Advisor Group Rolls Out Digital Onboarding System

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The technology "lets advisors collaborate with clients throughout the process, [and advisors]  control how much of this process is digital or not," said Matt Schlueter, president of Wealth Management for Advisor Group. "The advisor is really in the driver's seat in terms of onboarding" and data discovery, and whether these tasks are done digitally or conventionally.

Advisors and clients can open brokerage, advisory and other accounts with eQuipt, Schlueter adds. "We thinks this makes us first in the industry. [Even] with all the complexity … paperwork is all done in one package. It means you can onboard the whole relationship [quickly] vs. the hours and hours on disparate systems and with different parties."

Advisor Group sees eQuipt "as game-changing-type technology … ," according to Schlueter, since it gives financial professionals "a fully integrated" account-opening tool.

The firm was able to introduce eQuipt "in a short time," says CTO Ed Obuchowski, because it "is not encumbered by a lot of legacy, mainframe technology," like some rivals.

Advisor Group doesn't have "old technology  that can slow you down," the executive adds. "We aimed to build this with the advisor at the center of the universe and believe there is nothing like it in the marketplace."

During the development of eQuipt, the firm worked with wealth-platform provider Envestnet, as well as custodial and clearing firms Pershing and National Financial. It also partnered with Fresh Consulting on the design and Impact Financial Systems on workflow and integration issues.

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