New products and changes introduced over the last week include a fund from Vertical Capital; an ETF from Guggenheim Investments; an enhanced risk profiling system and a risk management solution from FinaMetrica; a robo solution from RiXtrema; and a milestone for 361 Capital's global long/short equity fund.
Also, Hickory Growth Partners announced a partnership with financial services firms; RightSize Solutions launched three tools for advisors; Aequitas Capital partnered with Gladstone Analytics; Quovo integrated with Advyzon; and Salient Partners announced that it would acquire Forward Management.
Here are the latest developments of interest to advisors:
1) RiXtrema Offers Robo Assistance
RiXtrema has announced the launch of Advisor BioniX, a tool that combines the actions of a robo advisor with individualized advice.
Advisor BioniX simplifies and automates portfolio management and basic client interaction. It handles the client's risk tolerance assessment, asks basic financial planning questions and uses the information in determining the optimal portfolio for the investor.
This information can ultimately be used by advisors as they prepare custom financial plans when converting clients from the online service to for-fee services.
2) Vertical Capital Adds Fund
Vertical Capital Markets Group has announced the launch of the Vertical Capital Defined Risk Fund (VCDRX, VDRIX), a liquid alternative fund of funds that seeks capital appreciation combined with reduced market volatility.
The fund is sub-advised by Lido Advisors, Inc. of Beverly Hills. As subadvisor, Lido pursues the fund's investment objective by investing primarily in liquid alternative funds that invest in many different asset classes and use a variety of alternative investment strategies, such as long-short, market neutral, opportunistic and global macro strategies. It may also invest a portion of the fund in other financial instruments, including private investments.
3) Guggenheim Adds Global Infrastructure ETF
Guggenheim Investments has announced the launch of the Guggenheim S&P High Income Infrastructure ETF (GHII), a yield-weighted global infrastructure ETF designed to pursue income in a low-interest-rate environment.
GHII tracks the S&P High Income Infrastructure Index, which measures and monitors the performance of 50 highest-yielding global equity securities of companies that engage in various infrastructure-related subindustries. Index constituents must meet size, listing and liquidity requirements and also be part of the S&P Global BMI, a rules-based index that measures global stock market performance.
4) FinaMetrica Launches Enhanced Risk Profiling System, Partners with RiXtrema
FinaMetrica has announced the launch of FinaMetrica Plus, an integrated and expanded risk profiling system, and has also partnered with RiXtrema to provide a combined end-to-end risk management solution.
Among other features, FinaMetrica Plus features an asset allocation mapping service that interactively compares client risk tolerance with the risk in both their current and target portfolios. It also includes an integrated gap analysis calculator that provides snapshots of FinaMetrica's risk and return guide for 11 illustrative portfolios, ranging from 0% to 100% growth assets. Advisors can highlight current and target portfolios, allowing clients to see comparable 40-year historical risk-and-return data.
The joint FinaMetrica/RiXtrema risk management solution offering will include FinaMetrica's psychometric risk tolerance test and portfolio mappings services, along with RiXtrema's stress testing and portfolio applications to modify portfolio exposures and mitigate risk.
5) 361 Capital Fund Hits Milestone
