Streamline your reporting with the new Altruist and Orion integration
We are excited to announce a new integration with Orion. This integration allows you to seamlessly view your Altruist custodial data within Orion’s sophisticated reporting tool, empowering you with comprehensive insights and streamlined data management.
You can set up the integration in just a few simple steps:
Step 1: Contact Altruist Support
- Email Authorization: Send an email to support@altruist.com using the following template:
"Please accept this email as my authorization to send data to Orion Advisor Technology for our firm’s Altruist data. Notify Orion at sme-data@orion.com when the setup is complete, along with our unique firm name present in our firm’s file sets."
Upon receipt, our support team will begin the process of exporting your firm’s data to Orion.
Step 2: Contact Orion Support
- Submit a Support Case in Orion Connect:
- Open the support app within Orion Connect.
- Click the submit case button.
- Fill in the Service Request with your firm’s details, including the Orion advisor number, firm name, unique firm ID (to be sent by Altruist), and preferences for new accounts processing.
Note: The integration process may take 14-21 business days from when Orion receives all the necessary information.
With Altruist and Orion working together, you can enjoy a more cohesive reporting experience, leading to better-informed decision-making and an enhanced service offering for your clients.
Retirement income management just got easier with our integration with Income Lab
The integration enables advisors to streamline retirement income planning by importing Altruist households, accounts, and data into Income Lab. It facilitates automatic updates of client account balances, ensuring advisors have the most current data for effective planning. With the capability to create and manage retirement income plans incorporating data from Altruist custodial accounts, advisors are better equipped to offer holistic financial advice.
Key benefits of the integration include:
- Automated account balance updates from Altruist within Income Lab for real-time portfolio data.
- Inclusion of investment account information in Income Lab’s Life Hub for a complete financial overview on one page.
- Simplified creation of tax-efficient distribution plans, including easy execution of Roth conversions.
Setting up the integration is simple:
- Log into Income Lab and navigate to "Integrations" under "Settings."
- Click "Add Integration" and select Altruist.
- Enter your Altruist username and password to link accounts.
- Once redirected back to Income Lab, Altruist will be listed as active.
- On your dashboard, select a household and edit the Income Plan.
- Under "Assets," click "Add Linked Accounts" and choose Altruist as the source.
- Select and save the desired accounts to link.
For detailed instructions, including videos and screenshots, visit the Altruist - How to Integrate guide in the Income Lab Help Center.
We're thrilled to partner with Income Lab to make our platform even more valuable for financial advisors, with no more switching between different platforms to get the information you need and spending less time on data reconciliation.
ACAT Status Tracker offers full lifecycle visibility into transfers
Say hello to full visibility into your submitted ACATS from start to finish and goodbye to ACAT blind spots. Once you’ve submitted an ACAT to your client through Altruist, you can view details of the transfer by navigating to the Activity feed and clicking on the ACAT transfer you recently submitted.
- Self-serve interface: Directly manage every step of your digital ACATs within Altruist, eliminating reliance on customer support or the external transferring entity for status updates.
- Real-time timestamps: Know when your client approves an ACAT you submitted.
- Transparent settlement period views: Full clarity into the duration and details of each ACAT transfer's settlement.
New House Account types added for sole proprietorship & single-member LLCs
We’re thrilled to share that we can now welcome RIAs operating as sole proprietorships and single-member LLCs. This latest update eliminates previous limitations, empowering these RIA business entities to utilize the robust capabilities of Altruist fully.
- New Inclusions: Adding sole proprietorship and single-member LLC house account (sometimes referred to as Sundry account) types enriches our offering. This means we now comprehensively support various entity types, ensuring every firm type is included.
- Wide Range of Entity Types Supported: Altruist’s coverage extends to the entire spectrum of firm entities, including C Corporations, S Corporations, Partnerships, LLC C Corporations, LLC S Corporations, LLC Partnerships, and now, Sole Proprietorships and Single-Member LLCs.
Whether you operate under a traditional corporate structure or as a solo entrepreneur, Altruist is equipped to support your unique advisory needs.
Altruist and Seeds partner to help RIAs build personalized portfolios
Our newest partner on the Altruist Model Marketplace gives investments depth, purpose, and a personal touch. For those unfamiliar with Seeds Investor, envision a platform that transforms investing from a mere process into a personalized experience. Client expectations are constantly evolving, and with Seeds Investor, advisors can stay ahead–comprehending the investor’s psyche and aligning their investment strategies with what truly resonates with the client.
And now, with the combined might of both of our platforms, advisors are positioned to elevate their businesses: merging personalized portfolio construction with automation at scale.
Learn more about this exciting partnership in this blog post.
Reminder: Staff role is now a no trading role
This month, our revised user roles and permissions went into effect on Altruist to maintain better control over your team’s access levels. Anyone assigned the “Staff role” can no longer place trades.
As a part of our commitment to enhancing user experience and security, we now offer three very clear role types:
- Owner/Admin Role: Typically reserved for firm owners, this role grants complete authority over Altruist, enabling view and edit privileges across all facets.
- Advisor Role: Tailored for advisors, this role provides access to particular households or account groups, inclusive of trading capabilities.
- Staff Role (Newly Defined): Best for admin and support functions, this role now solely permits access to specified households or account groups. Trading rights, model updates, and the ability to force a rebalance have been removed. This ensures tighter operational control.
To ensure a smooth transition and avoid any disruption to your operations, if you have team members in the "Staff role" who need trading permissions, please:
- Log into your Altruist account.
- Click on your avatar in the upper right corner and select Settings.
- Click on Team from the left-hand menu.
- Review the roles assigned across your team.
- Change their role from "Staff role" to "Advisor role” if necessary.
New Morningstar SMAs are now available on the Altruist Model Marketplace
We are delighted to further enrich our partnership with Morningstar on the Altruist Model Marketplace with an array of new Separately Managed Accounts (SMAs). These SMAs, known for their strategic depth and market acumen, bring diverse investment opportunities to advisors.
Introducing the Morningstar SMA Series:
Morningstar Investment Management - Cost: 47bps/yr
- All-Cap Equity SMA Series: A versatile "go anywhere" strategy focusing on both domestic and international stocks across the market-cap spectrum.
- Dividend Equity SMA Series: Targets dividend-paying companies to provide a robust, reliable, and growing income stream.
- Hare SMA Series: Concentrates on growth at a reasonable price, seeking exposure to rapidly growing companies with expanding competitive moats.
- Small/Mid Cap Equity SMA Series: Focuses on small to mid-sized companies with competitive niches in their industries.
- Tortoise SMA Series: Seeks to invest in high-quality companies with strong balance sheets at a discount.
- U.S. Sustainability Moat Focus SMA Series: Seeks companies with moderate to low ESG risk and long-term competitive advantages at attractive valuations.
New models from Aptus added to the Model Marketplace.
We also expanded our Modelplace offerings with Aptus Capital Advisors with two dynamic investment models.
The Impact Preserve Series and Impact Aggressive Growth Series are multi-manager portfolios designed to help clients navigate market fluctuations and stay invested through the ups and downs of market cycles. Both are available on the Altruist Model Marketplace at only 12 bps.
Implementation of a $1,000 investment minimum for equity SMA models
Starting immediately, a standardized investment minimum of $1,000 will be implemented for all equity SMA models on the Altruist Model Marketplace. This change is designed to ensure that advisors can fully engage with these models for their clients, particularly in light of the growing popularity of Unified Managed Accounts (UMAs).
Key Points:
- Investment Minimum: A minimum investment of $1,000 is now required for all equity SMA models. This threshold is established to enhance the investment experience by ensuring more accurate reflection of the holdings in each portfolio. Smaller investment amounts often pose challenges in mirroring the underlying portfolio of the model accurately. With a $1,000 minimum, your clients can more closely track the performance and holdings of the model, leading to more effective and representative investment outcomes.
- Current Client Accounts: There is no action required for client accounts that are already allocated to these SMAs.
- New Account Assignments: If the account value is below the minimum for new account assignments, the models will appear grayed out. A message will indicate that the account does not meet the required investment minimum for assignment.
This update reflects our commitment to providing the best investment strategies and ensuring optimal utilization of our models. Thank you for your continued support.
Other UX improvements you might have missed this month:
Enhanced mobile accessibility on the Altruist app: We've upgraded mobile accessibility to ensure a seamless and user-friendly experience, making the Altruist app more accessible for everyone.
Advanced filtering in the Altruist Model Marketplace: In the Explore and Compare tool, you can filter model portfolios by holding type, streamlining your search and selection process.
Improved layout on the All Accounts page: We've refined the column spacing on the All Accounts page, resulting in a more organized and legible display of account information.
Expanded occupation options in account opening: Account opening now includes expanded occupation choices such as executives, consultants, and the self-employed, offering a more inclusive and precise approach to client profiling.
Enhanced usability for 2FA set up in the Google Authenticator drawer: Setting up two-factor authentication is now more straightforward with usability enhancements in the Google Authenticator 2FA drawer, boosting both security and user experience.
