Morningstar buys standalone rebalancer to fulfill its all-in-one vision by getting Sheryl Rowling to cash out and go back to RIA

Glad I did not waste our firm’s money on this. We were about to pull the trigger and go with this as our rebalancing solution. What happens now to legacy client’s? So you now have to buy in to Morningstar Advisor’s stand alone product to utilize this going forward? What about advisor’s that use a watered down version via their broker/delaer arrangements? This article is very good in one sense that it sounds the bell and alerts the industry, but very lite on specifics.

Many of the statements in this article do not reflect what is actually going on. tRx will continue to be open to ALL advisors no matter which portfolio accounting software is being used. For full, factual information, please see my InvestmentNews article at http://goo.gl/RIe6aN.

The missing link that technological innovators miss is prudent process in support of fiduciary duty (authenticated back to statute) which is different than financial planning. This is the key to (1) professional standing, (2) simplifying advisory services and fiduciary duty into an integrated expert advisory solution, and (3) streamlining cost. which are essential for continuous, comprehensive counsel required by statute on every recommendation the advisor has ever made. All the necessary components exist, they just have not been formulated in an easy to use manner. The industry must rethink its support infrastructure focusing more on managing investment and administrative values in the client’s best interest rather than product distribution in the b/ds best interest. The emphasis seems to ignore the best interest of the investing public.

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Stephen Winks

Hi Tim,

As Brooke mentioned in the article—-We will definitely continue our support for legacy TRX users though the Stand-Alone TRX Product, as well as through integrations with other portfolio management systems.

I believe we have a strong track record of being “open” and doing what is best for advisors and we will continue to work with those firms who share Morningstar’s Mission of helping advisors produce better outcomes for their clients.

We believe that TRX has a huge role to play in this endeavor and we are excited to bring these advanced capabilities to the broader market.

Thanks,
Mike Wilson
Morningstar Office

Thank you Sheryl & Mike. Looks like tRx is back on the table. Winks I’m unsure what your speaking about. I think your taking the “fiduciary” label a bit too far here. Technology costs money. They are obviously going to leave it as a stand-alone product and initiate a full integration product. It would be great if we could get everything for pennies on the dollar or in an un-biased or un-sponsored (by a b/d for instance) format. It just won’t happen. The industry is too fractured and they’re constantly competing for every advisor’s dollar. All we adviors can do is do the due diligence, try to pick and use the best product that compliments our practices and try to keep fees within reason. Beyond that, our hands are tied to the “industry” in my opinion.