New MDA operator enters market

A new managed account business has launched into the industry this week — MA Operator.

The business was targeting financial advisers and would be providing three different services on what it claimed was a comprehensive platform and low-cost model entailing a complete service for managed discretionary accounts (MDAs), including risk and compliance management, a complete solution for managed accounts, and direct portfolios delivered under the Statement of Advice model; and software and services for external MDA operators looking to improve efficiency and scale.

MA Operator co-founder, Brett Westbrook, said MA Operator had been developed over the past two years to address specific pain points for advisers managing investments on clients' behalf.

"Dealer groups currently use several different systems for portfolio construction, rebalancing, compliance and reporting administration," he said.

"Many of the processes involve manual administration, which take up big chunks of time without adding any value to the client. MA Operator automates the complete workflow inside one elegant system that then connects directly to the market. It even allows dealer groups to execute client trades in bulk when rebalancing portfolios, saving time and giving fairer outcomes to clients."

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Co-founder of MA Operator, Shannon Bernasconi, said removing inefficiencies and providing a sophisticated and independent service, was the primary goal.

"Fintech generally is brilliant at removing needless complexity and inefficiency, wherever it's applied. Fintech generally also gives more choice and value to the end client for a lower cost," she said.

"In applying this approach to the managed account space we have developed a product and provider agnostic service that saves dealer groups money, and gives them more power to construct portfolios that will demonstrate real value to their clients."