One Size Doesn't Fit All

摘要

Despite the marketing hype surrounding all-encompassing wealth-management platforms, financial-services firms are proceeding cautiously, replacing one module at a time, rather than changing their entire technical infrastructure. Though consultants and analysts admit that adoption is slow due to a host of factors; such as stagnant IT spending, the prevalence of in-house development, and a fear of giving up control, they say the "platform approach is catching on," as evidenced by the news that Merrill Lynch is working with Thomson Financial on building an adviser workstation. But some financial-services firms are skeptical that a complete platform exists. 'You may never be able to meld it into one system because there are different needs out there. It may be nice, but it may be too difficult," comments Hugh Tarbutton, director of products and services for Alexander Key Investments, a one-year-old brokerage subsidiary of SunTrust Capital Markets.