Within Nitrogen there are two approaches for using Model Portfolios: subscribing to strategist models through the Nitrogen Partner Store or building your own models.
Advisors that subscribe to model strategists through the Nitrogen Partner store will be able to select from a list of models from their preferred strategists to build their clients' portfolios. Each model will contain the asset allocation breakdown as well as the Risk Number.
Some advisors strictly adhere to their Model Portfolios when serving clients; others use them as starting templates when building a portfolio for a client. Nitrogen makes it simple to follow either approach.
Advisors that use their own Model Portfolios typically create 5-6 Models, spread across the risk spectrum from 20 to 80, depending on the mix of clients they serve and investments they offer. The advisor then adjusts the portfolio to fit their client as they wish. Advisors typically consider Risk Numbers to be “in alignment” when they are within 5-10 points of one another. For example, a Model Portfolio with a Risk Number of 45 is often used for clients with Risk Numbers ranging from 40-50, unless the advisor offers another model that is closer to the client's Risk Number.
Another option available to advisors who manage their own model portfolios is creating 2-3 base models and creating many unique blended models using those. For more on this approach see the article Working with Blended Models.
In This Article
Getting Started
To create, view, or edit your model portfolios, click MODELS at the top of your screen.
There are three sub-sections, Active Models, Draft Models, and Partner Store which we’ll discuss below.
Creating New Models
- Choose either the Active or Draft Model option.
- Select + ADD NEW MODEL at the top right side of the page.
- Enter your model name and click + ADD MODEL.
- Now, enter allocations by hand or import from a file. You also have the option of starting with an existing model by choosing Copy a Model.
Active Models
For models you currently use with clients, add them under the first section, Active Models. This way, they’re set up for immediate use with clients.
Note: If you have an active integration with either Orion or Axos Advisor Services (Formerly E*Trade), you are able to create models via the integration.
Draft Models
Advisors use the Draft Models section for experimentation and testing. You can use this section to evaluate new ideas, see how portfolios would react under various stresses, or work on models over time before rolling them out with clients.
Once you're ready to start actively using a Draft Model, click the 3 dot Actions Menu on the right to Move to Active.
Note: You may also use the 3 dot Actions menu to Duplicate or Delete any Active or Draft Model.
Using Model Portfolio Groups
Models can be grouped, allowing you to easily sort and categorize them. To add a model to a group, click + ADD TAG and either select from a list of existing tags or click Create Tag to create a new group.
Sharing Models
Using Data Sharing?
You can share models with your team using these instructions!
Using Model Portfolios with Your Clients
Models can be easily copied to use with your clients, either as a new Proposed Portfolio or within an existing Portfolio. When creating a new account within a Current Portfolio or Proposed Portfolio, select "Add an Account" then "Funds, Stocks, and Other" account type, and finally select the option to Copy a Model.
Clicking Copy a Model will allow you to either add one of your models as a sleeve by choosing ADD MODEL (see Building Blended Models) or COPY HOLDINGS of that model to use as a starting point for the client's account.
Note: The option to Copy Holdings is only available when initially creating a new model portfolio or client account.
Using Model Portfolios from The Partner Store
To get started using model portfolios from strategists such as BlackRock or First Trust, visit the Partner Store to subscribe to your preferred strategist(s). You can learn more about subscribing to one of our partners here. Once subscribed to a strategist, all available models will now be present within the Model Portfolios page, grouped under a unique strategy group header.
Editing a Strategy Model
Once subscribed to a strategist, making any necessary changes to the default asset allocation of a model, or individual security is no problem! Simply click on the asset allocation next to the holding(s) you would like to edit then enter the new allocation amount. From here you also have the ability to add or delete any allocations. In this case, subsequent updates to this edited model by the strategist can either be accepted (overriding the edits you've made) or snoozed, keeping your changes intact.
Copying a Strategy Model
Creating a copy of a Strategy Model can be a great way of keeping an up-to-date subscription model while also maintaining your own custom version. To do this, click the Actions menu next to a model and select the 3 dot (...) Menu > Duplicate. In this example, the Risk Number Explorer 25 Model was copied.
The model that you copied will now show under the "My Models" section.
Note: Once a model is copied and edited, it will no longer receive model updates published by the model strategist. If you'd follow and accept a strategist's updates, check out this article: Accepting Updates from Partner Store Strategist
Deleting a Strategy Model
When subscribing to Strategist via the Partner Store, you'll automatically be subscribed to each of the models available in that group. From your models' page, you can easily remove any you don't wish to see by clicking Actions → Delete.
Building Blended Models
Blended models are a great way to simplify the process of maintaining your model portfolios. Creating many blends using the same underlying component models eases your workload by reducing the number of models you have to update. Best of all, it's really easy! Check out our KB article for more information on working with blended models (and model sleeves) within Nitrogen.
Reset a Model
Advisors subscribing to models from strategists outside of the Partner Store may receive model updates in the form of CSV files. To make these easy to import, Nitrogen has introduced the "Reset Model" Function. For advisors and admins who upload changes to their models via our file import process, the Reset Model option will allow them to re-upload a file or "start over" on an existing model without breaking its link to any client or blended model portfolios it may be added to.
