CEO Monthly Sept

28 CEO MONTHLY / AUGUST 2017 , Envision Financial Systems, Inc. and U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, announced on the 28th September the launch of FundKeeper, a new mutual fund account servicing platform. Launch of FundKeeper On the 28th September, premier provider of real- time mutual fund recordkeeping technology and outsource solutions, Envision Financial Systems, Inc. and providers of single-source solutions to support a variety of investment strategies and products, announced the launch of FundKeeper, a new mutual fund account servicing platform. The first FundKeeper clients are CUSO Financial Services, L.P. (CFS) and Sorrento Pacific Financial, LLC (SPF), sister broker-dealers and Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) with more than 500 registered representatives nationwide. CFS/SPF went live with the FundKeeper platform in August, having fully integrated FundKeeper into their existing systems. FundKeeper brings financial intermediaries a new approach to supporting mutual-fund-only investor accounts. Traditionally, intermediaries have held these accounts directly with mutual fund families—and suffered business inefficiencies and lack of control. Or, they’ve been forced to “go to traditional brokerage” with accounts unsuited to conventional brokerage fees and complexity. FundKeeper is an alternative to both these options. FundKeeper provides access to more than 16,000 funds with a largely ‘all electronic’ mutual fund experience allowing financial intermediary firms to enhance up front compliance and eliminate the need for back end consolidation of their clients’ mutual fund holdings. This can help them comply with the Department of Labor (DOL) Fiduciary Rule and help increase customer satisfaction. Benefits of FundKeeper include: • A single mutual fund experience for clients and reps across management companies: one web and mobile interface and consolidated statements. • Financial intermediary firms enhance controls with the ability to select the funds their representatives have access to, set up parameters to determine investor suitability, leverage automated breakpoint calculations, and gain easy access to position and activity data. • A lower cost solution for mutual fund only investors that eliminates unneeded wire house brokerage system capabilities and associated brokerage fees. • Better economics for the intermediary firm by streamlining mutual fund processing and support. • Integration with intermediaries’ existing software to provide a rep and client experience to mitigate operational change associated with introducing new offerings. • Dramatically reduced dependency on mail and physical checks through modern, electronic alternatives. “We are delighted to expand our offerings to the financial intermediary market to help broker- dealers and RIAs better serve mutual fund investors, simplify account openings and streamline shareholder servicing,” said Ian Martin, Executive Vice President at U.S. Bancorp Fund Services. Brian Jones, Executive Vice President of Envision, said, “By combining Quasar Distributors mutual fund trading, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services back office operations, and Envision’s PowerAgent technology, the collaboration between our firms can transform intermediaries’ ability to support the mutual fund only investor. Our goal with FundKeeper has been to solve the longstanding business problems faced by many financial intermediaries as they struggle with hassle, expense, or both when managing mutual fund accounts.” “We’re proud to be the first firm to customize and integrate FundKeeper into our existing systems because it is an efficient, cost-saving option that is both advisor and client friendly. Our investment programs appreciate that it’s an easy, transparent, and compliant platform for processing and managing their clients’ mutual fund accounts,” said Valorie Seyfert, President and CEO of CFS/SPF. “Recently, we launched our customized version, which we branded as fundVISION™, and have already gotten some great feedback on the new process. It helps our representatives better serve their clients—while eliminating many all-too-familiar aggravations from account opening and management.”