KPMG, the accounting and tax firm, is offering a new group of services that help financial advisors, primarily at middle-market financial-services firms, more efficiently meet the planning, investment and regulatory needs of their high-net-worth clients. Target client firms include banks, insurance companies, trust companies and broker-dealers.

The new Financial Advisor Resources service makes available members of KPMG's professional staff and its proprietary advisory tools through a portfolio of outsourced services. The services include direct access to KPMG's personal financial specialists; outsourced tax-return preparation for individuals, trusts, and estates; and Web-based client/advisor communications tools, including advanced estate-strategy applications.

"As competition intensifies in the high-net-worth individual market, Financial Advisor Resources offers mid-sized firms a suite of services that can help them compete for business against large, national organizations with deep resources," said Rusty Jandl, a KPMG partner and national leader for the new service. "In essence, it levels the playing field for doing business in this marketplace."

"Financial firms that use the services will particularly like the fact that they can select the resources they need--when they need them--to support their client relationships efficiently," he added.

KPMG has landed two "significant" clients for the new services launched several months ago, and is currently in talks with 13 others, according to R.T. Whitman, national director of KPMG Acumen.

The most innovative aspect of the service may be immediate access to a range of KPMG's intellectual capital by an advisor, according to Tim Speiss, a KPMG partner, who helped develop the service.

"Through this offering, we accommodate financial advisors in three ways: direct Internet access to a database of technical information generated for KPMG's own professionals, periodic training for advisors on regulatory developments and technical issues affecting high-net worth clients, and direct access to a network of professionals who can assist with client solutions," he said. 

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