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Finworx launches Finworx360: Flash briefing for January 26, 2018

Posted on January 26, 2018 by in Flash Briefing, Technology

Here are the links to today’s top stories:

eMoney Advisor – Tamarac Integration Released

Tolerisk Now Integrates with Wealthbox CRM

Finworx Blends Behavioral Finance with Persona Segmentation; Launches Finworx360

Welcome to the FPPad fintech briefing, Here are the top fintech stories you need to know today.

eMoney Advisor introduces Tamarac integration

eMoney Advisor, the popular financial planning software used by advisors, announced earlier this week that the company completed its integration with the Tamarac platform, which allows both advisors AND clients to view detailed portfolio information directly in the eMoney platform. This means advisors can easily access their Tamarac Reporting™ information in the eMoney dashboard, but clients can also view more detailed portfolio management and performance information from Tamarac when they log in using their secure client portal.

Tolerisk adds integration with Wealthbox CRM

In risk tolerance news, Tolerisk also announced its own new integration with Wealthbox CRM, allowing advisors to automatically import information about clients and prospects from Wealthbox to quickly set up new risk tolerance assessment questionnaires. Founded in 2014 by Mark Friedenthal, Tolerisk aims to quantify not only an investor’s ability to take risk in their portfolio, but also quantify their WILLINGNESS to take risk based on a standardized risk assessment process.

Finworx launches Finworx360

And finally, another newcomer to the client risk assessment space called Finworx announced the launch of Finworx360, billed as a behavioral finance assessment tool to help advisors better understand their clients’ decisions when it comes to investing. I connected with Finworx CEO Jeremy Floyd to learn more about what Finworx360 offers for advisors.

For over a year, our team has been polishing the behavioral risk survey and investor persona approach to understand the growing trends and behavioral biases, and to gain more comprehensive insights. Finworx360 is a result of our research, and it offers a whole new level of focus, simplicity, and accessibility to a broader audience.

To get links to all the details on today’s stories, visit fppad.com/flashbriefing

I’m Bill Winterberg, and those are your fintech headlines for today from FPPad.com, be sure to check back in with me later for more fintech news.

 

Wealthbox launches Wealthbox 3: Flash briefing for January 23, 2018

Posted on January 23, 2018 by in Flash Briefing, Technology

Links to today’s stories:

AdvicePay Launches as First Compliant Payment Processing Solution for Fee-For-Service Financial Planners

Vestwell adds Morningstar Investment Management’s 3(21) Fiduciary Services to Further Support Financial Advisors in their Retirement Plan Decisions

Wealthbox CRM launches Wealthbox 3

Disclosure: Wealthbox compensated me to help create the marketing video for the launch of Wealthbox 3

Welcome to the FPPad fintech briefing, Here are the top fintech stories you need to know today.

AdvicePay Launches with Support for Credit Card and ACH Billing

If you’ve wanted to take credit card or ACH payments for financial planning fee, there’s a new solution for you. AdvicePay just launched its payment processing solution this week for advisors who charge clients directly for financial planning fees instead of deducting a percentage of assets held by a custodian. Prior to AdvicePay, planners most likely received payments by check, as payment processors like PayPal and Stripe don’t work with financial advisory business, citing regulatory concerns. AdvicePay has over 280 advisors already using the platform and charges $50 a month per advisor plus transaction processing fees.

Vestwell adds Morningstar Investment Management’s 3(21) Fiduciary Services

In the 401(k) retirement plan space, Vestwell announced it will offer a select list of investment options under Morningstar Investment Management ‘s fiduciary services program. This partnership comes as Vestwell continues to make progress in the retirement plan space with its technology platform that helps employers and plan sponsors offer affordable, diversified investment options to employees while helping plan administrators also meet their fiduciary responsibilities to plan participants.

Wealthbox Launches Wealthbox 3

And in CRM news, Wealthbox CRM just announced the launch of its latest version of the advisor CRM called Weathbox 3. To mark the occasion, I joined Team Wealthbox as they sabered a bottle of champagne in a video that you just have to watch! But first, here’s Wealthbox cofounder Dan Ferranti on the new features advisors will find in Wealthbox 3:

To get links to all the details on today’s stories, visit fppad.com/flashbriefing

I’m Bill Winterberg, and those are your fintech headlines for today from FPPad.com, be sure to check back in with me later for more fintech news.

TD Ameritrade Institutional Launches Model Market Center: Flash briefing for January 19, 2018

Posted on January 19, 2018 by in Flash Briefing, Technology

Links to today’s top stories:

TD Ameritrade Institutional’s Model Market Center Lets RIAs Streamline Investment Management – For Less

blooom Launches Suspicious Activity Alerts Feature to Help Protect Your 401k

Register for the 2018 Fearless Investing Summit

Welcome to the FPPad fintech briefing, here are the top fintech stories you need to know today.

Outsourcing investment management just got a little bit easier for advisors using TD Ameritrade Institutional, as this week the company announced the introduction of its Model Market Center. The Model Market Center features 62 different investment models from eight investment managers, with notable managers including Meb Faber’s Cambria Investments as well as WisdomTree Investments, who made fintech news a few weeks ago with its investment in AdvisorEngine’s acquisition of Junxure. Model Market Center joins a growing market of outsourced investment management solutions which includes Orion Advisor Services, Riskalyze, and Morningstar, and others.

Online 401(k) manager blooom is helping investors protect their accounts against fraudulent activity with its new Suspicious Activity Alerts feature. Investors can connect their 401(k)s and other employe-sponsored retirement accounts to blooom which continuously monitors for withdrawals or loans on account funds, notifying clients via text message when blooom detects any suspicious activity.

And tickets are selling fast to the 2018 Fearless Investing Summit brought to you by Riskalyze, which blends the latest in investment trends and fintech innovation in its three-day agenda. Last year’s inaugural summit eventually sold out, so you need to act quickly to make sure you don’t miss out on this year’s event. Secure your tickets today by visiting fppad.com/flashbreifing for the links on today’s stories.

I’m Bill Winterberg, and those are your fintech headlines for today from FPPad.com, be sure to check back in with me later for more fintech news.

SS&C Technologies acquires DST Systems for $5.4 billion: Flash briefing for January 12, 2018

Posted on January 12, 2018 by in Flash Briefing

Welcome to the FPPad fintech briefing, Here are the top fintech stories you need to know today. (Click here to watch on YouTube)

Links to today’s top stories:

SS&C to Acquire DST Systems from ssctech.com

Merrill Lynch advisors will soon be texting clients from financial-planning.com

SS&C Technologies acquires DST Systems for $5.4 billion

The merger and acquisition train continues to steamroll into 2018, with SS&C Technologies announcing a $5.4 billion deal to acquire DST Systems in an all-cash transaction. Over 100,000 financial professionals use DST Systems technology like DST FAN Mail for portfolio aggregation and DST Vision to view a dashboard of all client accounts. SS&C, which also acquired Advent software in July of 2015 for $2.3 billion, says it will leverage the DST Systems acquisition to increase automation and efficiency across all of its wealth management offerings to financial professionals and institutions.

Merrill Lynch Wealth Management adds text messaging support

Do you text with your financial adviser? In the coming weeks, Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch Wealth Management division will allow its 15,000 financial advisors to use compliant text messaging software as it rolls out new software this month and into February. Merrill Lynch selected CellTrust to allow advisors to send text messages to clients using a web browser, while clients can text back to their advisor using their Apple or Android devices. All messages are captured and archived for compliance purposes, meeting the regulatory requirements imposed by the SEC an FINRA.

Junxure acquisition details from AdvisorEngine

And finally, in a webinar this week, AdvisorEngine provided details on its roadmap following last week’s acquisition announcement of Junxure. Webinar attendees learned that the company plans to continue to support both the Junxure Desktop and Junxure Cloud versions of the CRM and has no plans to change the Junxure pricing structure from a user-based subscription to a fee based on assets under management. Here’s Rich Cancro, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of AdvisorEngine with his comments about the alignment of culture between the two organizations:

When you take a look at the Junxure product and the people, as I got to know the management team, and then most recently the full team, the passion they have toward the Junxure client base is truly palpable, and that’s something that the team, the people, the care, and how they care for one another, there’s a lot of similarities around culture, being collaborative and helping one another and helping our clients.

To get links to the details on today’s stories, visit fppad.com/flashbriefing

I’m Bill Winterberg, and those are your fintech headlines for today from FPPad.com, be sure to check back in with me later for more fintech news.

RetireUp acquires RepPro: Flash briefing for January 11, 2018

Posted on January 11, 2018 by in Flash Briefing, Technology

Welcome to the FPPad fintech briefing, Here are the top fintech stories you need to know today.

Links:

Envestnet | Tamarac Introduces Enhanced Document Vault File-Storage System for its Award-Winning Client Portal

Enable Calendly for Chrome

RetireUp Acquires RepPro, Creating a Powerhouse Digital Retirement Planning Solution

Envestnet | Tamarac Enhances Document Vault

Sharing documents with clients just got a little easier for advisors using the Envestnet | Tamarac platform, as the comprehensive technology solution for advisers just released an enhanced document vault and file storage system.
Previously, advisers using Envestnet | Tamarac had to turn to third party vendors for file sharing solutions, which meant managing two different systems and some decreased efficiency. The enhanced document vault includes support for uploading files in batches, document previews right in the web browser, secure access to the vault via mobile app, and more.

New Calendly Chrome Extension

Are you tired of playing email battleship with clients when scheduling meetings? Online scheduling software Calendly just announced a new extension for the Chrome web browser, allowing Calendly users to easily copy their meeting event links from the sidebar, quickly propose meeting times for an ad hoc meeting, and manually override existing calendar events to book a high priority meeting. The new Chrome extension works best with Gmail and G Suite account, but some of the features also do work with Office 365 and Outlook.com accounts

RetireUp Acquires RepPro

And in retirement planning software news, RetireUp just announced that company is acquiring RepPro, a form automation platform that supports forms for a variety of annuity carriers as well as custodians like TD Ameritrade and Fidelity. The two companies will operate under the RetireUp brand and will be headquartered in Chicago, providing advisors a single solution to generate retirement plans for clients as well as streamline the form creation process to bring the plans to life. Here’s RetireUp President Michael Roth on the RepPro acquisition.

When we were introduced to RepPro, there was an automatic synergy between the functionality of the two platforms as well as the mission both companies shared of making retirement planning more accessible for people and more profitable to advisors. We’re incredibly proud about this partnership and believe that RepPro’s best-in-class software will continue to improve the workflow at every stage of an advisor’s planning process.

To get links to the details on today’s stories, visit fppad.com/flashbriefing

I’m Bill Winterberg, and those are your fintech headlines for today from FPPad.com, be sure to check back in with me later for more fintech news.

Meltdown and Spectre Vulnerabilities: Flash briefing for Monday January 8, 2018

Posted on January 8, 2018 by in Technology

Welcome to the FPPad fintech briefing, Here are the top fintech stories you need to know today.

Links:

The Spectre of an Advertising Meltdown: What You Need to Know
https://www.lawfareblog.com/spectre-advertising-meltdown-what-you-need-know

uBlock Content Filtering
https://www.ublock.org/

Vanguard’s digital advice platform crosses $100B
https://www.financial-planning.com/news/vanguard-digital-advice-platform-hits-100-billion

Meltdown and Spectre Vulnerabilities

Have you updated your software lately? Security researchers worldwide are recommending that everyone install available software updates on computers and mobile devices in the wake of vulnerabilities called Meltdown and Spectre. The exploit allows malicious software to retrieve data from computer memory used by other programs, potentially exposing things like passwords, instant messages, bank account numbers and more. In addition to updating software, experts recommend installing open source content-filtering software like uBlock Origin in your internet browser to block malicious code.

Vanguard Personal Advisor Services Exceeds $100 billion AUM

In online investment news, Vanguard’s Personal Advisor Services crossed a milestone of $100 billion dollars in assets under management, becoming the first of the low-cost hybrid advice services to do so. While online investing startups have raised hundreds of millions in dollars in venture capital to tackle this market, established incumbents like Vanguard are having the most success in attracting assets to their digital platforms. Here’s Riskalyze CEO Aaron Klein with his thoughts on Vanguard’s milestone.

“Vanguard has found a way to profitably bring hybrid human-robo advice to the market, and there is absolutely a need for better advice among smaller investors,” he adds. “The big realization most advisors have had is that Vanguard is serving a different market — one that will accept simpler, phone-based advice. It’s a rising tide that is lifting the advice boat and that’s a good thing for the industry.”

Reinvest 2017 Year-End Dividends in HSA Accounts

And do you or your clients have investments in you HSA accounts? if so, be sure to check with your HSA administrator to see what happened with dividends paid out at the end of 2017. Not all plans automatically reinvest dividends, so you may have to manually log in to your plan if you want the extra cash reinvested back into your HSA’s investment portfolio.

I’m Bill Winterberg, and those are your fintech headlines for today from FPPad.com, be sure to check back in with me later for more fintech news.

Wealthfront raises $75 million: Flash briefing for Friday January 5, 2018

Posted on January 5, 2018 by in Technology

Wealthfront raises $75 million. Full transcript below.

Welcome to the FPPad fintech briefing for Friday, January 5, Here are the top fintech stories you need to know today.

Just say no to Bitcoin, as it was reported that Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch told its employees last month not to offer the Grayscale’s Bitcoin Investment Trust to clients, according to a Wall Street Journal article. The price of Bitcoin has skyrocketed over 1,300 per cent over the last 12 months, attracting wide speculation from global cryptocurrency enthusiasts and high levels of skepticism about a bubble among market experts.

In news from Wealthfront, the online automated investment service said it raised $75 million dollars in new financing led by Tiger Global Management and included participation from all of its existing investors. In a blog post, Wealthfront CEO Andy Rachleff said that the company will use the new financing to “pursue an even more aggressive push into software-based financial planning and financial services.” Wealthfront said it doubled its assets under management in 2017, finishing the year at over $9 billion, placing it fourth in total assets behind other low-cost investment services from Vanguard, Charles Schwab, and Betterment.

And another online investment service raising new money to jumpstart 2018 is NextCapital, as the company announced it raised $30 million in Series C financing led by venture firm Oak HC/FT, also with participation from many of NextCapital’s existing shareholders. According to NextCapital CEO John Patterson, the company will use the funding to “bring new digital advice capabilities to market and open up new strategic business channels.”

AdvisorEngine acquires Junxure: Flash briefing for Tuesday January 2, 2018

Posted on January 2, 2018 by in Technology

AdvisorEngine acquires Junxure. Full transcript below.

Welcome to the FPPad fintech briefing for Tuesday, January 2, Here’s the top fintech story you need to know today.

Well the 2018 fintech news cycle is already off to a quick start, as AdvisorEngine announced the acquisition of CRM Software, the makers of Junxure CRM. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but in its press release, AdvisorEngine also said it received a commitment of $30 million in new financing from WisdomTree Investments, of which $22 million was funded today with a majority of those proceeds used to fund the acquisition of Junxure.

The new funding from WisdomTree builds on the company’s $20 million dollar investment for 33% of AdvisorEngine made back in December of 2016.

So here’s my quick take on the news: Junxure has a very loyal base of users, especially among those firms that continue to use the company’s flagship desktop software introduced back in 2001. However, the rollout of the Junxure Cloud solution has taken *much longer* than I expected, and advisors continue to tell me today that they can’t convert 100% of their desktop data to the Cloud version.

So this acquisition by AdvisorEngine gives me new hope that development, support, and expansion of the Junxure Cloud solution will receive new energy and direction. Junxure co-founder Greg Friedman will take on a new role as a strategic advisor with the company.

And from an industry perspective, 2018 is shaping up to be a year where CRM providers could be in play as companies continue to consolidate application in an attempt to offer an all-in-one technology solution for financial advisors. SS&C Advent acquired Salentica in late 2016, leaving Redtail and Wealthbox among the few independent CRMs that come to mind with large user bases, followed by providers like Grendel, ProTracker, and AdvisorsAssistant that could be acquisition targets as the year progresses.

If you have some insights on the Junxure acquisition, send me a message on Twitter I’m @billwinterberg, or email me at bill@fppad.com.

I’m Bill Winterberg, and those are your fintech headlines for today from FPPad.com, be sure to check back in with me later for more fintech news.

 

Enable the FPPad Fintech Update skill on your Amazon Echo device

Posted on December 26, 2017 by in Podcast

Enable the FPPad Fintech Update skill on your Amazon Echo device

Enable the FPPad Fintech Update skill on your Amazon Echo device

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Simply speak the command, “Alexa, enable FPPad” to your Echo and confirm that you want to enable the FPPad Fintech Update.

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