Portfolio provider keen to get advisors to shake up their "stagnant" books. Fractional-share portfolio provider Curian Capital is out to help financial advisors transition client assets to fee-based with a self-guided "Advisor Transition Program" that walks advisors through practice-management consideration associated with such a change.

The very basics

"The Advisor Transition Program helps financial professionals take a stagnant portion of their book of business and transition these accounts to the Curian platform in order to leverage the evolution of customized investment options on behalf of their clients," says Michael Bell, president and CEO of Denver-based Curian. "Ultimately, advisors can demonstrate their value to the client and build relationships that will sustain the growth of their practices."

If an advisor can spot "strategic business opportunities" in his client base and sees merit in Curian's way of conducting business, the next step is to get hold of one of Curian's regional consultants. Then it's a matter of working with Curian to figure out "which clients meet the optimal profile for transitioning to a Curian Custom Style Portfolio" and how to persuade them of the merits of moving to a fee-account structure.

"As a final deliverable, Curian will generate a Masters Consulting Plan that projects a comprehensive business valuation of the advisor's practice over the next 15 years," Curian says in a release.

Curian does the bulk of its business with independent brokers, though it also works with RIAs, banks and credit-union service organizations.

Curian is a subsidiary of Lansing, Mich.-based Jackson National Life Insurance. it had around $3.5 billion in assets under management at the end of 2007. -FWR

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