BISYS has launched what it is calling the Rollover Solutions Network, which aims to automate the opening of IRA rollover accounts and facilitate paperless distributions. Wealth Management Systems (WMSI) developed the platform for BISYS.
WMSI’s Rollover Solutions Network, which will be accessible through BISYS’s web site for retirement plan participants, automates a number of time-consuming and error-prone manual processes. Functioning as an electronic interface between BISYS’s recordkeeping platform and various applications used to open brokerage accounts, the platform aims to make it easy to open IRA rollover accounts and processes participant distributions electronically by routing retirement plan account data to retail account opening systems. The platform also automatically tracks distribution and rollover activity.
“We expect the Rollover Solutions Network will enhance the experience of retirement plan participants by further empowering them to make informed investment decisions about their distribution options with online access to comprehensive educational information and self-service distribution capabilities,” says Christopher Guarino, president of BISYS Retirement Services. “Our bank and investment management clients continually look for innovative solutions that can help them retain assets, and automating the IRA rollover process will support this fundamental business goal. Automating the IRA rollover and distribution processes also will address an industry-wide need for retirement services providers, and enable our plan sponsor clients to enhance their participant services. This platform also will enable BISYS to increase productivity and reduce operating costs by eliminating the traditional paperwork and check processing requirements.”
Tom Loch, chief technology officer of Wealth Management Systems, Inc., added that “we identified the significant benefits that would be generated by streamlining account openings and distribution processing. Our ability to facilitate this additional structure in the IRA marketplace enables providers of retirement plan recordkeeping services like BISYS to integrate their distribution services with multiple financial institutions, which ultimately enables retirement plan participants to evaluate and select the appropriate IRA provider regardless of the investment amount.”
The Rollover Solutions Network is expected to be fully interfaced with BISYS’ recordkeeping platform during the second quarter of 2004.
Wealth Management Systems is a privately held technology company headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey.