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FPPad Bits and Bytes for December 30

Posted on December 30, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

Happy New Year!

Here is this week’s story of interest:

Early adopters of social media, RIAs are growing disenchanted with its power to drum up new business from RIABiz.com

[I said it on Twitter and I’ll repeat it here: advisers looking for a quick score on social media should look elsewhere. Social media is an extension of brand awareness and relationship building that firms have been doing for decades.] Registered investment advisors have embraced the world of social media earlier and with more zeal than their competitors in the last couple of years. But as a result, they are more quickly discovering its limitations.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for December 23

Posted on December 23, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

I hope you and yours have a wonderful holiday. Here are this week’s stories of interest:

How Black Diamond is faring as a unit of Advent Software from RIABiz.com

[So if you’re a disgruntled adviser on Advent’s legacy software, which new provider are you going to consider? Now that Advent owns Black Diamond, it seems like a no-brainer that advisers will make the transition to the web-based solution with little or no transition cost.] Since the Jacksonville, Fla.-based up-and-comer in portfolio accounting software was purchased back in early June by the San Francisco-based market leader, it has increased the number of advisory practices it serves to 330 from 270, an increase of about 22%.

TD to work on workflows for third-party technology partners from InvestmentNews.com

[This is a good, mid-week submission from Davis Janowski about TD Ameritrade’s efforts to provide sample workflows to advisors using Veo Open Access.] TD Ameritrade Institutional has completed an agreement with technology consultancy Actifi Inc. to help it build automated workflows for TD’s Veo Open Access platform.

How you can get RescueTime Solo Pro for 50% off

Posted on December 21, 2011 by in Efficiency

RescueTime is one of the productivity tools I personally use and recommend to others. I’ve covered it in the past and walk advisers through ways RescueTime can be used to track time spent on client activities in my Transformative Technology presentation.

Now through January 6th, you can sign up for one year of RescueTime for $36, a savings of 50%. You get a great deal on time tracking software, and in return, I receive six months of additional credit in my account.

To get your discount, click the following referral link: http://rescuetime.com/ref/199017

Fidelity WealthCentral Mobile now available for iPad

Posted on December 19, 2011 by in Technology

In February this year, Fidelity released its WealthCentral Mobile app for iPhone and iPod touch. Ever since, advisers have been eager for an iPad app that fully utilizes the larger screen of the popular tablet.

Today, the Fidelity WealthCentral app is now available for iPad.

Click here to view the app in the Apple app store.

You can view several screenshots of the app’s features in the store listing.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for December 16

Posted on December 16, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

I’m on an extended holiday break now through the end of the year, but I’ll be sure to keep you up to date with the best stories in financial planning technology.

So here are this week’s stories of interest:

How Orion won the account of a $2-billion RIA from Advent after two very long drives across the prairie from RIABiz.com

[I have to hand it to Brooke, he managed to weave in an appealing story about driving across the Midwestern plains into a feature of Orion Advisor Services.] Orion’s announcement last week that it has supplanted Advent Software for the private client assets of Mariner Wealth Advisors, a firm that manages about $10 billion of assets, was four years, and two multi-state car rides, in the making.

InvestmentNews Technology Directory to make its debut this week from InvestmentNews.com

[This could be a promising new resource for advisers seeking information on the various technology vendors out there.] After a great deal of effort and teamwork, the InvestmentNews Technology Directory was introduced online Wednesday. The directory features detailed profiles of products designed for the advisory community. It already has more than 100 listed.

SROIIA Launches State Web Tool in Anticipation of ‘Switch’ from AdvisorOne.com

[SROIIA’s web tool is a nice way to quickly check the disorganized state registration requirements for investment advisers.] The Self-Regulatory Organization for Independent Investment Advisers, which was founded by two University of Mississippi School of Law students last March, announced Wednesday that it had created a web tool to help advisors wade through the registration requirements for each state.

Fidelity’s New Benchmarking Dashboards Help RIAs See How They Stack Up from Financial-Planning.com

[If you’re familiar with the dashboard reports from Quantuvis Consulting (Stephanie Bogan’s firm), you’ll recognize the data in Fidelity’s new tool.] Here’s one way RIA firms can measure their firms’ success: they can see everything from where their revenue is coming from to total assets under management —benchmarked to other firms — the same way you’d look at dials on a car dashboard.

 

 

Now at Morningstar Advisor: 2011’s Best Tech for Advisers

Posted on December 7, 2011 by in Technology

One of the best things I get to do is write the annual Morningstar Advisor Best Tech for Advisers column. I get to reflect on all the new tools, products, and software to which I’ve been introduced over the last 12 months, and choose a select few for consideration for best technology targeted to financial advisers.

As I did last year, I awarded the best in tech among three categories: Best Back-Office Technology, Best Client-Facing Technology, and Innovation of the Year.

Click on over to Morningstar Advisor and read the full column.

Enjoy!

FPPad Bits and Bytes for December 2

Posted on December 2, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

It was a slow week in financial planning technology news, but thankfully, December marks the release of the annual Financial Planning Technology Survey. Joel Bruckenstein’s review of what tools and technology advisers are using dominates this weeks update. Otherwise, companies must be entering that post-Thanksgiving quiet period in advance of the December holiday season.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

Tech Survey from Financial-Planning.com

[Redtail leaps ahead of CRMs, advisors flock to iPads, and firms still operate without any form of real document management. Read this and other insights in Bruckenstein’s annual review.] From iPads to Androids to cloud providers, technology evolves oh-so-fast, and FP’s annual tech survey reveals that advisor technology usage is changing rapidly too.

Advisor Tech Survey: Tablets Are What’s Hot Now from Financial-Planning.com

[When I spoke to a room full of advisers at NAPFA Connections in Dallas last month, over 80% of them raised their hands when asked if they owned an iPad. How much more proof does one need?] For financial advisors, the introduction of iPad over the past year has changed everything. Notoriously resistant to new technologies, advisers have become envious of the remarkable advancements taking place in the consumer tech market.

UBS Gets Serious About Mobile With iPad App Test Drive from Financial-Planning.com

[Financial advisers affiliated with UBS Wealth Management Americas will soon have access to the UBS FA Mobile app for iPad. Perhaps the intro sentence would be better if the hope was to create more effective engagements with clients. AUM growth is just a side effect of that.] Some 60 UBS Wealth Management Americas financial advisors will kickoff a three-month test drive this week of an iPad application designed to make it easier to interact with clients and access research reports — all in the hope of generating more assets under management.

The Mitigator from Financial-Planning.com

[How do you manage $300+ million AUM with just a staff of three? Get Tamarac Advisor X and leverage ByAllAccounts.] When a Midwestern regional bank bought the independent firm financial planner Marc Henn worked for in 2002, his clients questioned where their interests ranked on the firm’s list of priorities. “My clients encouraged me to start my own firm,” Henn says. In 2008, he did, founding Harvest Financial Advisors of West Chester, Ohio.