PNC's GIS unit to provide wealth-reporting and MF sub-accounting technology. Raymond James has picked PNC's Global Investment Servicing (GIS) unit to provide its 5,000 or so captive and independent advisors with consolidated views of client holdings across multiple accounts, and sub-accounting capabilities that lets Raymond James to bring shareholder accounting and administration in-house for mutual fund trade processing, record-keeping, and enhanced control of client accounts.

"This agreement reinforces the benefits of the integrated offering of PNC's sub-accounting and [Albridge Solutions']wealth-reporting technology," says PMC GIS' CEO Stephen Wynne. "Raymond James will be able to drive operational efficiency with access to comprehensive client account information via a central portal and the consolidation of omnibus shareholder account processing onto one platform."

Twofer

PNC acquired Albridge, a data consolidator and portfolio-accounting technology provider, early in 2008. At the time, the purchase was seen to enhance PNC's front-office or advisor-centric offerings.

Using Albridge's web-based technology, Raymond James advisors can generate client reports and consolidated statements at any time. They can also see the rates of return across portfolios.

The agreement also calls for Raymond James to convert about 2.5 million mutual fund positions to PNC GIS' accounting platform to facilitate Raymond James' in-house trade processing, recordkeeping and to enhance its control of client accounts.

PNC's technology is meant to track the "lifecycle" of the investment product from manufacture to distribution and consumption, according to Tim Eitel, Raymond James' chief information officer. "So naturally, this technology fits well with the financial planning advice and services our advisors offer their clients," he says. "Plus, we can leverage PNC's subaccounting expertise to help manage investors' mutual fund data with even greater efficiency."

In the U.S., Raymond James has also signed on with financial information and analytics provider interactivedata.com Interactive Data Corporation to give its advisors access to market data through its Market-Q service and to news, analysis and company information from dowjones.com Dow Jones.

St. Petersburg, Fla.-based Raymond James has three broker-dealer subsidiaries: its full-service brokerage Raymond James & Associates, a support platform for independent brokers , RIAs and other financial-service providers called Raymond James Financial Services, and a Canadian subsidiary known as Raymond James Ltd. In addition, Raymond James has Raymond James Investment Services, its U.K.-based private-client asset-management arm. Its private clients entrust about $164 billion to its advisors -- with about $25 billion of that managed vby Raymond James' asset-management subsidiaries. -FWR

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