The Asset Import feature of AdvisorEngine CRM lets you take the asset information you already have in your Portfolio Management System and see it within the CRM. This allows you to view a Record’s financial information in the context of the Record as well as include financial information in global searching and reporting throughout the program.

This help article covers the following topics to help you learn about how the Asset Import feature functions:

• What an Asset Import Does
• Asset Import Terminology
• Types of Asset Imports
• How an Asset Import Happens
• Compatible Portfolio Management Systems
• Common Asset Import Tasks

What an Asset Import Does

The AE Asset Import is a way of automatically filling in asset data on a Record from information stored in your Portfolio Management System. Each time the import is run, the current data is extracted from your Portfolio Management System and written into the CRM. Each new asset brought into the CRM is assigned to a Record the first time it is imported (this assignment is remembered for future imports). The system will then identify the asset data from the last import, remove it, and replace it with the current asset information. Only information from the same Interface and Configuration is removed at this stage - assets from another Interface, Configuration, or manually entered are not touched. For most users, this process is run daily to ensure up-to-date asset information in the system.

When run regularly, this process allows you to see financial data for your Records within AE CRM, placing that information in the bigger picture of everything you do to service those clients. It also enables greater reporting criteria and options both at the Record level and firm-wide.

Asset Import Terminology

Interface

Interface refers to the Portfolio Management System you are importing from. Selecting the correct Interface allows AE CRM to know how to interpret the data brought over from your system.

Configuration

Each Asset Import Interface has configuration options available to it. The settings you configure are stored in a Configuration. Typicially this is in one Configuration named default, but if your needs require, you can create multiple Configurations which each have different settings enabled. You can also create extra Configurations if your import is so large that it must be split into multiple parts.

Types of Asset Imports

Depending on the Portfolio Management System you are importing from, there are three styles of Asset Import that exist.

Manual Import from a file

To run this type of import, the user must first use their Portfolio Management System to obtain an export file containing the financial data. The file is then manually uploaded to AE CRM and the process is followed manually from there.

Manual Import through a direct login

This type of import must still be started manually each import from within the CRM, but the data from your Portfolio Management System is obtained by entering your login credentials within AE CRM. The CRM then reaches out and obtains the required financial data automatically. The process is then followed manually from there.

Fully Unattended Import

This type of import must be set up manually, but after it is configured it will run without any user input each evening during the middle of the night. New financial data will show each morning, automatically pulled from the Portfolio Management System.

How an Asset Import Happens

The following is a basic overview of how an Asset Import happens in AE CRM. For step-by-step directions of actually running an import, see the documentation for your particular Portfolio Management System linked below.

1. Current financial data is extracted from the Portfolio Management System. In most cases this involves creating an export file within your Portfolio Management System that is then imported into AE CRM later. For some systems this is a direct login from AE CRM to the Portfolio Management System that then pulls data automatically.
2. The extracted information is loaded into AE CRM. Again, in most situations this will involve uploading the file extracted in the first step. The direct login systems will perform this step automatically.
3. The data is presented for verification. You are able to see the data found and give it a cursory glance to ensure that you are, in fact, importing the financial information you want to. Fully unattended imports will not have this step.
4. Once you have confirmed the data is valid, AE CRM will actually import the data. At this point the CRM needs to be told which accounts belong to which Records in your database. Some systems allow you to assign accounts automatically through a common identifier such as SSN. For other systems this is a manual process. Whichever it is, the assignment only needs to be made once. The next time the import is run, AE CRM will remember previous assignments and only ask to assign accounts it does not yet recognize.
5. Once the data is validated and the accounts matched to Records, AE CRM will fully commit the import to the database. If an import was run previously, all previous data from that Portfolio Management System is removed and replaced with the data from the current import.

At this point the Asset Import is complete and the data can be used wherever you like in the CRM.

Compatible Portfolio Management Systems

The following is a list of Portfolio Management Systems available for Asset Import. Click the name of the system to be taken to step-by-step directions for running that particular import.

• Advent Axys
• Albridge Web Services
• Black Diamond
• Envestnet
• LPL Financial Asset Import
• MorningStar
• Orion
• PortfolioCenter (Hosted)
• SEI
• Tamarac

Common Asset Import Tasks

As described above, the basic process for performing an Asset Import is the same no matter which Interface you’re using. Below are links to some common tasks regardless of the Interface.

• Adding a New Interface
• Adding a New Configuration
• Import Configuration Options
• Clearing Imported Assets