Service agency wants to attract high-end independent brokers and advisors. Bear Stearns ' clearing and custody business Bear Stearns Broker-Dealer & Investment Advisor Services (BDIAS) has hired a pair of executives to help it overhaul its technology platform.

Former Pershing managing director Suresh Chakravarthi joins as managing director and head of the BDIAS' technology team; Shailesh Shah, former chief technology officer of hedge-fund administrator Variman, also a managing director at BDIAS, will report to Chakravarthi.

"With Suresh and Shailesh, we've strengthened our ability to deliver the kind of sophisticated front-office and back-office technology solutions that clients have come to expect from us," says BDIAS co-head John Tyers.

As part of BDIAS' expanding IT team, Chakravarthi and Shah will help implement a multi-year plan to enhance technology for its independent broker-dealer and regisetered investment advisor (RIA) clients and streamline its delivery.

Everything online

Job one will be moving all of BDIAS' account-, portfolio- and wealth-management applications to a secure web-based environment for easier access and improved updating capabilities. Tyers says the custodian's IT initiative will lead to better usability and improved workflow. "This allows for the integration of into one seamless portal not only of portfolio access and account access but also wealth-management tools such as asset allocation, investment products, [portfolio] risk management, proposal generation and performance reporting."

At Jersey City, N.J.-based Pershing, Chakravarthi was responsible for information delivery, client-technology management and the firm's integration with its parent company the Bank of New York. He has also worked at JPMorgan (now part of JPMorgan Chase). He reports to Duncan Rawls, senior managing director of information technology at New York-based Bear Stearns.

Before moving to Short Hills, N.J.-based Variman, Shah was director of e-services at Pershing.

"This is an exciting and dynamic time for us," says Tyers. "We continue to expand our offering by listening to our clients and investing in our business to help them succeed."

Last year BDIAS made several management appointments including those of Rich Cancro as head of product development and Rich Gentile as head of client services. Chris Nastopoulos became head of investment-advisor sales and Gil Addeo was put in charge of broker-dealer sales.

BDIAS provides trade execution, custody, clearing services, technology, wealth management solutions, and investment products to around 350 broker-dealer, RIA and family-office clients.

BDIAS' Investment Advisor Services custodies $45 billion in end-client assets for about 100 RIAs and focuses on advisories with at least $100 million in assets under management. -FWR

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