Ladenburg Thalmann — which owns Securities America, Triad Advisors, Securities Service Network, Investacorp and KMS Financial — says it has made a strategic investment in Track Technologies, a provider of tax automation for independent contractors.
According to the firm, this move is tied to Ladenburg's recently launched Innovation Lab program and its first Innovation Symposium, which took place in late May.
"This investment is part of our innovation-focused process for identifying macro themes, and then adapting technology-enabled tools from the startup community that our financial advisors can deploy to get ahead of the curve," said Ladenburg COO Adam Malamed, in a statement.
(Related: What Tax-Savvy Advisors Want From Partners)
Miami-based Ladenburg's broker-dealers include some 4,300 affiliated advisors with about $166 billion in client assets.
"By enabling our advisors to deliver digital automated tax solutions that can potentially plug into financial and retirement planning efforts for self-employed clients, we are positioning our advisors to serve a large market," Malamed added.
Track Technologies calculates, withholds and submits quarterly estimated payments on self-employment taxes for workers using IRS Form 1099. Users can connect the tax software to their bank or credit card accounts, and the software gives advisors more ways to help clients "leverage a turnkey solution for payroll services," set up qualified retirement plans and reduce "their administrative burdens," according to Ladenburg.
"Following our Innovation Symposium, we reviewed several of the most promising concepts to turn ideas into action, and our investment in Track is the next logical step in that process. We see great potential for adapting and leveraging this type of service for advisors across each of our IAB subsidiaries," said Dan Sachar, head of the Ladenburg Innovation Lab, in a statement.
