Advent Software (ADVS) just wrapped up its yearly conference, which drew more than 1,300 guests. At the Sept. 18-20 event, the company shared a new logo, cloud-based platform and upgrades to its portfolio management platform.
In other tech-centric news, SunGard Financial Systems said Wednesday that it is rolling out a new financial planning tool.
Advent's staff were ecstatic about the high attendance at its recent 30th anniversary event, noting that several tech and financial services VIPs were there, including from CEB TowerGroup, Focus 1 Associates and Ashland Partners.
"I am thrilled to welcome so many valuable clients and partners to the most important AdventConnect we've held to date," said CEO Pete Hess, in a press release last Wednesday. "This is a critical time for the industry we serve with major regulatory, macroeconomic, and technology shifts continually evolving the way investment managers do business."
The software maker says that Advent Direct, its new cloud-based platform for investment managers should allow them to boost efficiency by bringing together "disparate solutions and workflows" in operations, from front to back office.
"With the launch of Advent Direct, we are helping our clients succeed by leveraging the benefits of cutting-edge technology and combining them with the quality and reliability they expect from Advent," said CTO Todd Gottula, in a statement. "We believe Advent Direct will be a game changer for the industry and for our clients' business success."
With Advent Direct, clients should be able to use social technology to reach helpful content and contacts, according to the software maker.
"The new Advent Direct Community empowers the community of Advent clients, partners and employees to unleash the sharing of ideas, opinions and insights," said Anthony Sperling, executive vice president, global client experience for Advent Software, in a press release.
At its confab, Advent also unveiled both a new logo and redesigned website.
"Our new identity is a visual commitment to remain our clients' steady partner to help them thrive in the dynamic and evolving landscape, which, after 30 years, we are uniquely positioned to help them navigate," Hess said.
More Tools
As for updates to its Black Diamond portfolio management, reporting and rebalancing platform, the software maker says it added new data mining capabilities and more ways to integrate information for RIA custodians and other clients using CRM systems (like Salesforce, trading platforms and analytic tools.
"We've more than doubled the Black Diamond development team since joining forces with Advent two years ago and with that fuel added to our engine we have been able to innovate on many fronts simultaneously, including both internal capabilities and external integrations," noted Dave Welling, senior vice president and general manager of Black Diamond, an independent business group of Advent Software, in a statement.
Advent also beefed up the multi-custodial rebalancing tool, so it includes tax awareness capabilities, like cost-basis integration, the handling of allocations to separately managed accounts and the rebalancing of those investments alongside other securities in one location.
