At a time when inter-generational wealth transfer – amounting to tens of trillions of dollars – is a major theme in the industry, having efficient tools to handle the work is important.

Envestnet, the New York-listed wealth management systems firm, has launched the Envestnet Trust Services Exchange, a new solution for helping RIAs and broker-dealers manage trust accounts.

The business has built the offering with Trucendent, which provides tools for advisors to manage estate plans. The platform will be integrated with Envestnet | MoneyGuide, Envestnet | Tamarac, and other offerings within the Envestnet ecosystem.

At a time when inter-generational wealth transfer – amounting to tens of trillions of dollars – is a major theme in the industry, having efficient tools to handle the work is important, Envestnet said.

“Without an estate plan and trust account strategy, clients risk losing control of their life savings after death or incapacitation,” John Yackel, executive managing director and head of strategic initiatives at Envestnet, said. “But while advisors understand that many of their clients will likely be part of one of the largest intergenerational transfers of wealth in history, they have yet to fully embrace estate planning and trusts because they believe that they need the expertise of other service providers.”

“Now, advisors can help clients avoid family strife and preserve their clients’ wealth across generations, while maintaining responsibility for managing their clients’ investment portfolios,” Yackel said. 

Envestnet said advisors using its platform don’t have to foster external relationships with attorneys and trust administrators to open, approve, and monitor the trust accounts recommended for their clients. The exchange’s network of attorneys and trust administrators work with advisors to handle trust account documentation, asset transfers, and regulatory compliance navigation. Once a trust account is opened, the advisor, client, attorney, and administrator can work together on the Exchange’s platform, where the advisor will maintain custody of the client’s assets.

“Strategically, this platform can help advisors extend their client relationships into the next generation, thereby retaining control of assets and associated revenue. Such solutions can also help to capture new assets for clients who currently use other trust providers for both trust administration and asset management solutions,” the firm said.