February 2019 Software Update Highlights

On February 23rd, the Orion portfolio accounting platform will receive its first software update of the year.

Get yourself ready, because we’re going to cover a lot of ground! In this preview, we’ll give you a sneak peek into what you can expect in the upcoming weeks, like…

  • A brand-new compliance feature allowing firms to monitor employee trade activity
  • A BizEquity business valuation tool in the Client Portal

Keep your eyes out for another Orion blog when we’ll review the full Release Notes and everything not covered in this post!

Compliance

Regain Code of Ethics Control with an Employee Trade Monitoring Tool

What We Built
Inform is Orion’s newest compliance tool, allowing compliance officers to:

  • Monitor and compare employee trades against firm-wide trade activity
  • Maintain and distribute affirmations, certifications, and disclosures related to the Code of Ethics
  • Track approvals and rejections of gifts, outside business activities, and more
  • Keep results for easy record keeping and future access for the SEC and state regulators

Why It Matters
Advisory firms are required to maintain a Code of Ethics under the Advisers Act, including the monitoring of employee trading activities. Inform enables compliance officers to efficiently and proactively identify potential violations with automated employee trade monitoring. Inform also provides an audit trail to confirm compliance with Code of Ethics obligations, which can be sent to the SEC upon request. By leveraging Inform with your data already maintained in Orion Connect, you can also perform frontrunning reviews and consolidate your tech stack.

How to Learn More
Inform will be available on February 23rd for an additional cost. At that time, you can reach out to compliance@orionadvisor.com to learn how to activate the tool for your compliance administrator and firm employees. In the meantime, register here for our March 7th webinar to learn more about how Inform can help your firm satisfy Code of Ethics obligations.

Integrations

Grow Your Business with a Leading Business Valuation Integration

What We Built
BizEquity is the leading provider of business valuation knowledge. Through Orion’s integration with BizEquity, Advisors can:

  • Deliver new valuation reports to facilitate conversation with existing business owner clients within the Client Portal
  • Prospect new clients looking to sell their businesses soon via a single sign-on to BizEquity’s platform
  • Value their own advisory business—a vital metric as M&A opportunity intensifies in the financial services industry

Why It Matters
While much of the recent conversation in wealth management has been about the “millennial opportunity,” business-owner wealth is a largely untapped opportunity in the U.S. According to BizEquity statistics, in the next 10 years, 40 million business owners expect to sell their business, and 3 million plan to sell by 2020. Yet, less than half of business owners have consulted with a financial advisor.

Further, by providing a business valuation tool to clients, advisors can facilitate conversations with a more holistic view of their clients’ financial picture.

How to Learn More
You will gain access to the complete BizEquity integration on February 23rd. In the meantime, register here for our February 20th webinar to learn more about how BizEquity can unlock more business valuation opportunities for your firm. All of the highlights covered in today’s article—plus many more enhancements and upgrades—will be coming to you soon!

Click here to sign up for our next product release webinar on March 5th, 2019 to learn more about how to scale and grow your firm with these new enhancements.

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About Bob Lamberty
Bob Lamberty serves as a manager for Orion’s Training and Engagement team. Bob is a Nebraska native who loves exercising, 80’s music, and telling dad jokes.