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Andrew Rafalaf
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J.P. Morgan Advisors Going Live with WorldStreet Wealth Advisor

The high net-worth investment management division of J.P. Morgan is completing user testing and will switch over its entire New York office this week.

J.P. Morgan Advisors, which just can’t get enough of Web-based technologies these days, is set to go live with WorldStreet Corp.’s client relationship management and workflow solution, WorldStreet Wealth Advisor. The high net-worth investment management division of J.P. Morgan is just completing user testing and will switch over its entire New York office this coming week, with plans to expand its use to 18 new offices located in major cities around the country when construction on them is complete.

J.P. Morgan Advisors’ Web-technology division, Arrakis, began working with WorldStreet in September of last year to build upon the vendor’s existing Web-based CRM solution for institutional sales, WorldStreet Sales. Mike Azarian, chief operating officer of Arrakis, says that other vendors were considered initially – despite the fact that J.P. Morgan is a major investor in the company – but decided upon WorldStreet because it employs browser-based connectivity.

"There are a lot of contact management systems out there, but the fact that this is a Web-based tool, and that fits in with our whole Web-based approach," Azarian explains. "The Web is the only way to go now. You can deliver it faster and change it faster, and you can reduce the dependency on the desktop. Traditional client/server applications have a heavy client installed on each desktop that requires a large amount of maintenance and servicing. What better and cheaper way to distribute software than through a browser?"

Azarian says that the firm elected to buy a system rather than build it in-house because time to market was of utmost importance. Working with WorldStreet at its Cambridge, Mass. headquarters, Arrakis was able to get the system customized to the needs of its wealth managers and installed in only three months.

One of the major benefits to using WorldStreet Wealth is that its client teams, typically made up of four investment managers, will all be working from the "same page" whenever a client comes calling. The wealth managers will also benefit from the real-time news and data that is fed through the system.

Azarian imagines that a lot of the customization work done on behalf of J.P. Morgan will find its way into WorldStreet Sales. He declines to specify how much the firm paid for the system, but, according to WorldStreet representatives, the vendor charges from $200 to $400 per user per month dependent on the size of the installation.

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