Beyond the Numbers | A Year in Review and the Road Ahead for Black Diamond

Blog
John Milne – 12/19/2023

It feels like yesterday when I sat down to recap 2022, but here we are again with an opportunity to look back on a wild 2023. Geopolitical battles raged on, economic indicators were waited on with bated breath, and Taylor Swift was literally everywhere! In the world of wealth management, a heightened focus on client-centric solutions was the name of the game.

Against this backdrop, our team supporting the SS&C Black Diamond Wealth Platform took great pride in helping our clients continue to grow their practices and create a fantastic experience for their end clients. As a true business partner, we know that problem-solving is the crux of our job, so we worked hard to deliver platform enhancements that help elevate the overall advisor-client experience.

Listening to our clients is the most important thing we can do as a product team – and by listening, we find opportunities to strengthen the solutions we deliver to advisors. As we reflect on a successful year and look forward with excitement to what 2024 might hold, know that everything we do is done to make our client’s lives easier – and that will never go away. So, in a year that saw many strategic enhancements, I’ve noted a few that have been extremely well received by our clients:

  • Portfolio Rebalancing
    One of the areas that saw the most significant increase in investment was the Black Diamond Rebalancer. This focus truly exemplifies our continued dedication to elevating the client experience. Prior feedback indicated that we had to solidify our trading solution. During the year, we streamlined workflows while revisiting our existing functionality, like the Trade Proposal Report. As we move into 2024, look for similar revitalizations in areas like Tax Loss Harvesting, cash management, and our dashboard.
  • Operational Efficiency
    We also saw an opportunity to build out key tools that provide clients with a quicker solution. As someone who started in operations, I love finding ways to create efficiencies, and there are a number of examples of those doing just that in 2023. Two that have resonated with our clients are the introduction of functionality that empowers firms to merge accounts independently and the ability to automate transaction backdating.
  • Strategic Scale
    Our team is laser-focused on finding ways to speed up critical processes; this year was a testament to that. We are approaching a staggering 4 million accounts on the platform, and as we have grown, we must ensure our core systems continue to grow as well. Whether it is our reconciliation engine, the Black Diamond Rebalancer, batch integration processes, or even billing enhancements, we continue to invest significantly in scaling these areas. We will continue to do so as we look to add the next 4 million accounts.

 

This list barely scratches the surface of all the great work the product and engineering teams have completed this year. Additionally, their efforts have established the groundwork for what is already shaping up to be a highly successful 2024. We thank all our clients for partnering with us this year and look forward to an exciting year ahead. And, if you’re not a Black Diamond client, perhaps you should look at all we have to offer your business!

For more information on how the SS&C Black Diamond Wealth Platform can support your unique advisory firm, request your personal demo, call 1-800-727-0605, or email info@advent.com.