April 2010 - FPPad

The Twitter Backchannel for FPA Retreat 2010

Posted on April 22, 2010 by Bill Winterberg in General

FPA Retreat 2010 begins today in San Antonio, TX. I’m on baby duty this weekend, otherwise I’d be attending this event.

So for those of us watching from the sidelines, follow the Twitter backchannel for the event using the #fparetreat hashtag. Mary Corbin, Managing Editor of the Journal of Financial Planning, bless her heart, is live tweeting from the event.

Don’t take this the wrong way, but I think Mary, Rick Kahler, and Marion Asnes might be the only individuals tweeting from the event. No doubt Retreat attracts a more experienced crowd, plus many advisors choose not to send messages out through social networking sites due to compliance concerns, so don’t expect a flood of insight from the event.

Document Editing on the iPad Remains Convoluted Despite SugarSync’s Update

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Bill Winterberg in Technology

Two weeks ago I posted a review of the ways I see advisers using iPads in their practices. One of the drawbacks I highlighted was the lack of a native file explorer to easily locate, edit, and save files stored on the device.

I mentioned three apps that can be used to circumvent this drawback (GoodReader, Dropbox, and SugarSync), each with its own pros and cons.

Today, the folks at SugarSync released an update to its iPad app to enable users to perform basic file editing and synchronization with its SugarSync cloud document storage service.

Unfortunately, I still find document synchronization on the iPad, even with the SugarSync update, to be a convoluted process.

Welcome Wealth Management Marketing Subscribers

Posted on April 15, 2010 by Bill Winterberg in General

FPPad.com is this month’s Featured Resource in Wealth Management Marketing’s newsletter. I want to welcome WMM subscribers to FPPad and provide some links to show you what’s popular on this site.

First, you can subscribe to the FPPad RSS feed by clicking here.

Don’t use an RSS reader? We recommend Google Reader. It’s free and easy to use.

Prefer email updates instead of RSS? We have an email subscription option, too. Just click here to subscribe by email.

So here’s a glimpse at what many visitors to FPPad find useful:

Thanks again for visiting and thank you to Wealth Management Marketing for featuring FPPad this month!

Concenter Services Purchases Moulton Strategic Partners, XLR8 Overlay to Salesforce

Posted on April 7, 2010 by Bill Winterberg in Software

I learned today that Concenter Services, LLC, based here in Dallas/Ft. Worth, has purchased the assets of Moulton Strategic Partners, creator of the XLR8 overlay to Salesforce.

Moulton Strategic Partners was one of the first companies to customize Salesforce, the popular SaaS CRM tool, and offer it to advisors under the XLR8 label.

I haven’t yet found a website for Concenter Services, LLC, but its CEO, Mary Ferguson, maintains a profile on LinkedIn. Click here to view it.

Below is the full text of the announcement from Concenter:

The iPad for Financial Advisers and Wealth Managers

Posted on April 6, 2010 by Bill Winterberg in Technology

I’ve had my Apple iPad for about 72 hours and am ready to post my overall reaction to the product and specifically address how I believe financial advisers and wealth managers can use the device in their practice.

The Executive Summary

What: Apple iPad Wifi 16GB
Pros: Elegant design, sleek & attractive, easy touch interface with nearly no learning curve, 10+ hour battery life
Cons: (Besides the 13 referenced below) No native file explorer, editing existing documents is a convoluted process.
Takeaway: The iPad can compliment a paperless office, enhance meetings with clients, and provide a single source to access print and online media if you’re willing to work within the limitations of existing apps.

The Review for Financial Advisers & Wealth Managers

What you won’t find in this review are the general statements about the iPad’s cool features (like iBooks, pinch-zooming, etc.) and the drawbacks (no multitasking, no USB ports, etc.) of the device. Instead, you’ll find my take on how I believe advisers and wealth managers can use the new tablet computer to enhance their daily lives.

If you still feel like you need the basic pros and cons overview of the device, here are two links, one in favor of the iPad’s potential to change computing, and one painstakingly detailed on the drawbacks of the device.

With that out of the way, let’s explore the ways I see advisers using the iPad.

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