October 26th, 2009 Bill Winterberg
ByAllAccounts, one of the leading asset aggregation providers in the independent investment adviser space, just announced two incentives for advisers using the Schwab Performance Technologies® PortfolioCenter® portfolio management system.
Here are the details:
If you’re a current PortfolioCenter® user, you can earn a $500 credit for each referral that signs up for the aggregation service by December 31, 2009.
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Posted in Efficiency, Portfolio Management Software, Technology | No Comments »
October 25th, 2009 Bill Winterberg
I just returned from presenting at the SRI in the Rockies 2009 pre-conference event hosted for members of the First Affirmative Financial Network. I presented two breakout sessions for the group, one on using CRM systems to enhance relationship continuity with clients and one on increasing adviser productivity.
One of the tools I recommend in my productivity presentation is a service from Dropbox. Dropbox is a utility that synchronizes all files stored in the Dropbox folder on a computer with any of your other computers where the software is installed. It also has a web interface to browse, view, and download the files stored in the folder. The first 2GB of data stored on Dropbox is free; additional storage is available for a nominal fee.
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Posted in Software, Technology | 4 Comments »
October 21st, 2009 Bill Winterberg
Like them or not, FINRA is getting the jump on the SEC over issuing guidelines to registered representatives regarding the use of social networking.
FINRA is offering a compliance webinar on December 16, 2009 to cover “compliance and regulatory considerations when using social networking sites to communicate firm business.”
Why FINRA decided to charge $50 for members and $100 for non-members is beyond me. I would think they would want to make this information free to increase compliance with the guidelines set by FINRA. I digress.
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Posted in Compliance | 6 Comments »
October 16th, 2009 Bill Winterberg
So I’m reviewing my messages in GMail this evening and happened to glance over at the Google AdWords. In the top spot is an ad for Junxure CRM and boasts how “Version 7 Rocks!” (the mixed use of upper and lower case is interesting, too)
Isn’t Junxure on version 8 now?
Posted in Software | 1 Comment »
October 16th, 2009 Bill Winterberg
ProTracker Software Inc., the makers of ProTracker Advantage, announced an update to its resident CRM system (i.e. not SaaS or cloud service) as well as a new version of its Compliance Manual.
Full coverage of the releases is provided by Davis Janowski at Investment News.
ProTracker Advantage is a CRM system originally developed by Warren J. Mackensen, a fee-only planner in Hampton, N.H., for use in financial planning and wealth management firms.
In my opinion, ProTracker is a suitable CRM solution for advisers who seek a system with a lower learning curve than competitors and one that is not hosted over the Internet (and subject to service interruptions and less-than-realtime performance). Although one drawback of locally-installed programs is that someone must perform the update to the latest version!
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October 11th, 2009 Bill Winterberg
The FPA Anaheim 2009 conference is underway, and while I am unable to attend this year (something about watching my son while my wife takes the pediatric board exam) I can still glean some good information while monitoring the backchannel on Twitter.
First, most (but not all) tweets from conference attendees contain the hashtag #fpa2009. The hashtag present in the tweet allows Twitter Search to easily find tagged messages and display them all at once.
Since not all attendees are tagging tweets with #fpa2009, I’m providing a list of people that have been posting conference related messages. If I had more time, I’d make an icon to allow Twitter users to follow these individuals in one click, but I have to change some dirty diapers.
For now, here’s the list (in order of my personal rating of quality/quantity tweets):
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Posted in General | 1 Comment »
October 1st, 2009 Bill Winterberg
E-Z Data, the provider of SmartOffice, a web-based CRM solution for financial services, was acquired by Ebix, Inc. today for $50.35 million. The acquisition will enhance the company’s existing EbixExchange platform to include E-Z Data’s robust CRM product.
Read the full press release on the Ebix Inc. website and read E-Z Data’s statement to SmartOffice customers on its website.
Posted in Software | No Comments »
