Pershing Expands Donor-Advised Funds Platform Available to Advisors

JERSEY CITY, N.J., Dec. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Pershing LLC, a BNY Mellon company, today announced an expansion of its philanthropic solutions for advisors at independent broker-dealers and registered investment advisors available through NetX360^®, its technology platform for advisors. The open-architecture donor-advised funds solution and educational resources provide advisors with the tools necessary to facilitate the creation and management of a donor-advised fund. This solution is made possible through an alliance with Crown Philanthropic Solutions, a provider of donor-advised fund technology.

"We're seeing a national trend in philanthropic giving and are responding by equipping advisors with solutions that meet their clients' gifting plans and help them to build relationships with those clients and, in some cases, with their families and communities as well," said Katie Swain, director of wealth solutions at Pershing. "Philanthropy continues to grow across the U.S. and the need for solutions that enable advisors to support their client's charitable giving plan is critical."

The collaboration with Crown Philanthropic Solutions is complementary to donor-advised funds that are currently made available to Pershing clients through an arrangement with American Endowment Foundation (AEF), a leading, national, independent sponsor of donor-advised funds. As an alternative to directing their client's assets to a neutral platform, they now have the option to create their own, private-label fund.

Pershing's several philanthropic solutions benefit advisors in various ways, including:

• Charitable contributions stay with the advisor, increasing assets under management. Whether using Crown Philanthropic Solutions or AEF, assets are held with Pershing, keeping the clients' assets with their advisor.
• Relationships with the advisor's clients and families are strengthened. This offering will help enhance the advisor's relationship with clients and their younger family members by enabling them to establish a legacy of charitable giving that perpetuates their family name and values. Also, the younger generation can be involved in recommending future grants.
• Advisors can focus on managing the assets rather than regulatory and legal matters. Crown Philanthropic Solutions provides a complete turnkey solution coupled with professional training and educational resources for advisors that choose to setup a donor-advised fund program.
• Significantly reducing the minimum contribution typically required to open this type of vehicle.  Under the AEF solution, advisors have a philanthropic vehicle that supports the charitable-giving pursuits of mass-affluent, high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients with account minimums starting as low as $10,000.
• Advisors now have the opportunity to provide clients with a more flexible and less costly vehicle for charitable giving. With AEF, clients that decide to open their own fund can receive many of the benefits of a private foundation without the startup and ongoing administrative costs.

Ms. Swain added, "Leaving a legacy is a goal many clients strive for and advisors can help them achieve that goal by utilizing multiple philanthropic solutions, such as donor-advised funds. Our solutions which include Crown Philanthropic Solutions and American Endowment Foundation are key to providing advisors and their clients' flexibility in gifting."  

Pershing and its affiliates provide global financial business solutions to approximately 1,600 financial organizations, broker-dealers, registered investment advisory firms, advisors, fund managers and asset managers who represent over 5.6 million active accounts. Located in 23 offices worldwide, Pershing delivers dependable operational support, robust trading services, flexible technology, an expansive array of investment solutions, practice management support and service excellence. Pershing is a member of every major U.S. securities exchange, and its international affiliates are members of the Deutsche Borse, Australian Stock Exchange, Irish Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange. Pershing LLC (member FINRA/NYSE/SIPC) is a BNY Mellon company. Additional information is available on pershing.com, or follow us on Twitter @Pershing.

BNY Mellon is a global investments company dedicated to helping its clients manage and service their financial assets throughout the investment lifecycle.  Whether providing financial services for institutions, corporations or individual investors, BNY Mellon delivers informed investment management and investment services in 35 countries and more than 100 markets.  As of September 30, 2013, BNY Mellon had $27.4 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration, and $1.5 trillion in assets under management.  BNY Mellon can act as a single point of contact for clients looking to create, trade, hold, manage, service, distribute or restructure investments. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK).  Additional information is available on www.bnymellon.com, or follow us on Twitter @BNYMellon.

SOURCE BNY Mellon