American Portfolios Makes Substantial Strides in 2015 for Advisory Platform and Technology Independence

HOLBROOK, NY--(Marketwired - December 31, 2015) - American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc. (APFS), a privately-held, independent broker/dealer that services financial advisors across the country, made considerable inroads in 2015, providing existing and prospective advisors of American Portfolios (AP) with an industry-leading advisory services platform. In keeping with one of the firm's commitments towards greater platform and technology independence, and through significant investments made in development and talent resources, a number of enhancements and rollouts throughout the year showed evidence of the next generation of AP's Nine Points Advisory Services Platform.

The delivery of these key enhancements are an outgrowth of AP's five-year roadmap, built on six interconnected strategic company perspectives -- People, Innovation, Process, Customer, Financial and Community -- all of equal importance, and the foundation from which all planning and executions are derived.

One of the first steps on the roadmap includes instilling a performance culture in its people by identifying and seeking out "A" players with strong leadership. In the last 15 months, a number of strategic hires and promotions of top performing individuals at executive and senior management levels have been pivotal in driving platform and technology independence, and the firm's objective of establishing a leading advisory platform. One such organizational change was the appointment of senior management member Gary Gordon to president of American Portfolios Advisors, Inc. (APA) in early 2015. Said American Portfolios CEO, CIO and President Lon T. Dolber, "Gary is uniquely qualified to handle the broad and intricate scope required of leading the firm's advisory arm, which is and continues to be the most profitable segment of our business. His achievements and contributions have been significant in further developing and rounding out AP's advisory services area, bringing his strategic vision to create a competitively strong advisory services platform that offers pricing and custodian parity across a diverse mix of program offerings to support any advisor's practice."

Gordon oversees all of the firm's advisory services functions; this encompasses focus on supporting and promoting the Nine Points Advisory Services Platform, including its advisor- and institutionally-managed programs, as well as Nine Points Investment Management -- comprised of research, due diligence, product support and in-house model management -- under the direction of recently hired Director of Investment Advisory Research Jessica Skolnick, CFA.

Further strategic movement guided by AP's five-year growth plan for platform and technology independence resulted in the strategic investment in 2014 of TrustFort -- a development company founded by its CEO and president Atindra Barua -- which provides technology solutions for financial services firms. In the last year, TrustFort has engaged in an exclusive partnership with AP to integrate its highly-developed software, Portfolio Insight, into AP's advisory platform; this brings together all of the tools an advisor needs for a flexible advisory billing process, user-friendly model management/rebalancing tool, versatile trading functionality and comprehensive performance reporting capabilities. 

Through the collective industry experiences of Gordon, Barua and VP of Platform Management Stephen Mennella -- who joined the firm in October 2014 to develop and direct the strategic planning for the next generation of AP's advisory technology platform that clearly defines an overall product and technology portfolio plan to drive the long-term growth of the organization -- AP has assembled a team of highly competent players to meet the complex needs of a growing base of sophisticated clients with diverse investment needs.

Said AP Chief Strategy Officer Ed Morrison, who oversees both the advisory services and platform management business units, "The enormous amount of work that took place in 2015 by this talented team of people has elevated AP's Nine Points Advisory Services Platform to an entirely new standard of excellence, enabling its affiliated financial advisors to transform their practices into highly functional, serviceable and profitable businesses, which keeps them and AP ahead of the competition." To that point, Mennella imparts that "As no one advisor conducts business exactly in the same way as another, the turbo power-like capabilities of AP's advisory technology platform, powered by TrustFort, speaks to that diversity, enabling financial professionals to tailor their back offices and create operational efficiencies that lead to profitable practices." 

AP's advisory technology platform is rapidly changing the way the firm's advisors conduct business. The platform includes a robust model management and rebalancing tool, which allows advisors to create and manage their own model portfolios. Other functions include a fee detail summary, which automatically totals fees calculated and collected in a selected time period; locking and holding positions within an account or a model; a cash buffer for accounts; and the ability to map an existing position or holding to another. Enhancements are made on a consistent basis, increasingly building upon the overall functionality and user-friendliness of the platform to the utmost benefit of AP's affiliated advisors.

About American Portfolios

Headquartered in Holbrook, N.Y., APFS is a full-service, independent broker/dealer and member firm of FINRA and SIPC, offering a complete range of financial services, including personal financial and retirement planning, securities trading, mutual funds, access to investment research, long-term care planning, insurance products and tax-free investing. Fee-based asset management is offered through its sister subsidiary, American Portfolios Advisors, Inc., (APA), an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Both entities, along with technology division American Outsources, LLC (AO,) collectively reside under the legal entity American Portfolios Holdings, Inc. (APH). Full-service securities brokerage is available through a clearing firm relationship with Pershing, LLC, a BNY Mellon firm, the securities of which are held on a fully disclosed basis. The company currently serves 806 independent investment professionals located in 367 branch locations throughout the nation, and was named Broker-Dealer of the Year* (Division III) by Investment Advisor magazine in 2015.

*Based on a poll of registered representatives conducted by Investment Advisor magazine. Broker/dealers rated highest by their representatives are awarded "Broker/Dealer (B/D) of the Year."

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