Blue Duck’s New Portal Capitalizes on Advisors’ Move to Wealth Management

"As such, it is not a surprise that RIA firms that specialize in wealth management are offering platforms to their advisors that support networking, training and connections," Hopkins said. "It looks like Blue Duck Wealth Management is joining the large number of RIAs offering special advisor platforms to encourage a community feel, networking and education."

Still, he notes that "firms tend to like to mix outside training and education with their own custom training and platforms."

As for investment startegy, Akridge said, "We only use third-party money managers and do not allow alternative investments. We want advisors to be advisors, not money managers. We, as a team, believe alternative investments are a commission-based product and thus fit better in the broker-dealer world."

Moreover, the platform addresses current issues, such as those related to Department of Labor regulations, and provides "a platform for quick-case design questions and ideas," Akridge said. He adds that advisors can use the platform to collaborate with Blue Duck specialists and each other, and is an economical way to get training and lets advisors learn conveniently on their own schedule.

Specifically, the site provides training on investing, retirement options, financial planning, as well as mentoring, marketing strategies, lead generation tools, and access to supported vendors. "Each of those essentially have their own section in the website that we can update daily if needed," Akridge said.

Advisors also can view their compensation, assets under management, and billing reports.

Among the investing and marketing tools found on Blue Duck's website are:

• HCM-BuyLine, which is an indicator that signals when to be in or out of equity markets.
• 401(k) Optimizer, which automates 401(k) allocations.
• MyFedLife, which lets government employees better understand their retirement benefits.
• And the Optimized Advisor, an alliance which provides niche marketing campaigns for advisors.

Hopkins, who is a professor at The American College of Financial Services, explained that such offerings come as "there is a huge trend right now towards wealth management."

"As such, it is not a surprise that RIA firms that specialize in wealth management are offering platforms to their advisors that support networking, training and connections," Hopkins said. "It looks like Blue Duck Wealth Management is joining the large number of RIAs offering special advisor platforms to encourage a community feel, networking and education."