FundQuest Offers Retirement Income Management System to Advisors
April 19, 2008
FundQuest, a turnkey asset management company that enables broker/dealers and registered investment advisory firms to outsource all or part of their money management and back-office support needs, is adding a new Retirement Income Management System to its platform.
The new system will allow the 2,000 advisors served by FundQuest to access an open-architecture retirement income-planning tool. They will be able to compare income products and strategies, said Leslie Prescott, FundQuest’s Director of Retirement Income.
“We’re building out a broader suite of products on our platform to take advantage of some of the innovation that’s taking place in the insurance manufacturing world,” she said.
“For instance, our advisors are fee-based, and one of the barriers to offering annuities for them has been compensation. In response, we’re adding a no-load variable annuity to our platform,” she said.
FundQuest, a Boston-based unit of BNP Paribas, said it was premature to release the name of the VA provider because the selling agreement is still pending.
The ability to offer broker/dealers a retirement income-planning tool is fast becoming a competitive necessity for turnkey asset management programs, said Prescott, who joined FundQuest in January after having been vice president, Retail Retirement Services group, at Fidelity Investments.
“A year ago, we would have been a little early with [the retirement income tool],” she added. “But now a lot of companies are in the process of deciding whether to build this capability in-house or buy it. Three broker/dealers recently asked us to provide them with insurance products.”
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