Monday, March 11, 2013

New App From DST Market Services puts Mutual Fund Marketplace on a Smartphone

“TreeSwing” Makes Investing Accessible And Fun For New Investors

Kansas City, MO, March 08, 2013 – TreeSwing is a mobile brokerage service sponsored by DST Market Services, a registered broker-dealer and member firm of FINRA. DST Market Services today announced its plan to launch a new phone application designed to put the benefits of investing into the hands of a wider investing audience, including those who have never invested before.

Available soon as a free download from the App Store™, TreeSwing is built on the idea that even the smallest contributions add up over time. With no brokerage fees, no minimum balances, and no required monthly investment, investors can contribute any amount they’re comfortable with—as little as $1 at a time, as often as they like.

TreeSwing will allow investors to select from a marketplace of professionally managed mutual funds offered by some of the top names in the industry. By keeping the marketplace purposefully small, using plain language, and providing independent data from Morningstar, TreeSwing aims to give investors an easy way to make informed choices.

According to Brian Smith, Design and Product Manager for the TreeSwing application, the app was created specifically to serve the millions of Americans who aren’t currently investing.
“I believe we’ve built something that will lower the financial, behavioral, and emotional barriers to the investment process,” says Mr. Smith.

TreeSwing will occasionally send encouraging notifications to users’ phones. These reminders are designed to keep users on track by focusing on investing behaviors, not market fluctuations, and by making investing part of life on a weekly, even daily basis. Optionally connecting an investor’s foursquare® account allows for location-specific pushes that help investors make mindful consumer decisions.

In developing TreeSwing, DST Market Services is able to leverage the considerable experience and infrastructure of its parent, DST Systems, a behind-the-scenes leader in the mutual fund industry since 1973. From its rigid adherence to mobile security best practices to DST’s state-of-the-art data facilities, the TreeSwing development team made protection of personal information its top priority.

TreeSwing will make its first public demonstration at the SXSW Interactive Festival in Austin, TX on March 8, 2013.

About TreeSwing
DST Market Services, LLC is a registered broker-dealer and member firm of FINRA. It is the sponsor of TreeSwing. TreeSwing is a brand name for a mobile brokerage service designed specifically for consumer-focused investing. The goal of TreeSwing is to bring the benefits of mutual fund investing to new and emerging investors by lowering or removing many of the financial, behavioral, and emotional barriers to entry. Leveraging DST’s financial industry experience and infrastructure, TreeSwing designers and developers have extensive experience building software and service solutions for the mutual fund industry.

Disclosures:
DST Market Services, LLC is not affiliated with Morningstar or foursquare. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. With regard to online and mobile trading, market volatility and volume may delay system access and trade execution.

A fund’s prospectus contains its investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other important information and should be read and considered carefully before investing.

Contact:
Laura Parsons
DST Systems, Inc.
333 W. 11th St.
Kansas City, MO 64105
816-843-9087
mediarelations@dstsystems.com
http://www.dstsystems.com