Scivantage is honored to be included on the short list for the Wall Street Letter Institutional Trading Awards announced this week, which recognize excellence among financial technology providers. This first ever event for Wall Street Letter will look to award brokerage firms, exchanges and financial technology companies for achievements and innovation over the last year.

Following Scivantage’s nomination for Best Trading Platform Client Service - Technology Provider, Wall Street Letter will appoint a panel of independent judges to review award submissions and determine winners based on the level of innovation and client satisfaction applicants illustrate, as well as by considering the positive impact applicants have had in the market with the specified offering.

The top performing companies will be recognized by Wall Street Letter on the evening of Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, at Cipriani, 42nd Street, New York.

As an independent financial technology provider with proven expertise in online brokerage, tax and portfolio reporting, and wealth management applications that automate and integrate key business practices for broker-dealers, mutual funds, custodians and prime brokers, we want to thank all of our customers and partners for their part in making our technology a success! 

The IRS has issued instructions for Form 8937, the form that issuers of a specified security will use to report organizational actions affecting the basis of securities. Links to the current form and the instructions are below. The filing requirement applies to organizational actions after 2010. However, regulated investment companies (RICs) need to file Form 8937 only for organizational actions after 2011. Issuers are also required to furnish a written statement to shareholders containing the same information. The filing of this form with the IRS and the sending of written statements is not required if, by the due date, the issuer posts a completed Form 8937 in a readily accessible format in an area of its primary public website for 10 years.

Form 8937 (Dec. 2011) - http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8937.pdf
Instructions for Form 8937 (Rev. Dec. 2011) - http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8937.pdf

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued a document with proposed regulations for the basis reporting of fixed income and options. Overall, the suggested mandates address some very specific issues, including requirements for a transfer of a debt instrument or an option to another broker and for an organizational action that affects the basis of a debt instrument or option.

In addition, the document reflects changes in the CBR law made by the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008 (the Act) that requires brokers to include the customer’s adjusted basis in sold securities and to classify any gain or loss as long-term or short-term when reporting securities to the IRS.

To address any concerns from the industry, the IRS will hold a public hearing to discuss the proposed regulations on March 16, 2012.

Since its inception in 2008, the regulations have continued to evolve, making it now more important than ever for firms to stay informed. You can read the complete document here, or you can reach out to Scivantage with additional questions about how this might impact you. Also, join the conversation through an open dialogue on our Linkedin Group - Cost Basis Reporting Forum.

In order to stay competitive in today’s tough economic environment, the wealth management industry is looking to new markets for revenue streams. The recent growth of the self-directed investor client segment has presented an opportunity. Several successful online brokerages have emerged to service this growing customer segment, but there are some full-service wealth management institutions that are still weighing whether they should fully invest.

Scivantage’s Joe Stensland examines the growth of the self-directed investor channel and its impact on the wealth management industry in Bobsguide.

Read the full article on the self-directed investor market growth trend. 

Our Fifth Annual Scivantage Client Conference is in full swing!  Yesterday’s golf outing at the TPC Las Vegas and Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament featuring Scotty Nguyen, the Prince of Poker, was a great success.  A great time was had by all!

Today begins our indoor session taking place at the Palazzo Las Vegas. Featuring a combination of key industry speakers, interactive panel discussions and breakout sessions, our client attendees will be greeted by esteemed industry members as guest speakers, including: Alois Pirker, Research Director at Aite Group; Alexander Camargo, Analyst at Celent; Artie Wolk, SVP, Product Strategy at Wall Street Concepts; Scott Stathis, Managing Director and COO at Kehrer-LIMRA; and Martin Bentsen, Senior Advisor in the Cost Basis Reporting Practice of Jordan & Jordan. 

*This is an invitation-only event. If you are a client and there is a member of your firm that you feel would benefit from attending next year’s event, please contact your Scivantage Account Manager directly.

We are excited to tell you that Scivantage has moved!  Our headquarters are still in Jersey City, NJ, but we are now located in a new office building at 499 Washington Blvd, conveniently near the Newport PATH train station and Light Rail.

“The move is the latest milestone in our company’s evolution,” commented our President & CEO, Adnane Charchour. “We’ve invested in our employees and surrounding office space to support our continued growth.“

Only our address has changed.  We can still be reached at our regular telephone lines and business continues as usual. 

Self-assessment. It’s one of the most difficult tasks operation and IT executives have to make when preparing for regulatory change. Or for figuring out anything that has gone wrong in processing or pricing a securities transaction.

Scivantage’s Cameron Routh talks with Securities Technology Monitor about the new Cost Basis Reporting Assessment Program, a comprehensive, on-site review of a financial institution’s cost basis ecosystem addresses the complex challenges of accurate cost basis reporting (CBR) to ensure preparedness for regulatory requirements, developed in partnership with Jordan & Jordan.

Read the full article on the Cost Basis Reporting Assessment Program.

As the industry continues to tie up the loose ends of Phase I of the IRS Cost Basis Reporting (CBR) rule changes and gets closer to the implementation of Phase II, we have heard a lot of concerns from our clients, and the marketplace as a whole, about the need to uncover any gaps in current practices and reporting.

In an effort to help with these mounting issues, we have partnered with Jordan & Jordan to develop the Cost Basis Reporting Assessment Program, designed to provide practical recommendations for corrective actions and proceeding forward with the ongoing implementation.

There are seven assessment areas that we identify in the program:

1. Cost basis engine and systems integration

2. Policies and procedures

3. Workflows and other processes

4. Training

5. Website and other communication mediums

6. Understanding activity metrics

7. State of readiness for the continued implementations of Phases II and III

Although having the right tools and technology is a critical competent for cost basis reporting preparedness, client education is a key element that should be taken just as seriously. Brokers need to dissipate any confusion investors might have due to the multitude of new requirements and forms in advance.

An experienced team of analysts from Scivantage and Jordan & Jordan uses a customized approach through the Cost Basis Reporting Assessment Program to help brokers define the objectives they want to reach and determine which approach is the right one for each individual firm.

To learn more about the program, listen to a recording of a Webinar we’ve recently conducted, where our own Cameron Routh and Jordan & Jordan’s Martin Bentsen, Senior Advisor of the Cost Basis Practice, delved into the latest regulatory CBR updates and reviewed the benefits of the Cost Basis Reporting Assessment Program.

It’s that time of year again!

The Fifth Annual Scivantage Client Conference is less than a month away and we’re very excited. Taking place at the Palazzo Las Vegas on Nov. 2 through Nov. 4, the event is designed to help you get the most out of your relationship with Scivantage and maximize your firm’s competitive advantage.

The client conference will feature a combination of key industry speakers, insightful panel discussions and interactive breakout sessions. We are extremely pleased to welcome esteemed industry members as guest speakers, including: Alois Pirker, Research Director at Aite Group; Alexander Camargo, Analyst at Celent; Artie Wolk, SVP, Product Strategy at Wall Street Concepts; Scott Stathis, Managing Director and COO at Kehrer-LIMRA; and Martin Bentsen, Senior Advisor in the Cost Basis Reporting Practice of Jordan & Jordan. 

As with every client event, we are especially looking forward to lively and thoughtful discussions around important industry topics. We are always interested in hearing what you are currently concerned with and how we can help. One of the key discussion topics for this year’s Scivantage Client Conference will be the impact and importance of self-directed investing in wealth management, which was the topic of our recent Webinar co-hosted with Aite Group and a research report, titled “Blurring The Lines: The Impact and Importance of Self-Directed Investing in Wealth Management”. In addition, we will also have panel sessions focusing on cost basis reporting preparedness and strategies to improve your online and wealth management platforms.

And of course, to kick off the event, Scivantage will hold a golf outing at the TPC Las Vegas and a Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament featuring Scotty Nguyen, the Prince of Poker, on Wednesday, Nov. 2.

*This is an invitation-only event. If there is a member of your firm that you feel would benefit from attending and they did not receive an invitation, please contact your Scivantage Account Manager directly.

We had a great opportunity to interact with the wealth management community during a recent Webinar that we co-hosted with Aite Group on the topic of the self-directed investor through live polling of the attendees. We weren’t at all surprised when the results showed that there’s a growing interest from wealth management firms in either enhancing an existing self-directed solution or adding this offering as an option. In fact, more than half (53%) of the respondents said this!

In addition, 52% of the respondents said that an online investing offering is important to their client acquisition and retention strategy, which shows that this new channel is growing and will become an essential part of a wealth management firms’ offering.

To support this, a total of 57% of the live poll participants have noted that investors are increasingly requesting advanced online trading, along with standard online services, mobile capabilities and additional customer services.

With more investors seeking control of their portfolios post the 2008 economic crisis, the need for a self-directed option has become a rapidly increasing pressure for investment managers. Are you seeing the same trends? We’d be interested in hearing your thoughts.

Listen to the full recording of our webinar on the self-directed channel’s effect on the wealth management market or read the research report from Aite Group titled “Blurring The Lines: The Impact and Importance of Self-Directed Investing in Wealth Management”.