BT/Smith Barney in broker wrap deal
BT Financial Groupand Smith Barney Citigroup Australia, after several months of combined product development, have launched what they claim is a ‘market first’ wrap tailored to meet the specific needs of brokerage firms.
The new wrap - Broker Wrap - leverages off the existing BT Wrap platform but allows brokers to retain their traditional responsibilities including sponsorship of equities, advice and the execution and settlement of trades.
According to BT and Smith Barney the platform can also accommodate international direct equities purchased via theAustralian Stock Exchange’s World Link and consolidate these holdings for tax and portfolio reporting.
As a development partner, Smith Barney is rolling out the product badged as ‘Portfolio Plus’ to its 230 financial consultants and national private client network.
The head of BT Wrap, Mark Smith, says the launch of the product follows several months of dual product development and is designed to broaden the appeal of the BT platform within the financial services sector.
“Broker Wrap enables brokerage firms to provide clients with an additional layer of services by tapping into a vast menu of listed investments including managed funds, international securities and consolidated reporting from a single desktop,” he says.
Smith Barney head Dean Surkitt says the Portfolio Plus Wrap provides clients with an holistic wealth management solution by improving the diversity of financial services offered in the market.
Surkitt suggests the product will assist in ensuring Smith Barney is no longer viewed as merely a stockbroker by clients.
“Portfolio Plus enhances our offering of a complete wealth management solution across all asset classes,” he says.
The launch of the new wrap product comes just 24 hours after BT Financial Group announced its multi-manager funds had received a strong boost over the past month with total funds under management topping $350 million on total net inflows for June of $23 million.
Backed by a ‘buy’ recommendation fromInvestorWeb, BT’s head of retail Rob Coombe paid tribute to the fact that the multi-manager funds were overseen byInTech Financial Services.
“The outsourcing of manager selection and blending is a key differentiator over tradition in-house multi-manager funds, and is a contributor to recent strong flows,” he says.
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