JERSEY CITY, N.J., January 12, 2011 — Pershing LLC, a BNY Mellon company, announced today that it has introduced a range of new tools and enhancements to its Advisor in Transition practice management program, highlighted by a real time matching tool, the Does It Pay to Switch? calculator and an interactive business model comparison tool available through its sophisticated web portal at www.advisorintransition.com.

The Advisor in Transition Program allows advisors to evaluate one of five choices: form a registered investment advisor (RIA) or join an RIA; form a broker-dealer or join a broker-dealer; or create a hybrid RIA/broker-dealer solution. Once they've assessed their options based on the different economics, they can use the real-time firm matching tool to match them up with firms that appear to be an appropriate fit based on their needs, or, conversely, they can contact a Pershing relationship manager to provide them with the resources they require to establish their own independent business.

Pershing, one of the country's leading clearing and custody firms for broker-dealers and registered investment advisors, serves 1,500 financial services organizations with different orientations including institutional and retail brokerage, banks, wealth management firms and family offices, money management firms and international securities practices.  

Enhancements to the Advisor in Transition program include a redesigned website with intuitive navigational aids:

• Real Time Firm Matching – This tool enables advisors to identify firms that are potential matches for their needs and has been streamlined and automated.  It provides advisors with immediate online matching results, consisting of Pershing-affiliated firms. Advisors can apply their own filters to narrow or broaden their firm list, and have the option to contact their matches directly from the site or choose to have select firms contact them.
• "Does It Pay to Switch?" Calculator – This unique calculator offers advisors the ability to drill deeply into the economics of moving their business or launching their own firm. The calculator helps advisors analyze the costs of operating under different affiliation models.  It explores overhead comparisons and various compensation models, in addition to important issues such as the cost of legal services and office space.
• Interactive Business Model Comparison Chart – This resource is a side-by-side comparison of various affiliation models, including a range of features such as payout, product access, marketing, technology, compliance and more.
• Insight and Guidance on the Transition Process – The Advisor in Transition site features success stories, robust content for advisors making a move and access to leading industry experts who are available to answer questions on topics ranging from starting a business to compliance and marketing.

Jim Crowley, managing director of the global customers group at Pershing LLC, said, "Attracting and retaining quality talent is crucial to broker-dealers, and is becoming more challenging as business models continue to evolve. Our Advisor in Transition program is designed to introduce our broker-dealer customers to advisors considering an alternative affiliation and communicate the benefits of these alternative models."

Mark Tibergien, chief executive officer of Pershing Advisor Solutions LLC, added, "Evaluating a change of affiliation model or launching a new firm can be a daunting task for even the most sophisticated advisors. Advisor in Transition offers access to an unprecedented level of solutions, expertise and practice management support that will help advisors make confident decisions and smooth transitions regardless of the affiliation models they choose."

Advisor in Transition is a component of Pershing's innovative TalentConnect®  program designed to help financial organizations attract, retain and develop top talent.  For more information about the Advisor in Transition program, please e-mail Pershing at advisorintransition@pershing.com.

Pershing LLC (member FINRA/NYSE/SIPC) is a leading global provider of financial business solutions to more than 1,500 institutional and retail financial organizations and independent registered investment advisors who collectively represent approximately five million active investors. Located in 21 offices worldwide, Pershing and its affiliates are committed to delivering dependable operational support, robust trading services, flexible technology, an expansive array of investment solutions, practice management support and service excellence. Pershing is a member of every major U.S. securities exchange and its international affiliates are members of the Deutsche Borse, the Irish Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange. Pershing LLC is a BNY Mellon company. Additional information is available at www.pershing.com.

BNY Mellon is a global financial services company focused on helping clients manage and service their financial assets, operating in 36 countries and serving more than 100 markets.  BNY Mellon is a leading provider of financial services for institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals, providing superior asset management and wealth management, asset servicing, issuer services, clearing services and treasury services through a worldwide client-focused team. It has $24.4 trillion in assets under custody and administration and $1.14 trillion in assets under management, services $12.0 trillion in outstanding debt and processes global payments averaging $1.6 trillion per day.  BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation.  Additional information is available at www.bnymellon.com.