Advicent to provide access to North Highland DOL Fiduciary Foundations Playbook for rule implementation
With the Department of Labor (DOL) fiduciary ruling set to take effect in April 2017, Advicent, a leading financial technology provider based in Milwaukee, WI, has announced a strategic partnership with North Highland, a global management consulting firm headquartered in Atlanta, GA. With a specialty in serving the financial services industry, North Highland and Advicent are uniquely equipped to assist financial services firms with this industry transition.
No single software solution can completely ensure that an advisor or firm will not be subject to investigation or litigation. Due to the complexity of the client-advisor-firm relationship, there will be situations where decisions and recommendations are that made outside of established workflows are called into question. Unlike many other regulations, there is no oversight and/or enforcement component for the new DOL rules. Any real or perceived violations will be meted out either through binding arbitration which most retail investors agree to at account opening or through civil litigations, e.g. class action lawsuits, which raises the stakes for firms.
Advicent firmly believes that internal processes—coupled with a robust, well-positioned financial planning software—can greatly reduce the risk of noncompliance, making its partnership with North Highland an exceptional solution for firms looking to build a case for compliance. It is clear that holistic financial planning will play a key role when creating strategies for compliance. With decades of unmatched experience, Advicent is prepared for changes in the industry which ensures the development of first-in-class tools remain ahead of the curve for regulatory changes.
NaviPlan®, the industry-leading comprehensive financial planning software, along with the latest tools from Advicent, Narrator® Clients and Narrator® Advisor, offer a solution that can be leveraged in DOL compliance strategies by providing advisors with technology that allows them to be fully transparent with clients and operate in their clients’ best interests. To enhance this solution, Advicent is partnering with North Highland to offer assistance to advisors in implementing new processes that comply with the DOL rule.
North Highland brings to bear significant resources to clients through their DOL Fiduciary Foundations Playbook that helps guide financial professionals through practical implementations for compliance, with a strong emphasis on the advisor and client experience. As the focus on the new DOL fiduciary regulation becomes more acute, Advicent and North Highland together will empower their clients to understand and implement procedures to comply with the DOL rule. “We are excited to partner with Advicent at a time when financial services firms are under time constraints to comply with the new fiduciary standards,” says Jill Jacques, global financial services lead at North Highland. “We are dedicated to working with financial services firms to ensure a smooth transition of processes before the DOL rule takes effect April 2017. Even with a Trump presidency occurring in January, the DOL Rule deadlines will likely remain intact.”
Advicent clients are now able to work with North Highland and utilize its DOL Fiduciary Foundations Playbook which includes a risk assessment, DOL readiness assessment, advisor training, client communications, and more. This holistic and structured approach will assist firms in quickly implementing changes that are necessary with the new regulations. Advicent clients who take advantage of North Highland services will be offered a preferred pricing on their out-of-the-box fiduciary solution.
With more than 3,000 consultants worldwide, North Highland has completed over 1,400 financial services engagements for firms of all sizes. A team of DOL experts are available at the ready for consultation on rule implementation.
“In addition to North Highland’s focus on compliance, their differentiated attention to the advisor and improving client experience, in light of the DOL, is well-aligned with our philosophy that the client-advisor relationship is at the core of financial planning,” says Phil Cunningham, CEO at Advicent. “We believe this partnership will greatly benefit our clients, not only with rule implementation but will further emphasize the relational aspect of the client’s experience moving forward.”
About Advicent
Advicent is the leading provider of SaaS technology solutions for the financial services industry, servicing the world’s largest financial institutions. The Advicent product offering includes the NaviPlan®, Figlo®, and Profiles™ financial planning applications which power our Narrator® Advisor and Narrator® Clients portals; the Advisor Briefcase® marketing communications tool; and the Narrator® Connect application builder which unlocks the power of Advicent APIs. Through our innovative product capabilities and dedicated services, we are able to help thousands of financial professionals and their clients understand and impact their financial future. Everything comes back to our core mission—enabling everyone to understand and impact their financial future. To learn more, visit advicent.com or email marketing@advicentsolutions.com.
About North Highland
North Highland is a global management consulting firm known for helping clients solve their most complex challenges related to customer experience, performance improvement, technology and digital, and transformation. We add value and support our clients across the full spectrum of consulting, from strategy through delivery. We bring the big ideas, then we make them real. North Highland is an employee-owned firm, headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., with more than 3,000 consultants worldwide and 60+ offices around the globe. The firm is a member of Cordence Worldwide (www.cordenceworldwide.com), a global management consulting alliance. For more information, visit northhighland.com and connect with us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.