What is BD-Link?

BD Link (Black Diamond Link) is a platform that allows Axys and APX clients to continue to use
the legacy platforms for account reconciliation while using Black Diamond as a client-facing
portal and cleaner-looking reporting tools. Many clients that utilize APX or Axys enjoy having
the control over account reconciliation those platforms provide and this makes them hesitant to
hand over those reins when making the move to Black Diamond. For these clients, BD Link
provides the best of both products. They get control of data from APX/Axys while gaining
access to improved reporting, a client portal that supports mobile, and better integration capabilities,
among other benefits that come with Black Diamond.

 

BD Link for APX or Axys

If a firm is using BD Link they may have the opportunity to use either the Axys/APX or the Black
Diamond integration. If they are not already set up on the Axys or APX integration, the client will
most likely want to use the Black Diamond integration since it is a more robust option. However,
if they were previously set up on Axys or APX, there are many considerations about how the
data will present on the CRM after the integration is switched. The client may end up with
duplicate relationships, portfolios, and/or accounts.

 

Important Considerations when Installing BD Link integration in CRM

BDLink Elements
Accounts

 

Portfolios

 

Relationships (this is not always created as Axys or APX do not have this concept in the source)

 

If transitioning to BD Link from an existing portfolio accounting system integration (Axys/APX),
an export of primary keys (Salentica Data Broker ID/External ID) should be conducted before
the integration is transitioned.

 

Potential Issues

The below issues have been found when orgs transition from using the Advent Axys/APX
integration to the Black Diamond integration. This is the issue of CRM storing data in one format
and Axys/APX Transformed data in BD Link has a different format. Issues below:

 

Portfolio Mismatch on the Name

Problem: In some cases, CRM and BD Link data do not share the same naming structure. For
example, We can see 10XX-g in BD and 10XX in CRM while they are similar, our Data Broker
engine will deem it as non-matching values. As a result, Data Broker will create a new Portfolio
record.

 

Solution: Salentica will need to get an extract from BD Link of 3 fields including the Name of the
portfolio, Salentica will need to write a script that would populate BDID into the existing CRM Portfolio
records.

 

However, this would solve only existing records issues but not newly created ones.

 

Account Number Mismatch
Problem: On the BDLink side, the Custodian Account number is stored as UDF. However, in Data
Broker we rely on this field to be Account Number in order to process Schwab, Fidelity or TDA
real-time custodian integration. This is also a prerequisite for holdings being loaded.

 

NOTE: The above screenshot is from the Black Diamond account set up page. Included for
reference.

 

Solution: In the 6/19/2020 release, functionality was added to allow for the use of a UDF in
place of the Custodial Account field from the Black Diamond API. At this time, a member of
Salentica’s team will need to add the name of the UDF to be used to the Organization Settings
table.