Archive by Author

Get Productivity Tips in The Standard Webinar Series

Posted on July 7, 2010 by in General

If posts seem a bit infrequent on FPPad, it’s because I’ve been busy preparing new content for a variety of sources (including my monthly technology column for Morningstar Advisor).

Also, I finished updating a presentation on productivity tips oriented to financial advisors. I’m presenting these tips during a webinar presented by The Standard.

The FREE webinar is this Thursday, July 8 at 12PM ET, 9AM PT (sorry for the late notice).

Click here to view The Standard Webinar Series page and my presentation titled Productivity Tips: How to Get More Done.

I hope you will join me on Thursday and I trust you’ll get a least two or three tips to help you work more efficiently and effectively to get more done for your clients.

AUM Billing Revisited: You’re Working Harder For Less

Posted on July 1, 2010 by in Practice Management

Nearly two years ago I wrote this FPPad post about the need for advisers to abandon the AUM fee model. No thanks to another dismal quarter in the stock market, I’m again finding myself thinking about this topic.

For the second quarter of 2010, the Dow fell 10 percent, the S&P 500 lost 12 percent and the Nasdaq dropped 12 percent (and some portfolios may need rebalancing). But guess what? The amount of service you delivered to clients didn’t decrease. If you bill based on AUM, you’re going to take about a 10 percent cut in revenue compared to the first quarter (unless you were one of the lucky ones who sold in May to go away).

For many of you, why are you willing to accept less revenue for sustaining, or even increasing, the services you provide?

Read More…

Schwab Rolls Out First Phase of PortfolioCenter 5.0 Updates

Posted on June 27, 2010 by in Portfolio Management Software

Schwab Performance Technologies® is rolling out updates to its PortfolioCenter® portfolio management software. The first enhancement on its way to version 5.0 is Presentation Studio, a customizable reporting utility.

Presentation Studio allows users to design, edit, and publish custom performance reports using built-in elements. In addition, reports can be created in a batch process and saved to PDF or XPS files.

For more information on the Presentation Studio enhancements, follow the link below and expand the PortfolioCenter 5.0 header in the page.

https://schwabpt.com/resources/presentations/

Black Diamond Performance Reporting Announces Enhanced Portfolio Management Platform

Posted on June 20, 2010 by in Portfolio Management Software, Technology

Black Diamond Performance Reporting of Jacksonville, Fla. just announced that it is releasing an enhanced portfolio management and reporting platform called BlueSky.

To read the press release from Black Diamond, click the following link: http://www.blackdiamondreporting.com/whoweare/press

BlueSky is a web-based platform that enhances standard portfolio management and performance reporting features by adding an array of customizable options. BlueSky users can now configure the appearance and settings of their home page under the SkyViews feature.

Read More…

Independent Broker/Dealers Warming Up To Social Media

Posted on June 18, 2010 by in Compliance

Like it or not, social media in financial services has been a recurring topic in the industry this year. The big question for FINRA-regulated registered representatives and SEC-regulated investment advisers is how to engage in social media activities without violating compliance rules (even after FINRA released its guidance on using social networking websites).

In the first significant step in the broker/dealer environment, Cambridge Investment Research announced that it plans to support their representatives’ use of social media by adopting compliance and monitoring software from Socialware.

Click here to read the announcement from Financial Planning Magazine online.

FPPad subscribers have read about Austin, Tx. based Socialware before and their tools that help advisers and representatives satisfy compliance requirements when using social media websites.

The fact that Cambridge is stepping up to the plate and giving the tentative green light to its reps means more and more financial professionals will be able to manage social media profiles to engage in conversations with clients and prospects.

Conference Committee Scheduled to Act on Fiduciary Provision on Wednesday

Posted on June 14, 2010 by in General

Bill says: I’m circulating this announcement on behalf of Knut A. Rostad, Chairman of The Committee for the Fiduciary Standard, to my subscribers. If you publicly support the authentic fiduciary standard, please act before Wednesday.

Last Call! Conference Committee Scheduled to Act on Fiduciary Provision on Wednesday.

The Conference Committee is scheduled to meet on Wednesday on the fiduciary provision. The Senators on the Conference Committee are the key votes.

Calls from constituents do matter. Please call your Senator and urge him or her to vote for the House provision establishing a fiduciary duty for brokers providing investment advice to retail investors, NOT for the Senate’s version which proposes a “study” of whether brokers should have to put client’s interests first.

Christopher J. Dodd Chairman (D-CT) – 202-224-7391
Tim Johnson (D-SD) – 202-224-5442
Jack Reed (D-RI) – 202-224-4642
Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) – 202-224-6542
Richard C. Shelby Ranking Member (R-AL) – 202-224-5744
Mike Crapo (R-ID) – 202-224-6142
Bob Corker (R-TN) – 202-224-3344
Blanche Lincoln (D-ARK) – 202-224-4843
Patrick Leahy (-VT) – 202-224-4242
Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) – 202-224-3254
Saxby Chambliss (R-TN) – 202-224-3521
Judd Gregg (R-NH) – 202-224-3324

Regards,
Knut

Knut A. Rostad
Chairman
The Committee for the Fiduciary Standard
www.thefiduciarystandard.org

Pershing to Introduce NetX360™ for iPad™

Posted on June 11, 2010 by in Technology

Update: It’s Wednesday June 16 and still no NetX360 app for iPad in the App Store. According to this Investment Advisor article, advisors were shown a beta app of NetX360 on the iPad at last week’s Pershing Insite event.

According to a PRNewswire article, Pershing announced that it has introduced a version of NetX360™ that is compatible with the Apple® iPad™.

Click here to view BNY Mellon’s Pershing Unit Introduces NetX360™ for iPad™ from PRNewswire.

While Pershing may have introduced the iPad-compatible app, I cannot find the app in the App Store as of this writing. The iPhone-compatible app is available, but not the version enhanced for the iPad.

Read More…

New at Morningstar Advisor: A Simpler Way to Schedule Meetings

Posted on June 10, 2010 by in Software, Technology

My June column for Morningstar Advisor is now available!

This month I tackle the issue of the constant back-and-forth messaging in which advisors often engage to schedule meetings with clients and colleagues. There is a better way!

Click here to read “A Simpler Way to Schedule Meetings” at Morningstar Advisor.

Photocopiers, Scanners Expose Private Information

Posted on June 8, 2010 by in Practice Management

This article was originally posted on April 29, 2010 to advisors4advisors.com, a practice management website for independent financial advisers. For continuously updated news, information, and commentary relevant to financial advisors, sign up today.

Last week, CBS News released an investigative report that revealed how documents with private information were accessed from the hard drives of used photocopiers.

Compromised data included internal documents from the sex crimes division of law enforcement, payroll information, and health and medical records.

Click here to view the five-minute video.

Read More…