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PODCAST: How PreciseFP streamlines routine data gathering and client collaboration

Posted on December 18, 2012 by in Efficiency, Podcast, Software

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Don Whalen, co-founder of PreciseFP

Client data gathering and form filling are the least glamorous tasks that make up your workday, but the activities are essential to create financial plans with correct information.

Fortunately, there are a few solutions that can significantly streamline the arduous data-gathering process.

One product is PreciseFP, co-founded by Don Whalen and Sebastian Skwarek in 2008.

In what probably sets the record as the longest time between my initial discovery (see: Has Laborious Client Data Entry Met Its Match? from September 2008) and follow up, I connected with Don Whalen to learn about PreciseFP’s growth over the last four years and how PreciseFP has matured to be a reliable, cost-effective tool advisers can use to facilitate the data gathering.

Listen to the podcast below, and note that Whalen provides a discount code all listeners can use to receive 15% off their subscription to PreciseFP (not an affiliate code, I receive no referral fees if you sign up).

Windows 8 for financial advisers: Pros and cons from FinFolio CEO Matt Abar

Posted on December 14, 2012 by in On Air

Windows 8 is here. Microsoft Surface RT tablets are here.

Does that mean you should run out and buy them?

Matt Abar, CEO of FinFolio has experience with Windows 8 from both the developer and consumer perspective. In my latest FPPad On Air broadcast, watch Abar discuss the pros and cons of Windows 8 and what it will mean for financial advisers as they upgrade their technology in 2013.

(click to watch on YouTube)

FPPad Bits and Bytes for December 14

Posted on December 14, 2012 by in Bits & Bytes

Matt Abar, CEO of FinFolio

Watch today’s FPPad On Air broadcast at 4:15pm ET, as my guest will be Matt Abar, CEO of FinFolio.

Visit my Twitter profile page around 4:00pm ET for the broadcast link.

 

Now on to this week’s stories of interest:

Greg Friedman is set to finally bring Junxure to the cloud and beat back the Salesforce-ification of the industry from RIABiz.com

[Over 10+ years, Junxure desktop has attracted 10,000 users across 1,500 firms. It’s a great accomplishment for a niche CRM provider, but the momentum and innovation in cloud services, including cloud CRM, is challenging Junxure’s raison d’être. Will they be able to successfully pull off a transition of some or all of their users to the cloud?] As Greg Friedman takes Junxure to the cloud, he’s taking the gloves off with Salesforce — bolstered by new technology and a sense that the CRM giant is leaving much on the table in functionality and quality of service.

Surface to Air: Is Surface Going to be a Player in Financial Services? from WealthManagement.com

[Microsoft’s surface has a huge gap to close if it wants to be a contending tablet. Apple’s iPad has sold over 100 million units worldwide, and Microsoft chooses not to disclose early numbers of its Surface RT. Will the introduction of the $900 Surface Pro change anything? I doubt it.] Along with Windows 8 tablets for sale this year is Surface, a Windows 8 tablet that is meant to bully the iPad into submission. The likelihood of that in the near future? Slim, says financial services experts.

Total Rebalance Expert Integrates With Morningstar Office(SM) from MarketWatch

[Isn’t Morningstar Office supposed to be rebuilding their internal rebalancer? I’ll need to check with them once again, but for now, advisers using TRX’s rebalancer (see: Total Rebalance Expert CEO Sheryl Rowling on how rebalancing software saves advisers $325,000 per year) don’t have to wait for Morningstar anymore in the wake of this latest integration.] Total Rebalance Expert (TRX) today announced a data integration agreement with Morningstar, Inc., a leading provider of independent investment research. Now, advisors can automatically import their portfolio data from Morningstar Office(SM), a global practice and portfolio management platform for independent financial advisors, into TRX’s software platform to streamline and simplify the rebalancing process.

Half-financed by RIAs, AssetBook rolls out ‘Radar’ to put big RIAs in its range from RIABiz.com

 [You’re likely aware you have alternatives in portfolio management software to the heavyweight products from Advent, Schwab, and Albridge. AssetBook, born from descendants of dbCAMS, is a very good and low-cost solution with many of the same features offered by those mentioned earlier. It’s also a service bureau, meaning you don’t need to spend each morning reconciling transactions and new positions that come in your overnight data feeds. So for less than $30/account/year, AssetBook is one to consider for advisers looking to move to the cloud and to benefit from the experience and service of a portfolio services bureau.] AssetBook Inc. has long been a niche choice for smaller RIAs looking for an affordable platform. But, with a new portfolio-reporting platform full of bells and whistles expected to roll out in the first quarter of 2013, the McHenry, Md.-based software company is luring larger firms away from more established competitors.

TD Ameritrade Institutional Earns Top Marks for Advisor Satisfaction in Financial Planning Magazine’s 2012 Tech Survey from MarketWatch

[Let’s cut to the chase: TDAI’s Veo® Open Access now has over 60 vendor integrations, received the most “very satisfied” ratings in this year’s Financial Planning Tech Survey, and services thousands of TDAI’s 4,500 RIAs. If you had to start over today and choose a new custodian, who would you choose?] TD Ameritrade Institutional’s Veo(R) open access initiative, an industry wide-effort to deliver quality technology integrations to advisors, has helped the custodian secure top scores for advisor satisfaction in this year’s Financial Planning Tech Survey.

The Best Financial Adviser Technology of 2012

Posted on December 13, 2012 by in Technology

Each year, readers look forward to my review of the best in financial adviser technology across the tech landscape.

This year’s winners of Best in Tech are highlighted in this month’s Morningstar Advisor column.

Read 2012’s Best Tech for Advisors today, and update your technology plan for 2013 to incorporate one or more of these leading solutions.

 

Podcasts for Financial Advisers: How to record, publish, and syndicate podcast content

Posted on December 7, 2012 by in On Air, Podcast

Podcasting isn’t for everyone, but financial advisers who include podcasts in their marketing collateral can score points with prospective clients.

In this FPPad On Air broadcast, I connected with Blane Warrene, senior vice president of client communications for RegEd, to talk about how advisers can record, publish, and syndicate their own podcasts.

In the broadcast, Warrene mentioned tools such as Audacity, Garage Band, and Blubrry advisers can use to get started with podcasting.

Be sure to subscribe to the Social Media Minute podcast on iTunes (and the FPPad podcast as well!)

(click to view on YouTube)

FPPad Bits and Bytes for December 7

Posted on December 7, 2012 by in Bits & Bytes

Remember to watch today’s FPPad On Air broadcast at 4:15 pm ET with Blane Warrene.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

Meet the wealth management firm of the future from Reuters.com

[Technology Tools for Today’s High-Margin Practice is being released in early 2013 as the 10th anniversary of their original book, Virtual Office Tools for a High Margin Practice, nears. It was a privilege to be asked to contribute to the new edition, as I submitted a chapter on collaboration tools financial advisers can use in their business. Pre-order the book on Amazon to lock in the pre-order price.] When David Drucker and Joel Bruckenstein wrote a book about technology innovations for advisers in 2002, many readers were skeptical of their recommendations to use email and create a website.

Junxure Cloud – The Clear Choice for Advisors from Junxure.com

[I will be honest: I think Junxure faces an uphill climb when it releases Junxure Cloud next year. The desktop version has so much in its interface, between notes, tasks, assets, documents, action sequences, etc. that I can’t help but be skeptical how it will translate to a web-based user interface. Junxure provided a sneak preview earlier this year (see: A sneak peek of Junxure Cloud), so take a look and decide for yourself. But give credit to Greg Friedman, the points in this article are valid; there are no overlays like there are in Salesforce, and support is handled internally and not farmed out to a third party. Will those benefits be enough to overcome the daunting interface?] Junxure attended Charles Schwab’s IMPACT® 2012 event, where we announced the spring 2013 release target for Junxure Cloud, our new web-based CRM solution. Attendees were treated to a preview demo, including how Junxure Cloud could help manage workflow, track a firm’s efficiency, and capture client documents and financial data through a wide range of integrations.

Why You Should Consider Online Meetings With Clients from RIACentral.com

[Again and again I counsel advisers that they need to be comfortable using online meeting tools like Skype, FaceTime from Apple, and Google+ Hangouts. Giving your clients options to meet with you remotely, when it is convenient for them, goes a long way in solidifying your working relationship. Here’s a good summary article from RIACentral about four key benefits of meeting online.] Meeting clients online may seem like technological overkill. After all, it’s much easier to just pick up the phone and chat, right? But, in reality, online meetings solve a myriad of practical everyday problems for you.

In a search for Tungle alternatives, Doodle is one appealing option

Posted on December 4, 2012 by in On Air

Tungle officially shut down on Monday (see: Tungle, my go-to calendar service, is shutting down. Here are public calendar alternatives financial advisers should consider), so I’m looking for public calendar alternatives my clients and prospects can use to schedule meetings with me.

One option comes from Doodle. Based in Zürich, Switzerland, Doodle offers public group scheduling, one-on-one “MeetMe” pages, and professional “BookMe” calendars.

In the FPPad On Air broadcast below, hear from Doodle founder and CEO Myke Naef about Doodle’s attempt to bring public calendars to a broader audience.

(click to watch on YouTube)

Redtail and Mobile Assistant integration delivers streamlined CRM updates using mobile dictation services

Posted on December 3, 2012 by in On Air

Adding notes to your CRM isn’t the most glamorous part of being and financial adviser, but it’s an essential function that allows you to provide high-quality service to your clients. Fortunately you have options to decrease the time spent updating client records.

In a surprise FPPad On Air broadcast, I connected with Redtail Technology CEO Brian McLaughlin and Mobile Assistant president Corey Westphal to talk about the integration the two companies recently rolled out to its users. I highlighted the integration previously here at FPPad (see: Redtail Adds Mobile Assistant Integration to Transcribe Notes into CRM), but now you can hear the back story behind the idea to integrate and learn how the integration works behind the scenes.

(click to watch on YouTube)

FPPad On Air with Wes Stillman of Right Size Solutions on building a budget for the cloud, getting your data back, and Apple and Microsoft hardware developments

Posted on December 1, 2012 by in On Air

On Friday I connected with Wes Stillman, founder of Right Size Solutions (online at http://www.rightsize-solutions.com/) on a Google+ Hangouts On Air to talk about budgeting for a move to the cloud.

We also discussed how advisers can get their data back when separating from a cloud provider, plus what changes in hardware from Apple and Microsoft are doing to the future of the financial planner’s office.

Please join me for the next FPPad On Air session Friday, December 7 when my guest will be Blane Warrene, SVP of Customer Communications at RegEd, and the topic will be how financial advisers can use podcasts to grow their business.

Have suggestions on future guests, topics, or time slots? Contact me!

(Click to watch on YouTube)

FPPad Bits and Bytes for November 30

Posted on November 30, 2012 by in Bits & Bytes

Remember, today’s FPPad On Air broadcast is at 4:15pm ET when I’ll connect with Right Size Solutions founder Wes Stillman to talk costs of moving to the cloud, how to protect data in the cloud, and how the latest products from Apple and Microsoft will change the financial planner’s office. Visit my Google+ profile after 4pm ET for the On Air link.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

LPL Introduces eSignature to Advisor Tech Platform from Financial-Planning.com

[Schwab touted its pending rollout of eSignature tech to its advisers at this month’s IMPACT conference, but then sheepishly admitted advisers won’t receive it until late 2013. Clearly beating Schwab in its go-to-market strategy, LPL announced the introduction of DocuSign to all of its 12,000+ affiliated reps on Tuesday. Schwab teed this one up for LPL and the rest of their competition.] To streamline document processing, LPL Financial has introduced DocuSign’s eSignature solution for all of its advisors. The San Diego-based company said that it expects that the new technology, introduced Tuesday, will increase efficiency, reduce paperwork and improve both the client and advisor experience when signing and submitting forms to LPL.

Personal Capital Launches Android App from PRNewswire

[First came the iPad app, then iPhone, and now one of the leading online RIA firms by registered users is expanding its mobile compatibility to Android phones. So why don’t you have your own app already?] Personal Capital’s breakthrough financial service – named “one of the most important online banking innovations of all time” – is now available for free on the Android Marketplace to the 50 million US users of Android phones.