SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Mar 6, 2014) - Advent Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADVS), a leading provider of software and services for the global investment management industry, today announced that Essex Financial Services, Inc. chose Advent's Black Diamond platform as its portfolio management, reporting, and rebalancing solution.
Essex Financial Services, a subsidiary of Essex Savings Bank with more than $3.4 billion in assets under management or administration, provides diversified financial services to more than 4,400 households. The Black Diamond platform provides Essex advisors with a configurable performance reporting solution featuring an improved user environment, more streamlined workflows and expedient billing capabilities. Previously, Essex advisors needed to request client reports days before they were needed for client meetings. With the Black Diamond platform, they now have access to this information the day they need it, creating significant time savings to focus on developing client relationships. The platform also provides advisors with transparency into revenue flows before bills are distributed.
"After conducting in-depth reviews of all of other portfolio management & reporting solutions, it became clear that the Black Diamond platform's offering is the most comprehensive for our needs and offers the scalability to support and accelerate our growth," said Ron Nelson, Chief Operating Officer of Essex Financial Services, Inc. "The Black Diamond team's expert implementation, responsive service, and in-house expertise provided a smooth and swift implementation process that truly set them apart from other technology providers we considered."
"We are delighted that Essex has selected Advent as its technology partner and the Black Diamond team is thrilled to deliver an unparalleled combination of technology, service and innovation to Essex, its advisors and its clients for years to come," commented Dave Welling, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Black Diamond. "Black Diamond's scalable platform supports firms of all sizes, from emerging start-ups to large firms like Essex, which is well-known for its reputation and track record of excellence. We look forward to contributing to the firm's ongoing success and growth."
The Black Diamond platform offers end-users, both the advisor and their clients, with unmatched flexibility by providing them with remote access via a client portal and iPad app. Essex clients also have an opportunity to view their complete wealth picture with aggregated and detailed views of assets held not only with their advisor, but also those held elsewhere, such as 401(k) or IRA plans.
Advent's Black Diamond platform is one of the only major portfolio management, reporting, and rebalancing solutions for advisors that integrates with all of the major RIA and broker dealer custodians. Essex will benefit specifically from the platform's integration with Pershing's NetX360, which enables seamless access through one login portal. This integration also provides the ability to easily shift between the Black Diamond platform and NetX360 platforms, the option to easily import trade and fee data in Pershing's format, as well as the opportunity to receive daily, automated, and fully-synchronized cost basis data at the lot level with an integrated workflow.
About Advent
Over the last 30 years of industry change, our core mission to help our clients focus on their unique strategies and deliver exceptional investor service has never wavered. With unparalleled precision and ahead-of-the-curve solutions, we've helped over 4,400 firms in nearly 60 countries -- from established global institutions to small start-up practices -- to grow their business and thrive. Advent technology helps firms minimize risk, work together seamlessly, and discover new opportunities in a constantly evolving world. Together with our clients, we are shaping the future of investment management. For more information on Advent products visit http://www.advent.com.
About Black Diamond
An independent business group of Advent Software, Black Diamond provides investment advisors and wealth managers with a cloud-based portfolio management platform offering aggregation, customizable reporting and rebalancing combined with fully outsourced daily reconciliation and data management service. With innovative technology backed by exceptional service, Black Diamond frees advisors to focus on serving clients and growing their business. More than 500 advisory firms have chosen Black Diamond to help manage more than $220 billion in assets. Learn more at http://www.advent.com/blackdiamond.
Advent and Advent Software are registered trademarks of, and the Advent logo is a mark of, Advent Software, Inc. All other company names or marks mentioned herein are those of their respective owners.
