Integration paves way for Morningstar Office users to securely and compliantly trade and manage 401(k)s and other accounts
Financial technology company Pontera, formerly known as FeeX, announced that it had entered into an integration agreement with Morningstar, Inc. to enable financial advisors who use the company’s Morningstar Officesm software product to household and report on their clients’ investment accounts.
“Advisors tell us that the ability to holistically manage their clients’ assets enables them to provide superior service and deliver better outcomes”
Pontera enables advisors to trade, manage and monitor retirement and held away accounts, which include 401(k)s, 403(b)s, HSAs and more. Effective immediately, users of the Morningstar Office and Pontera platforms will now be able to view data on these assets in Morningstar Office to show performance, aggregate reports and even bill on held away accounts.
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“Advisors tell us that the ability to holistically manage their clients’ assets enables them to provide superior service and deliver better outcomes,” said Pontera Chief Business Officer Dave Goldman. “With this integration, advisors can manage and trade these accounts through Pontera, and receive the household data and reporting that they need through Morningstar Office. The integration will help more Americans meet their long-term retirement goals while helping advisors improve the client experience and streamline their practices.”
More than half of the median American’s wealth is held in employer-sponsored, defined-contribution accounts like 401(k)s, which have historically been difficult for advisors to manage in a compliant, secure and streamlined way. This meant that clients were often unable to receive assistance on these accounts by the fiduciary advisor of their choice, which could negatively impact their retirement savings. Studies have shown that professional management of retirement accounts can amplify returns by as much as 3.3% each year, net of fees.
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“Advisors have long expressed the importance of managing held away assets. This is particularly true for 401(k) accounts, where advisors often don’t have insight into holdings, investment line-ups, fees, and where advisors cannot easily place trades on behalf of their clients. We are excited to integrate with Pontera to allow the independent advisors who use the Morningstar Office platform to deliver a deeper level of service to their clients by managing, householding, and reporting on their 401(k)s and retirement accounts,” said Vincent Florack, Director of Strategic Partnerships for Morningstar Wealth Management Solutions group. “This integration gives our advisors another opportunity to demonstrate the value of holistic advice, while also delivering operational efficiencies that will save advisors time that they can devote to serving their clients.”
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