Fidelity location in Sunnyvale, California (Photo: Shutterstock)
Fidelity's new Managed Account Xchange, known as FMAX, sets a new bar for the growing competition among the many firms helping financial advisors streamline their business offerings from financial planning to investments and everything in between, such as investment consulting.
"This raises the competitive bar," said Dennis Gallant, senior analyst for Aite Group's wealth management practice.
No other financial services firm yet offers what Fidelity has just launched, Gallant said. Merrill Lynch has a similar product in its Client Engagement Workstation, but that's only available for Merrill broker-dealers, and Orion Advisor Services is expected to develop a more comprehensive investment and planning offering with its purchase of financial planning software startup Advizr.
Tim Welsh, founder and CEO of Nexus Strategy, noted that Envestnet could offer something similar through its purchase of MoneyGuide and has already done that with the launch of its insurance exchange, but Envestnet still needs distribution through custodians, like Fidelity.
