf of their clients. “Our core principles of trust, respect and fulfillment compel us to make each client and employee relationship a personal one,” says David Berman, CEO of Berman McAleer, a Baltimore-based wealth management firm. “Black Diamond empowers our people to deliver on that promise, and helps increase client engagement by bringing our clients’ complete wealth picture into focus.”
By the way, it’s not just the technology that SS&C Advent delivers, but also the people that make up our own service-oriented culture. Our Jacksonville office, headquarters of the Black Diamond team, has been ranked the #1 place to work by the Jacksonville Business Journal for the last three years. “Doing right by clients starts with doing right by employees,” notes Steve Leivent, SVP and head of SS&C’s advisory business unit. “When people feel their workplace culture is aligned with their personal values, treating clients well becomes second nature.”
