Schwab Pilots New Broadridge Proxy Polling Solution: Tech Roundup

Schwab Asset Management announced Thursday that it’s the first large asset manager to pilot a new proxy polling solution from fintech firm Broadridge Financial Solutions.

The new solution allows the asset management division of The Charles Schwab Corp. to poll fund shareholders to understand their key preferences regarding key proxy issues, according to Schwab.

“Voting shares of securities held by our funds is a duty Schwab Asset Management takes very seriously,” said Omar Aguilar, Schwab Asset Management CEO and CIO. “We want to better understand shareholders’ views on important proxy issues, and we know more shareholders want to share their views with us and express their unique preferences through their investments.”

Broadridge’s new solution was designed to provide an efficient and scalable way to gather general preferences across a large base of shareholders. The pilot will engage the shareholders of one Schwab Fund and two Schwab ETFs — the Schwab 1000 Index Fund (SNXFX), the Schwab 1000 Index ETF (SCHK) and the Schwab Ariel ESG ETF (SAEF).

As of June 30, Schwab Asset Management managed about $575.9 billion on a discretionary basis and $34.4 billion on a non-discretionary basis, it said.

Lori Hardwick Named Docupace Board Chair

Docupace announced Thursday that industry veteran Lori Hardwick has been appointed chair of its board, effective immediately, replacing Brad Bernstein, FTV Capital managing partner.

Hardwick has over 30 years of experience as a senior executive, entrepreneur and board member for some of the fastest-growing and widely recognized firms in the sector, including Envestnet, which she co-founded, going on to join BNY Mellon’s Pershing as its COO before co-founding AI Labs.

“She will share that expertise with Docupace as the company continues to execute its ambitious strategic expansion goals,” Docupace said.

Hardwick also currently holds board seats at Cerity Partners, Cetera Financial Group, Orion Advisor Solutions and Vestwell, where she also serves as chair of the board of directors. She is also a member of Genstar Capital’s Strategic Advisory Board.

She takes on her new role on Docupace’s board as the company expands its executive leadership team to “support its strong growth and focused intent to deliver a comprehensive back-office ecosystem to the wealth management industry,” the firm said.

Hearsay Introduces RIA Platform

Hearsay Systems announced a new offering for RIAs on Tuesday, saying the new compliant client engagement solution will help independent advisors “thrive in today’s digital world.”

The new solution was designed specifically to meet the needs of organizations with under 50 employees so they can grow and maintain advisor-client relationships more effectively, Hearsay said.

“RIAs play an important role in financial services today, but often lack the centralized compliance and marketing functions that make robust communications strategies successful,” Hearsay CEO Mike Boese said in a statement.

“We believe that they deserve the same opportunities to connect with clients and prospects that the big firms can access,” he added.

Offered as a bundle, the new out-of-the-box solution enables, among other things: social media publishing and messaging for LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, including campaigns and personalization; flexible, mobile-optimized and SEO-friendly personal websites; suggested and curated content that advisors can personalize and publish; and “seamless texting, voice, desktop and mobile options with automation,” according to Hearsay.

Mercer Advisors CMO Gary Foodim says his firm has already adopted the solution. “We chose to partner with Hearsay because it provides our team quality content for social posts, while opening up new options for texting and calling — in one easy-to-use platform,” he said in a statement. “We believe Hearsay will be a gamechanger for our advisors.”

Franklin Templeton, AdvisorEngine Select LifeYield

Franklin Templeton announced Tuesday it will enhance its Goals Optimization Engine with LifeYield’s technology for tax-efficient planning and income sourcing across multiple accounts and assets.

Initially available to advisors using GOE on the AdvisorEngine wealth management technology platform, advisors will be able to help clients manage their goals through a unified framework that includes investment advice, tax planning, tax location, Social Security and income sourcing.

GOE is Franklin Templeton’s proprietary technology that enables advisors and financial services firms to deliver personalized, high-value services to end-investors at greater scale.

Like Franklin Templeton, AdvisorEngine is a wholly owned subsidiary of Franklin Resources, which had about $1.4 trillion in assets under management as of Aug. 31, it said.

Broadridge Teams with MX

Broadridge Financial Solutions entered into a strategic partnership with open finance leader MX in which Broadridge will use MX’s financial data aggregation and personalized financial management automation solutions to offer advisors a holistic view into “all aspects of an investor’s financial journey,” the firms said in a joint announcement Tuesday.

The solution will “provide financial advisors with a 360° customer view and enable Broadridge to enhance its enterprise expertise, deliver personalized financial insights at scale and strengthen data governance with MX’s secure money management platform and automated financial health insights,” the companies said.

As a result, advisors will “gain complete access to actionable information across their clients’ assets and liabilities, better equipping them to provide relevant recommendations for long-term financial success,” the firms said.

The MX tools that are being integrated and embedded in Broadridge’s Data Aggregation solution will give advisors a “robust suite of financial wellness capabilities that are easy-to-use digital tools to provide insight into a client’s everyday financial life,” the companies added.

Infinity Financial Added to AIX

Alternative Investment Exchange announced Tuesday that broker-dealer Infinity Financial Services was integrated on AIX’s alternative investment platform.

Infinity “optimizes functionality that is essential to advisor success such as ease of use, operational efficiency, regulatory compliance, and cybersecurity, among other concerns,” according to AIX.

Jon Patullo Joins Apex

Fintech Solutions announced Monday that Jon Patullo is joining the company as chief product officer of advisory in the fourth quarter of 2022.

In his new role, Jon will lead the technology product strategy for Apex Advisor Solutions, the advisory channel of Apex Fintech Solutions.

He is based in Dallas, Texas, and will collaborate with Olivia Eisinger, general manager of Advisory Solutions.

Patullo brings more than 26 years of experience in advisory and financial technology to Apex, most recently serving as managing director of digital trading and wealth management for Charles Schwab Corp. and managing director of Technology Platform Management at TD Ameritrade Holding Corp.

 (Pictured: Lori Hardwick, newly appointed chair of Docupace board of directors)