Oct 17, 2018   SOURCE: PR NewsWire

Money Management Institute and Barron's Announce Winners of 2018 Industry Awards Recognizing Leadership in Investment Advisory Solutions

NEW YORK, Oct. 17, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Money Management Institute (MMI) and Barron's announced the winners of the 2018 MMI/Barron's Industry Awards at MMI's 2018 Annual Conference yesterday in Dallas. Now in their tenth year, the Industry Awards recognize innovation and achievement in the investment advisory solutions industry over the past year.

"These annual awards celebrate leadership and honor firms that have raised the bar by delivering groundbreaking investment advisory solutions and related programs for financial advisors and investors," said Craig Pfeiffer, MMI President and CEO. "During a period of tremendous transformation in the delivery of investment advice, MMI is proud to recognize the winning firms - and all the finalists and nominees - for programs that set higher standards for investment advisory solutions and address important industry issues."

Sterling Shea, Global Head of Wealth & Asset Management at Dow Jones, which is the publisher of Barron's, added, "These awards highlight the innovative efforts being made across the investment advisory industry by asset managers, sponsor firms, and solutions providers to create better outcomes, both for advisors and the investors they serve. Barron's is honored to co-present the awards again this year with MMI."

The winners in the ten award categories this year are:

Tools & Technology - honoring advances in financial advisor- or investor-facing technology

    --  Envestnet - Wealth Management Technology Platform - unified technology
        that enhances advisor productivity and strengthens the wealth management
        process, empowering enterprises and advisors to more fully understand
        their clients and deliver better outcomes.

"Doing Good" - honoring programs that support a deserving cause or give back to the communities we serve

    --  Envestnet - Envestnet Institute on Campus - a comprehensive program
        designed to interest college students in the asset and wealth management
        industry by creating awareness of career possibilities, providing
        foundational training, and connecting them with potential employers.

Diversity - honoring efforts to promote and increase workplace diversity in the investment advisory solutions industry

    --  Advisor Group - Women Forward - A multi-faceted program designed to
        foster an environment of success for female advisors, while also helping
        all advisors develop more impactful relationships with female clients.

Sustainable Investing - honoring programs that support awareness and adoption of sustainable and ESG investing

    --  Morningstar - Sustainability Ratings, Research, and Tools - a
        comprehensive portfolio of offerings, including the Morningstar
        Sustainability Rating and the new Carbon Risk Score, that empowers
        investors to align their investments with their values.

Field Sales Distribution - honoring firms that exemplify excellence and innovation in wholesaling practices

    --  Russell Investments - Innovative Wholesaler Practices - sales
        organization realignment and expansion to provide a more effective
        coverage model, a more consultative experience, and a revitalized
        practice management program.

Home-Office Sales Support - honoring firms that provide exemplary and innovative advisor sales support from the home office-level

    --  Advisor Group - Future is Now - a robust program, designed to help
        advisors navigate trends that will impact their businesses and leverage
        those trends to gain competitive advantages, featuring interactive,
        one-day roadshows and complementary educational offerings.

Sponsor Platform of the Year - honoring a sponsor platform that exemplifies innovation and achievement in delivering better outcomes for investors and financial advisors

    --  Morgan Stanley - WealthDesk - a new digital platform that, by
        aggregating information about assets and liabilities held at Morgan
        Stanley and elsewhere, gives advisors a complete picture of a client's
        financial life, allowing better alignment of the client's portfolios
        with his or her current situation and future goals.

Asset Manager of the Year (<= $25B AUM) - honoring a smaller asset manager that exemplifies innovation and achievement in delivering better outcomes for investors and financial advisors

    --  Horizon Investments - Goals-Based Investing - Outcome-driven investment
        portfolios, called GAIN PROTECT SPEND® by Horizon, that are aligned
        with the three major stages along the wealth curve: accumulation,
        preservation, and distribution.

Asset Manager of the Year (> $25B AUM) - honoring a larger asset manager that exemplifies innovation and achievement in delivering better outcomes for investors and financial advisors (two winners)

    --  AllianceBernstein - AB FlexFee(TM) Funds - an innovative,
        fee-competitive alternative to ETFs and other passive strategies for
        investors who want the potential benefits of active management.
    --  Legg Mason - MDA Program - a multi-discipline account that combines the
        expertise of two affiliates, ClearBridge Investments and Western Asset
        Management, to offer investors a unique, comprehensive investment
        portfolio held in a single custodian account.

Solutions Provider of the Year - honoring a solutions provider (technology or service provider) that exemplifies innovation and achievement in delivering better outcomes for investors and financial advisors

    --  Envestnet - Holistic Wealth Management Technology - an industry-leading
        platform that offers powerful open-architecture solutions and an
        integrated network of portals (advisor, client, enterprise, and manager)
        to enhance and expand services, deepen client relationships, and broaden
        reach into existing and new markets.

Proceeds from the 2018 MMI/Barron's Industry Awards Dinner benefit MMI's Gateway to Leadership Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization that supports a variety of programs to foster career awareness and workforce readiness for aspiring minority students seeking internships and entry-level employment opportunities in the financial services industry.

At the awards dinner, the MMI Board of Governors also honored Jim Tracy, Managing Director, Head of Consulting Group and Practice Management at Morgan Stanley as its 2018 MMI Advisory Solutions Pioneer. Since 1998, the Pioneer Award has recognized individuals who embody MMI's mission to serve as advocates and catalysts for the evolution of the advisory solutions and wealth management industry. Over the course of his distinguished 35-year career, Mr. Tracy has gained a deep appreciation of the issues facing investors and financial advisors and has spearheaded the development of groundbreaking solutions to meet their needs. Under Tracy's leadership, the Morgan Stanley Consulting Group has grown to over $1 trillion in assets and remains a pioneering and innovative force in the advisory solutions space.

About the Money Management Institute (MMI): Since 1997 MMI has been the leading voice for the global financial services organizations that provide financial advice and professionally-managed investment advisory solutions to individual and institutional investors. Through programs focused on member interaction, education and professional development, data analytics and insight, next-generation initiatives, and thought leadership and advocacy, MMI supports and advances the growth of a diverse spectrum of investment advisory solutions that serve an evolving worldwide financial landscape. MMI member organizations are committed to the highest standards of fiduciary responsibility and ethical conduct and to creating the most successful outcomes for investors at every level of assets. For more information, visit http://www.MMInst.org.

About Barron's: Barron's (http://www.barrons.com) is America's premier financial magazine, known for its market-moving stories. Published by Dow Jones since 1921, it reaches an influential audience of professional fund managers, financial advisors, affluent individual investors, financial-services professionals and senior corporate executives. With new content available every business day in digital form and every week in print, Barron's provides readers with an intelligible recap of recent market action coupled with insights on what's likely to happen in the market in the days and weeks to come. In addition, its annual series of exclusive conferences for financial advisors and investors is dedicated to identifying, enhancing and expanding best practices in investing. As a result of these initiatives, Barron's is the trusted financial-publishing brand that people active in the market turn to for information, ideas and insights they can use to increase their professional success and enhance their personal, financial well-being.

SOURCE Money Management Institute