FROM THE SIA SHOW: Fidelity Frees Up Brokers With ’Broker To Go’ Wireless Wealth Management Solution

Targeting the adviser on the go, Fidelity Information Systems has launched the Sanchez Broker To Go solution for wireless wealth management. The Sanchez Broker To Go provides advisers with secure access to real-time market data integrated with client, account and position information in a single view on BlackBerry wireless handheld devices.

"This is a combination of technology and opportunity, and it makes sense to put this capability into the brokers' hands," says Gordon Conlin, president of Fidelity's wealth management division. "Broker To Go not only provides vital market data, such as quotes and news, but we've taken it one step further to provide client account information, positions in that account and contact information for that client, so when the adviser is looking at the client account, they can see a well-rounded picture and give advice on their [client's] goals."

The Broker To Go offering can be deployed on the BlackBerry 6710 or 6280 wireless handhelds developed by Research in Motion (booth #1518), both of which offer data and voice services. The Mobile Data Service of the BlackBerry Enterprise Server enables secure, wireless access using the Triple DES encryption used for BlackBerry e-mail connectivity. "Advisers are definitely feeling more secure using e-mail to pass along information on the BlackBerry devices, so we decided to layer additional capabilities right into that," Conlin explains.

Today's market moves more quickly than ever, he continues, and new information that may move the market is constantly made available. "Customers are demanding more real-time advice from their brokers," Conlin says. "And brokers are more gadget-friendly people who need to be hooked up wherever they are." He adds that the wireless capability enables brokers to be away from their desktops and still be connected to the markets.

According to Conlin, Broker To Go operates independently of the client's wealth-management system or back-office technology and will plug in to any system that delivers the information feed. Broker To Go links directly to clients' back offices and leverages existing news and quote services that they already subscribe to. It also offers access to client profiles and portfolios, customizable watch lists, a real-time alert engine for instant notification of news or quote changes, symbol look-up, and search capabilities. "This is something the brokers have been looking for," Conlin asserts.

CIBC Wood Gundy, a full-service brokerage based in Canada, recently became the first to deploy the Broker To Go wireless solution, making it available to its sales force of 1,400 advisers. Canada's Rogers Wireless was tapped to provide the wireless services for CIBC Wood Gundy's deployment. CIBC Wood Gundy declined to comment on the rollout.

Looking to the future, Conlin says that Fidelity is already working to provide wireless order entry in addition to the market data and account information, and it has a prototype in the works. "We are always looking to add more value and it will become part of the Broker To Go suite -- news, quotes, customer look-up and order entry would be another integrated part of that," he adds.

For now, pricing of the Broker To Go is based on the number of advisers that are being served the wireless capability. "We can get prices that are somewhere below $20 Canadian a month [per adviser] for this kind of service for companies with at least 500 users. That is quite comparable to what they would already pay monthly for RIM access for voicemail and e-mail access," Conlin says. After successfully servicing its first Canadian client, Fidelity is now looking for a similar American client with which to deploy the Broker To Go product. <<<