Executive Summary (TL;DR) Advisor Trading extends Orion’s proven trading and rebalancing workflows directly to advisors, with firm-level guardrails kept in place. This guide walks Firm Admins through a three-step deployment—define your firm structure, set roles, and train advisors—and maps common advisor scenarios to the roles and preferences each one needs. - Define the five configuration areas that shape advisor access - Set roles across dashboard, preferences, models, tools, and execution - Match each advisor scenario to the privileges and Trading Preferences it requires Use it as your starting point before turning on Advisor Trading for any user.

 

 

What Does This Article Help Solve?

 

Common Real-Life Questions Users Ask About Deploying Advisor Trading

"We want to roll out Advisor Trading—where do we even start?"

"How much trading access should we give each advisor, and how do we control it?"

"Which roles and preferences do I turn on for an advisor who only recommends trades versus one who executes them?"

"How do we keep advisor-submitted trades aligned with firm standards and approval processes?"

 

 

Article Quick Links

Why Is a Structured Advisor Trading Deployment Important?

What Is Advisor Trading?

Advisor Trading: Building Advisor Driven Workflows in Eclipse [~48 mins]

How to Deploy and Implement Advisor Trading?

Step 1 — Define Your Firm Structure

Step 2 — Set Your Roles

Common Advisor Scenarios and the Roles They Require

Scenario 1: Trade Request Firm (Recommend Only)

Scenario 2: Advisor as Model Manager

Scenario 3: Advisor PM (Execute Own Book)

Scenario 4: Independent Advisor (Full Self-Service)

 

 

Why Is a Structured Advisor Trading Deployment Important?

• Autonomy with oversight. Give advisors a direct hand in the portfolios they manage—executing trades, building models, and acting on opportunities in real time—while the firm decides exactly how far that autonomy extends.
  
  
• Proven Eclipse technology, not a science experiment. Build on the Eclipse trading engine advisors already trust, for a faster path to market and a more robust experience from day one—rather than starting from scratch.
  
  
• Granular, role-based control designed by the firm. Define exactly what each advisor sees and does across models, trade tools, and account preferences, supporting virtually infinite combinations and a tailored setup the firm stands behind.
  
  
• A focused, one-click experience. Move advisors from the Advisor Portal into Eclipse trading through built-in single sign-on—no separate logins, no context-switching—landing on a streamlined view curated to the tools each role needs.
  
  
• Scalable enablement without losing oversight. Extend trading autonomy across more advisors and a growing book of business while firm guardrails, approvals, and review processes keep every trade aligned with firm standards.

 

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What Is Advisor Trading?

Advisor Trading is Orion's advisor-focused trading workflow, built on the proven Eclipse trading engine   advisors already trust. It drops advisors into a curated, firm-configured trading view, and advisors reach it however they already work in Orion—including Advisor Portal-only users, who open it directly from the Advisor Portal in one click through built-in single sign-on, with no separate logins and no context-switching. Because the experience is configurable at the user level, granular role-based permissioning shapes exactly what each advisor sees and does, from those who only monitor and recommend to fully independent advisors who manage models, preferences, and execution on their own. Purpose-built for TAMP and enterprise firms, it organizes capability into focus areas such as Portfolio Oversight, Cash Management, Tax Management, Trade Order Review & Execution, and trading at the UMA, account, or household level.

 

Advisor Trading: Building Advisor Driven Workflows in Eclipse [~48 mins]

 

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How to Deploy and Implement Advisor Trading

Deploy Advisor Trading through a straightforward three-step framework that aligns access, controls, and workflows to your operating model. Then map each user to a scenario and enable the matching roles and preferences.

Step 1 — Define Your Firm Structure

Start by defining the five core configuration areas that shape how advisors interact with the platform and where firm oversight applies.

A. Account Dashboard Goals

Determine which workflows advisors see on the dashboard, such as:

• Rebalancing
  
  
• Cash needs
  
  
• Other firm-prioritized actions

 

B. Preferences and Account Management

Define the account-level controls advisors manage, based on your firm’s policy and operating model:

• Do not buy / exclude rules
  
  
• Maximum gain thresholds
  
  
• Cash management settings

 

C. Model Structure

• Simple model structure: Ticker-based models that target a defined list of products and associated allocation percentages.
  
  
• Models of models: Layered model structures for firms that need additional flexibility across more complex portfolio construction approaches.

Review Complex VS Simple Models In Orion Trading (Eclipse) for more information.

 

D. Configure Trading Tools

• Rebalancing
  
  
• Cash needs
  
  
• Tax-loss harvesting
  
  
• Other approved trading workflows

Review Orion Trading Platform (Eclipse) - Trade Tools Summary Overview for more information on each of the trade tools in the Orin Trading Platform (Eclipse).

 

E. Establish Execution Permissions

Choose how far an advisor’s authority extends once a trade is created:

• Recommend trades only — orders route to a trade queue for review.
  
  
• Create trades but require a trader to execute — the advisor stages orders; a designated trader executes them.
  
  
• Execute trades directly — the advisor creates and executes orders.

 

 

Where Firm Oversight Is Applied: The Preference Hierarchy

Trading Preferences are set at different levels of the hierarchy, so firm-wide standards stay in place while advisors work within their accounts. Most preferences apply at one or more of these levels:

• Firm — broad standards that apply across the organization.
  
  
• Custodian — settings tied to a specific custodian, such as transaction fees and redemption fees.
  
  
• Team — controls for an advisor or group of advisors.
  
  
• Model — settings tied to a model’s construction and tolerances.
  
  
• Portfolio — controls for a single portfolio.
  
  
• Accounts — account-level settings, including tax-type and security-level rules.

When the same preference is set at multiple levels, the platform applies the most restrictive value (for example, the Trade Min Setting uses the most restrictive limit found in the hierarchy).

 

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Step 2 — Set Your Roles

After defining firm structure, set up roles. A role is the combination of privileges across the same five dimensions you defined above: dashboard access, preference management, model access, trading tools, and execution authority. Configure each advisor’s role to match the scenario that fits their responsibilities. Review How to Set Up Roles in the Orion Trading Platform for more information. If the required role/privilege is not listed, contact Orion's SME Trading team.

 

Several Trading Preferences depend on at least one user holding the matching approval role right. Review Orion Trading Preferences for a comprehensive list of preferences, their impact, and definitions.

 

 

 

Common Advisor Scenarios and the Roles They Require

Most advisors fit one of four deployment scenarios. Use the reference table to compare access across the five dimensions, then read the scenario that matches each advisor. Each scenario lists what the advisor should be able to do and the specific Trading Preferences and role rights to enable so they accomplish it.

 

Scenario	Dashboard	Preferences	Models	Tools	Execution
Trade Request Firm (Recommend Only)	Cash & rebalancing	Restrictions only	None	Rebalancing & cash	Trades queued
Advisor as Model Manager	Tolerance monitoring	None	Simple	None	None
Advisor Trader (Execute Own Book)	All	Do not buy / exclude	Simple	All	Execution enabled
Independent Advisor (Full Self-Service)	All	All	All	All	All

 

Scenario 1: Trade Request Firm  (Click to Expand)

 

Scenario 1: Trade Request Firm (Recommend Only) A central trading team reviews and executes; the advisor recommends. Best for firms that want advisor input without handing over execution. The advisor monitors cash and rebalancing dashboards, builds recommendations with the Rebalancer and Cash Needs tools, and submits trades for review.
Privilege Name		Description
	Trade Queue Enabled	Routes the advisor’s instances to the Trade Queue staging area for review.
	Execute Trade Queue Hierarchy	Controls how queued instances process once reviewed.
	Trade Approval Levels	Requires approval before execution. Assign a trader holding execution rights and the Trade Approver role right.
	Auto Create Team	Scopes the advisor’s visibility to their own book of business.
	Exclude Holding / Buy Priority / Sell Priority (security level)	The restrictions-only controls the advisor manages.
	Rebalance Cash Min, Mid, and Max % / Cash Needs Rebalance Goal	The cash targets the Cash Needs tool reads when raising cash.

Withhold execution rights, model management, and broad preference editing.

 

 

Scenario 2: Advisor as Model Manager (Click to Expand)

 

Scenario 2: Advisor as Model Manager The advisor owns portfolio construction; trade creation and execution stay centralized. Best for advisors who manage models but not trading. The advisor builds and maintains simple, ticker-based models, assigns models to portfolios, and monitors tolerance.
Privilege Name		Description
	Model Change Approval	Requires model changes to be approved before use. Pair with the Approve Model Change role right.
	Model Assignment Approval	Requires model assignments to be approved before use. Pair with the Approve Model Assignment role right.
	Out Of Tolerance Review Level / Include All Levels Above Review Level	Set the level models review as out of tolerance, driving the monitoring dashboard.
	Rebalance Level Setting / Trade Tolerance / Cash Trade Tolerance	Define how models are constructed and how tolerance bands are measured.
	Auto Create Portfolios	Attaches models to portfolios during the import.
	Communities - Allowed Strategists / Allowed Strategist Models	Only when the advisor manages community (strategist) models.

Withhold trade tools and execution.

 

 

Scenario 3: Advisor PM (Execute Own Book) (Click to Expand)

 

Scenario 3: Advisor PM (Execute Own Book) The advisor manages and trades their own book end to end, within firm guardrails. Best for experienced advisors trusted to execute. The advisor uses all dashboards, manages do-not-buy / exclude rules, maintains simple models, runs the Rebalancer, Cash Needs, and Tax-Loss Harvesting tools, and executes their own trades.
Privilege Name		Description
	Exclude Holding / Do Not TLH / Buy Priority / Sell Priority	The do-not-buy / exclude management the advisor owns at the security level.
	Tax Loss Harvesting Amount / Min Tax Loss Harvesting Lot Percent / Tax Loss Harvest Full Position	Power the Tax-Loss Harvesting tool and define what qualifies as an opportunity.
	Allow Wash Sales / Allow Wash Sales on a 100% Sell / Wash Sales in Taxable Accounts Only	Firm-set wash-sale guardrails applied to advisor trades.
	Max Gain Amount Allowed / Allow Short Term Gains / Portfolio Ordinary Income & Long Term Capital Gain Tax %	Gain guardrails and the tax rates used to estimate trade impact.
	Trade Min Setting / Trade Max Setting	Trade-size limits, applied at the most restrictive level in the hierarchy.
	Discretionary Account(s) / Dividend Reinvest Setting / Capital Gain Reinvest Setting	Order tagging and reinvestment instructions, set as the firm requires.
	Execution permissions / Auto-Allocate FIX Block Orders / Send VSP Info (Lot Specific Trading)	Enable order execution through trade files or FIX, where applicable.

The firm keeps its non-negotiable guardrails at the Firm or Custodian level, since the most restrictive setting still applies.

 

 

Scenario 4: Independent Advisor (Full Self-Service) (Click to Expand)

 

Scenario 4: Independent Advisor (Full Self-Service) The advisor runs their own trading process with full access. Best for independent advisors who operate end to end. The advisor manages all preferences, builds all model structures, runs all trade tools, and executes with full authority.
Privilege Name		Description
	Full preference management	Preference editing at the Firm, Team, Model, Portfolio, and Account levels open to the advisor.
	All model structures	Simple models and models of models.
	All trade tools	Including the Enabled Fixed Income Trading Workflow, sleeve portfolio trading, and ASTRO.
	Full execution authority	Create and execute orders directly.
	Option Trading Allowed (and related option preferences)	Only after the Option Trading contract is signed, since it carries an additional fee.

Even at full access, the firm retains any non-negotiable guardrails at the Firm or Custodian level, since the most restrictive setting in the hierarchy still applies.

 

 

 

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In Summary Deploy Advisor Trading in three steps: define firm structure, set roles, and train advisors. Shape access through five configuration areas—dashboard, preferences, models, tools, and execution. Match each advisor to one of four scenarios, from recommend-only to full self-service. Pair approval preferences with their role rights: Approve Model Change, Approve Model Assignment, and trade approval levels. Set firm guardrails at the right hierarchy level—the most restrictive setting wins, keeping advisor trades aligned with firm standards.

 

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