BMO Nesbitt Burns Selects Placemark Investments, and more

BMO Nesbitt Burns Selects Placemark Investments

BMO Nesbitt Burns, an investment and wealth management subsidiary of BMO Financial Group, has launched a full-featured, open-architecture unified managed account (UMA) program in Canada. The BMO Nesbitt Burns Architect Program, features Dallas-based Placemark Investments as overlay manager and has account minimums as low as C$150,000. The Program will be available this fall through BMO Nesbitt Burns Investment Advisors across Canada.

Placemark and BMO Nesbitt Burns jointly have implemented a set of multicurrency capabilities and UMA program enhancements specific to the Canadian market. The new program includes both pre-configured model portfolios based on the input of specialist teams at BMO Nesbitt Burns, as well as a full custom open-architecture offering that allows advisers to create completely custom portfolios using their preferred mix of separate account portfolios, mutual funds, ETFs and other investment products.

The BMO Nesbitt Burns Architect Program also will feature sleeve-level performance reporting, multiple methods of fully automated rebalancing and automated cashflow management functions. Placemark Investments will be responsible for implementing all trades and features in the program. The Architect program also will offer advisers a variety of international features, including Canadian and U.S. currency capability in each account; bilingual (English and French) support for the adviser's desktop that creates client profiles, constructs portfolios and opens new accounts; incorporation of Canadian, U.S. and internationally based money managers; and integrated manager portfolios composed of U.S. and Canadian currencies from securities on all U.S. and Canadian exchanges.

"Clients have told us that they want a simpler way to manage their assets," said Sarah Widmeyer, vice president and managing director, managed assets group, BMO Nesbitt Burns, in the press release. "Right now in this industry, you need multiple accounts and investment vehicles to get a diversified solution. Working with Placemark, our new Architect Program consolidates everything into one account with one fee and one statement."

Hargreave Hale Switches to Investmaster

Hargreave Hale, an independent firm of stockbrokers specializing in high net worth and fund management, will be implementing Investmaster Wealthmaster Front Office and Client Reporting software. According to a statement by Investmaster, this move is part of Hargreave Hale's strategy to achieve increased straight-hrough processing (STP) capabilities by integrating its front and back offices, now run entirely on Investmaster systems. The company already uses Investmaster's 4i-Core back-office system, along with 4i-CFD, the package that automates the input, processing and settlement of Contracts For Difference (CFD) processes. Having previously used the LISA suite of services from WMS for its client reporting, Hargreave Hale switched to Investmaster's solution as it was able to offer more sophisticated functionality, including client portfolio valuations, client cash/dealing statements and client transaction statements. The Investmaster front office and client reporting solution interfaces directly with the existing Investmaster 4i-Core back office system. Wealthmaster Front Office allows real-time interaction with clients' portfolios and has its own order management and execution service. CGT what-if modeling using current commission and levy scales is included, along with decision support that enables users to generate orders directly from the portfolios. "The solution offers greater functionality and sophisticated graphics that will advance the service we are able to offer our clients," said Hargreave Hale director Stuart Brookes, in the press release. We now have a fully integrated system that is expandable to meet our needs, both now and in the future."