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FPPad Bits and Bytes for October 11

Posted on October 11, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

On this week’s broadcast, learn which broker-dealers are stepping up their game in technology, the industry’s first native financial planning app for Salesforce is introduced, what to do when someone steals your online videos, and more. So get ready, Bits and Bytes begins now.

(Watch on YouTube)

Today’s episode is brought to you by the 2013 T3 Enterprise Conference, exclusively designed for the technology needs of broker-dealers and financial enterprises.

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You have less than one month before this event kicks off on November 3rd in Chicago, so if you’re looking for the best place to monitor trends in broker-dealer technology, you need register today at t3enterpriseconference.com

Upping the Ante from Financial Advisor Magazine

[Continuing with the theme of broker-dealer technology, this week’s lead story comes from Joel Bruckenstein, whose “Upping the Ante” column for Financial Advisor magazine provides a terrific overview at what broker-dealers are doing to deliver leading technology to their representatives.

Bruckenstein covers updates from leading BDs like Raymond James, LPL Financial, United Planners, Commonwealth, and Wells Fargo Advisors. Even if your firm is not affiliated with a broker-dealer, you need to read this column to find out what technology you should be adding to your business so you don’t fall behind in this continuously evolving marketplace.] With advisors’ business models constantly evolving, the pressure on independent broker-dealers to continually enhance their technology platforms has never been more intense. From portfolio management to client relationships, advisors are demanding that competitive brokerage firms up their tech games. This article looks at how five broker-dealers are trying to satisfy those demands.

Advisor Software, Inc. Launches goalgamiPro On salesforce.com’s AppExchange, The World’s Leading Business Apps Marketplace from PRNewswire.com

[Now notably absent from an article on broker-dealer technology is any update on Salesforce, the 800-pound gorilla of enterprise CRM. But one company expanding its support of Salesforce is Advisor Software, creators of goalgamiPro, a quick financial planning software application that I’ve highlighted in the past on my YouTube channel.

Advisor Software just launched a new app in the Salesforce AppExchange for goalgamiPro, giving advisors who use Salesforce the industry’s first native financial planning app for the CRM platform. You can watch a 7-minute demo video of goalgamiPro for Salesforce in action embedded along side the links to this week’s top stories.] Advisor Software, Inc., a provider of wealth management solutions for the financial advisor market, today announced it has launched its goalgamiPro quick planning solution on salesforce.com’s AppExchange, empowering businesses to connect with customers, partners and employees in entirely new ways.

Video theft: the latest threat to online financial adviser content from FPPad

[Switching gears now, a lot of you have asked me how you can create and post videos online to market your firm and generate organic search traffic to your business. But when you post videos online, you need to know that other people with dubious intentions can steal your videos and use them for their own benefit.

This week I discovered two episodes of Bits and Bytes had been reposted to another channel on YouTube and were being used to generate advertising revenue for that channel owner. So what can you do if you find someone allegedly infringing your copyrighted videos? YouTube makes it very easy to file an infringement claim, and when I filled one out for the two Bits and Bytes videos that were stolen, YouTube removed them in less than 24 hours.

Here is the link to access the YouTube Copyright Infringement Notification form.] Content thieves are stealing popular advisor videos to draw visitors to their questionable channels. Find out how to stop them.

Orion Advisor Services, LLC Achieves ISO 27001 Certification from PRNewswire.com

[Finishing up this week’s broadcast is a security update from Orion Advisor Services, the nation’s largest privately held portfolio accounting service bureau and, full disclosure, past sponsor of Bits and Bytes. Earlier this week, Orion announced that it achieved the ISO 27001 certification for meeting rigorous standards required for internal security controls.

The ISO 27001 certification is not easy to achieve, as the audit process is both time consuming and expensive. Orion becomes just the second company in all of Nebraska to receive the certification and joins industry heavyweights like Salesforce and Broadridge as the few financial services firms that are ISO 27001 certified.

But if you seek the gold standard in security controls from your vendors and providers to keep your information safe, ISO 27001 is the benchmark that distinguishes the top companies from all the rest.] Orion Advisor Services, LLC, a premier portfolio accounting service provider, recently completed an independent audit in accordance with the global security certification standards outlined by the ISO/IEC 27001:2005 report (“ISO 27001”).

 

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Video theft: the latest threat to online financial adviser content

Posted on October 9, 2013 by in Online Marketing, Video Spotlight

Remove your stolen videos from YouTube and enforce your copyright

Remove your stolen videos from YouTube and enforce your copyright

Content thieves are stealing popular advisor videos to draw visitors to their questionable channels. Find out how to stop them.

Online video is still a blue ocean in the realm of financial advisor marketing, but content thieves are already stealing popular advisor videos to promote their own channels.

FPPad subscribers know that I started creating video content back in February 2012, beginning with interviews of industry technology leaders from the TD Ameritrade Institutional 2012 National Conference and T3 2012 Conference.

And this summer, I launched FPPad Bits and Bytes, the industry’s only video broadcast devoted to covering the best technology news of the past week.

Thieves Like Popular Content, Too

I put a lot of energy and effort into creating videos for you with the objective of providing insight and commentary on a variety of technology solutions you can use in your business. With currently over 25,000 views on the FPPad YouTube channel, you are validating that this type of content delivery is useful.

So when I discovered content thieves were stealing my popular videos, I was irate.

You see, like most Google services, YouTube allows content publishers to participate in online advertising via Google AdWords for video. So if content on your YouTube channel receives a lot of views and you opt in to the AdWords program, you stand to earn a small amount of income in the form of advertising revenue.

But the downside to this is content thieves know this all too well, so they want to maximize their own channel’s ad revenue without publishing any original content of their own.

So they steal it.

How to Find Your Stolen Videos

Metrics are an important part of any content distribution, so I regularly monitor YouTube video analytics to see how well my videos are being received.

Part of that process includes searching for my channel and related videos on YouTube using specific keywords to see how they rank among similar content on YouTube. I’ll use common search phrases like FPPad, financial planning technology, financial advisor apps, and so on to determine what I can do to make my videos show up near the top of YouTube’s search results.

But imagine my surprise when not long ago, a search displayed one of my videos that was NOT part of my YouTube channel.

By searching YouTube for FPPad, I found several episodes of FPPad Bits and Bytes were posted to a channel called “financial websites”. View their YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-AMsCUZ4Mqib9B9YnrEPLQ?feature=watch

Note: I did not want to post the “financial websites” channel at all and send any traffic to it, but if you have uploaded video online, it’s worth searching through the 400+ videos to see if any of them are yours.

Stolen Video Search Technique

Fortunately, “financial websites” is a lazy thief. They simply download original videos from another source, re-upload them to their channel, and copy and paste the video title and description.

This laziness on their part makes it easier for you to find your stolen videos.

So search for the exact titles of videos you post online, including any keywords that you often use, such as your company name or episode series title.

If the thief simply copies and pastes your content, then you have a high likelihood your stolen video will appear using a very specific search query.

How to Remove Your Stolen Video from YouTube

If you do find one (or more) of your videos uploaded to another channel, here is what you need to do to get the video removed from YouTube.

YouTube provides an online Copyright Infringement Notification form that you can complete in just a few minutes.

YouTube offers an online Copyright Infringement Notification form you can complete in several minutes

Complete the YouTube online Copyright Infringement Notification form to have your stolen video removed

You’ll need the URL of your original video (the work allegedly infringed) as well as the URL of the allegedly infringing video to be removed.

You will also need to provide your legal name and address and attest that you are the content owner along with other standard claims required of a Digital Millennium Copyright Act‎ (DMCA) copyright violation notice.

What’s nice is you can use the completed form for a single video violation, or add multiple videos to the same form, saving time if multiple videos you created have been stolen.

Copyright Takedown Turnaround

In my case, two of my videos had been uploaded to the “financial websites” channel, and within about 24 hours of submitting my notice to YouTube, I received confirmation that both infringing videos had been removed.

So again, if you publish video online, on YouTube or elsewhere, here’s what you need to do to protect your content.

Search YouTube for the exact title of your most popular videos. Also search using keywords that appear in many of your video descriptions.

When you find an allegedly infringing video, complete the online Copyright Infringement Notification form.

And if you find a different YouTube channel using your videos online, post the channel name in the comments below so others can search it for alleged violations of their copyrighted material.

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FPPad Bits and Bytes for September 27

Posted on September 27, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

On this week’s broadcast, one of the top portfolio management software providers tip-toes its way into the cloud, creating investment policy statements just got a whole lot easier, how a new app can create a real-time dossier about your clients, and more. So get ready, Bits and Bytes begins now.

(Watch on YouTube)

This week’s episode of Bits and Bytes is brought to you by Mimic Technologies, providers of complete outsourced technology support, security, infrastructure and IT solutions exclusively for RIAs.

Mimic Technologies

To learn how you can keep your data safe from attackers, download a free copy of their white paper on Data Privacy and Protection by visiting fppad.com/mimic.

Advent unveils Advent Direct™ — An Innovative Cloud Platform — At AdventConnect from Advent Software

[Leading off is an update from Advent Software, which recently celebrated its 30th year in business last week at the company’s AdventConnect conference in San Francisco. The highlight of Advent Connect is the expansion of Advent Direct™, a cloud-based platform which Mike Golaszewski, Black Diamond’s head of product development, says is an abstraction layer on top of the company’s core product offerings.

While Advent Axys will remain a desktop-based solution for the foreseeable future, it will not be completely isolated from the cloud due to the online and mobile access available through Advent Direct.

And while the news of Advent Direct seems hot off the presses, it’s not entirely new, as Advent has offered an app to iPad users since April of this year for mobile access to client portfolio information.

Advent also unveiled the Advent Direct™ Community, a private online forum that’s part customer service portal and part discussion board, no doubt inspired by collaboration options found on other social networks. Yes, the Advent Users Group on LinkedIn, I’m talking about you!

But the one big unknown regarding Advent Direct is pricing. It remains to be seen how much Advent users will need to pay to route their Axys data into Black Diamond to benefit from enhanced reports.] Advent Software, Inc., a leading provider of software and services for the global investment management industry, today commenced its annual AdventConnect conference taking place September 18 – 20, 2013 at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis.

A One-Click Roadmap for Your Clients from Riskalyze

[Next up is an update from a startup that deserves to be added to your technology radar. The company is called Riskalyze, based in Sacramento, California, which offers patented Risk Number technology in an attempt to quantify client risk tolerance and align it with suitable investment portfolios. This week, Riskalyze expanded its feature set by offering a single-click option to create an Investment Policy Statement.

Whether you believe in the validity of Investment Policy Statements or not (and Stark and Stark’s Tom Giachetti comes to mind), it still doesn’t get any easier than using a single click to generate an IPS document.

So if simplifying your client risk assessment process is important to you, you should learn more about Riskalyze’s offering.] Today, we’re excited to announce that Riskalyze now makes it possible to create this roadmap for your clients with a single click.

Surface Pro 2: hands-on with Microsoft’s new tablet powerhouse and Amazon’s Kindle Fire HDX: Power, With A Helping Hand, both from The Verge

[Now I bet you’ve noticed changes in the air, meaning Fall has arrived, complete with shorter days, football on the weekends, and a deluge of new product announcements. So on the heels of Apple’s new iPhone 5S and 5C announcement two weeks ago, Microsoft announced updates to its floundering line of Surface tablets to compete with the market-dominating iPad. Not to be left out, Amazon also announced a refresh of it’s low-cost Kindle tablets, with a new HDX line of Android-powered tablets starting at just $229.

But the unexpected surprise from all the hardware announcements actually came in the form of a new feature on the Kindle HDX called Mayday. Mayday is an icon on the Kindle users can touch to get free technical support anytime they need it, complete with video conferencing and screen sharing.

While its definitely a cool feature for Kindle users, Mayday actually creates a slippery slope for you as an advisor, as I think it won’t be too long before your clients start to expect a similar easy, on-demand way to access you as their trusted financial advisor.

So if you’re not yet up to speed on using video chat services like Skype, FaceTime, Google Hangouts and more, now is the time to add these tools to your technology portfolio.]

Refresh – The Instant Dossier from Refresh

[Finally, updates to FPPad have been few and far between this month because of the amount of time I’ve been spending on phone calls and meetings. I’ve been speaking with dozens of people, and it’s unrealistic for me to think that I can keep all the details about each relationship straight in my head.

That’s why I’ve turned to a new app called Refresh, (full disclosure, they gave me a free T-shirt), but the app truly helps me keep all the details about my contacts organized in one place.

Refresh connects my contacts, calendar, and social media accounts to create a real-time dossier about the people I’m going to meet. Refresh automatically connect the dots of what my contacts are doing and sharing online so I don’t have to waste time gathering this intelligence on my own.

A beta version of the app is available for iPhone, but Android users will need to sign up to be notified when the app is released to the Google Play store.]

Watch Bits and Bytes for September 27, 2013

Watch Bits and Bytes for September 27, 2013

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FPPad Bits and Bytes for September 13

Posted on September 13, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

On this week’s broadcast, what the new iPhone means to the future of your business, mobile check deposit comes to one of the top custodians, another document collaboration and e-signature partnership, and more. So get ready, Bits and Bytes begins now.

(Watch on YouTube)

This week’s episode of Bits and Bytes is brought to you by Total Rebalance Expert, the industry’s largest, privately owned portfolio rebalancing software provider.

Total Rebalance Expert

Designed by well-known CPA Sheryl Rowling, TRX features tax-efficient rebalancing, an easy to use interface, and more, all at an affordable price. To learn how you can gain a half a million dollar return on your technology investment, download the latest white paper by visiting fppad.com/trx

Apple Unveils iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S from the Wall Street Journal

[No technology broadcast would be complete without mentioning this week’s announcements from Apple on the new iPhone 5S and 5C. Nearly one out of every two advisors already use the iPhone for personal and business activity, and few will argue that the capabilities of all smart phones, even Android, Windows Phone, and Blackberry, can really boost an advisor’s efficiency.
So if you’re considering an upgrade to your iPhone, or even a switch from the other manufacturers, here are the three most important updates you need to know.

First, the iPhone 5S features a new Touch ID sensor to unlock your phone using only your fingerprint, further enhancing the device’s security to prevent unauthorized access.

Second, the iPhone 5S comes with iOS 7, the latest version of Apple’s mobile operating system with hundreds of new features. Of most relevance to you is the new AirDrop feature, allowing you to share photos, contacts, and most importantly documents, directly over WiFi using a secure connection. Now AirDrop only works with iPhone 5, and the latest versions of the iPad and iPod Touch, so you may need a backup plan when you want to share documents with clients who have older Apple devices.

And third, any new purchase of an iOS device comes with the iWork apps for free, including Pages, Numbers, Keynote, and iMovie, saving you roughly $40, but also giving you native apps to edit the office documents that you use every day.

But no matter what phone you currently use today, manufactures keep trying to one-up each other with new software and hardware features, and Apple is no different than the rest of the competition. One downside to all this innovation: it does put pressure on your technology budget when trying to keep up with all the new options out there.] Apple Inc. introduced a pair of new iPhones Tuesday with upgraded features, but didn’t stray far from its usual playbook to address concerns about intensifying competition from rivals such as Samsung Electronics Co.

Fidelity adds remote check deposit feature to the WealthCentral Mobile app from FPPad.com

[And in other mobile device news, mobile check deposit is now coming to one of the top institutional custodians to independent advisers. In Bits and Bytes for August 30th, you learned that LPL Financial rolled out remote check deposit to their iOS and Android apps. Not to be outdone, Fidelity announced this week that it, too, will allow advisers to deposit client checks into their accounts using the company’s WealthCentral Mobile app.

Now advisors can’t just download the latest version of the app and start deposits right away, as there is an enrollment process that Fidelity requires. Read the related story to get all the details of the process.] Weeks after LPL introduced remote check deposit in its app, Fidelity becomes the first custodian to offer the functionality to its advisers.

ShareFile + RightSignature: Empowering professionals with e-signatures from ShareFile from ShareFile.com

[Next up is news on a new partnership between leading providers of document collaboration and e-signature software. This week, ShareFile, part of the Citrix family of collaboration tools, announced that it completed an integration with RightSignature, another contender in the e-signature space. I bet you were expecting DocuSign, weren’t you, since I’ve mentioned them in almost every Bits and Bytes episode to date!

But advisors using ShareFile now have the ability to route documents stored in ShareFile directly to RightSignature to obtain client signatures. But not all financial institutions accept e-signatures from RightSignature, so if you’re a ShareFile user, you might need to challenge your custodian to pursue a relationship with RightSignature so you have options when it comes to obtaining electronic signatures from your clients.

There’s a video walkthrough available of the ShareFile/RightSignature integration, so to watch it, just visit the story linked above.] We’re excited to announce our new partnership with RightSignature, a leading provider of secure electronic signature services, to bring you a fast, easy and secure way to obtain electronic signatures on important documents, right from your Citrix ShareFile account.

Fate or Destiny? from TheReformedBroker.com

[Finally, you should know what Josh Brown is up to. Josh who, you might ask? He’s the former broker turned fee-only advisor and author of Backstage Wall Street, which Brown says is “the book [air quote]they[air quote] don’t want you to read.”

So what does Josh Brown have to do with technology?

He’s a prime example of how social media and transparency through technology can literally throw gasoline on a smoldering fire and ultimately transform your business into a enviable growth engine.

On his website this week, Josh announced that he has to go away for a while to work on a handful of major projects, but with his social media presence and visibility as a fee-only advisor, it’s worth your time to put Josh on your radar if you haven’t done so already.] I suppose I don’t believe in fate but I do believe in destiny.

 

Watch Bits and Bytes for September 13, 2013

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How to link your website to your Twitter Analytics dashboard

Posted on September 11, 2013 by in Social Media

Link your website to your Twitter Analytics dashboard to track your website mentions and referral traffic

Twitter Analytics now allows users to link their website to the dashboard to see website mentions and referral activity (see Twitter analytics helps financial advisers boost social media ROI).

In the 99 second video above, I show you how to link your website to the Twitter Analytics dashboard so you can see these useful statistics (or watch on YouTube).

The Twitter Analytics dashboard now displays your website mentions and referral traffic

The Twitter Analytics dashboard now displays your website mentions and referral traffic

Google Analytics Doesn’t Show Website Mentions on Twitter

Google Analytics is the go-to utility to monitor activity that occurs on your website.

While Google Analytics does track incoming referral traffic from Twitter, it doesn’t have the ability to identify how many times your website is listed in tweets on Twitter.

Now Twitter Analytics allows you to link to your website to the dashboard and give you more detailed statistics to track.

Find Out Who Tweets Your Website

Not only does the Twitter Analytics dashboard show how many times you listed your website in your own tweets, but it also shows how many times your website was mentioned by other people on Twitter. That is one great feature of this new integration.

So watch the walk-through video and begin tracking how many times your website is mentioned on Twitter and see which tweets generate the most referral traffic to your website.

Don’t Have Analytics?

Are you missing the analytics option after you log in to the dashboard? You’re not alone.

Others report not being able to see the analytics menu, but some have been able to get it by stepping through the advertising campaign setup but stopping before entering payment information.

Read the comments from others in this FPPad post and see if this technique works for you.

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Fidelity adds remote check deposit feature to the WealthCentral Mobile app

Posted on September 10, 2013 by in Technology

WealthCentral Mobile from Fidelity now allows advisers to snap photos of checks and deposit them into clients’ eligible Fidelity accounts

WealthCentral Mobile from Fidelity now allows advisers to snap photos of checks and deposit them into clients’ eligible Fidelity accounts

Weeks after LPL introduced remote check deposit in its app, Fidelity becomes the first custodian to offer the functionality to its advisers.

Fidelity Investments® introduced remote check deposit support for financial advisers with the latest update to the Fidelity WealthCentral Mobile app.

Fidelity WealthCentral Mobile has been available for iOS and Android devices for roughly two-and-a-half years, and its latest update introduces the remote check deposit feature widely popular among retail banks and financial institutions.

A First for RIAs

Snap photos of checks and deposit them using the Fidelity WealthCentral Mobile app

Snap photos of checks and deposit them using the Fidelity WealthCentral Mobile app

Fidelity, the third-largest custodian by number of advisers, is not the first institution to offer remote check deposit capabilities to advisers. That distinction is awarded to LPL Financial, which released a new version of LPL Mobile in conjunction with its LPL Focus 2013 conference last month in San Diego (see LPL Financial Unveils Enhancements to Technology Platform at Annual Financial Advisor Conference).

However, Fidelity does get recognition as being the first institutional custodian for independent RIAs to offer remote check deposit to its advisers.

Prior to the general release of remote check deposit to the adviser community, Fidelity worked with about a dozen firms in a pilot period, covering a wide range of business models and services.

“Natural Progression”

"We see this." Ed O'Brien

“We see this as a natural progression in the mobile space.” Ed O’Brien

“We see this [remote check deposit] as a natural progression in the mobile space,” said Ed O’Brien, head of technology for Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services, adding, “further enhancing our technology as we support the ‘anywhere advisor.'”

But advisers eager to download Fidelity WealthCentral Mobile and start depositing client checks right away with their mobile device will need to be patient.

Enrollment Required

Fidelity does have a qualification process for any adviser interested in becoming eligible to use remote check deposit. Advisers must first complete a remote deposit agreement and update their internal policies and procedures with appropriate steps for remote deposit.

The qualification process can take anywhere from one to six weeks, depending on the environment at the requesting firm. Remote deposit can be used by independent RIAs all the way up to institutional clients who clear under National Financial, which is the reason for such a wide range in implementation time.

“Each adviser is unique, so we want to first make sure we understand their needs and processes to ensure a successful deployment,” said O’Brien.

Deposit Limits

Deposits made through the mobile app are limited to $250,000 per check, and the same $250,000 limit applies to total daily deposits per account, which should cover a significant portion of checks received by advisers.

In general, there are no specific account restrictions for remote check deposit. Any account with deposit privileges, whether it’s brokerage, retirement, college savings, or trust, can accept deposits via mobile devices.

For all the details regarding the updates to WealthCentral Mobile, read the press release from Fidelity Investments.

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FPPad Bits and Bytes for September 6

Posted on September 6, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

On this week’s broadcast, a peek at Junxure’s new cloud CRM for advisers, a custom built workflow system is coming to MoneyGuide Pro, why it’s time you should stop asking clients for referrals, and more. So get ready, Bits and Bytes begins now.

(Watch on YouTube) This week’s episode is brought to you by Shareholders Service Group, offering custodial services, advanced technology, and superior client service to nearly 1,100 independent RIAs nationwide.

Shareholders Service Group

Access leading technology from Black Diamond, MoneyGuide Pro, Redtail, TRX and Envestnet through the SSG open architecture platform. You personally handle your clients’ financial needs, so let SSG be the custodian that personally serves you. For more information, visit fppad.com/ssg

Here are the links to this week’s stories of interest:

Tech Review: Junxure Cloud Reaches for the Sky from Financial-Planning.com

[Leading off is an update on Junxure CRM, as their long-awaited transition to the cloud is just about ready for prime time. Financial Planning magazine technology editor Joel Bruckenstein recently reviewed Junxure Cloud, but hesitated to issue a resounding endorsement of the product. Bruckenstein praised Junxure Cloud’s modern design, reminiscent of tiles found in Windows 8, but cited a lack of functional widgets and live integrations as reasons to wait before fully embracing Junxure Cloud. Those issues, combined with minimum retail pricing of $2,700/year for 3 users, will likely put advisers in a wait-and-see mode to determine if Junxure Cloud eventually lives up to its potential.] Over the years, Junxure has added a few additional products, including ClientView, a client portal service, and Junxure Mobile. But the one component it’s been lacking is a cloud-based CRM product, which it’s been working on for about two years. Those efforts are about to bear fruit.

Financial Planning Software Experts at Money Guide Pro Select Fox Financial Planning Network To Develop Integrated Workflow System from eReleases.com

[Next up is news from MoneyGuide Pro, the most popular web-based financial planning software program used by advisers today. This week, MoneyGuide Pro announced that it selected the Fox Financial Planning Network to develop a custom workflow system to streamline the financial plan creation process. The Fox Financial Planning Network already provides pre-built workflow templates for popular CRMs like Redtail and Grendel, but this development marks the first time a workflow system addresses the steps unique to financial planning software. With over 300 adviser members to date, the Fox Financial Planning Network has clearly positioned itself as one of the go-to providers as advisers seek comprehensive workflow systems for their business.] PIEtech, maker of Money Guide Pro (MGP), the leading financial planning software for financial advisors, officially announced today the selection of Fox Financial Planning Network (FFPN) to develop a custom workflow system to enable MGP subscribers to create financial plans more efficiently as well as to drive adoption of recently added valuable features.

This tiny Irvine company built a pro video-conf product for millions — on top of Google Hangouts from VentureBeat.com

[Now Fox Financial Planning Network is a great example of a company that uses video conferencing and webinars to share information and build their profile. So you’ve probably considered using video conferencing yourself for similar activity with clients and prospects, but have yet to find the right platform. Webex and GoToMeeting might be too cumbersome for some clients use, and Google+ Hangouts might just be a little too informal for your tastes.

One new service attempting to bridge the gap is called Business Hangouts, which claims to be the enterprise-friendly app for Google+ Hangouts. Users get all the useful features of Google+ Hangouts video chats, but also a number of add-ons like event registration, email reminders, virtual 3D rooms, and more that are attractive to enterprise users. Paid versions start at just $9 a month for up to 50 attendees, which is a very steep discount from many of the other online video conference services.] Video-conferencing is a massively turbulent space right now. Large incumbents like WebEx and GoToMeeting are fighting smaller, nimbler, and cheaper options like Blue Jeans Network and the company that actually powers Google Hangouts, Vidyo. But an tiny upstart company in Irvine, California just might unseat them all.

Stop asking for referrals and use technology to drive growth from FPPad.com

[Finally, you are well aware how important referrals are in the organic growth of your business. But one industry consultant insists that it’s time advisers stop asking their clients for referrals. Stephen Wershing, president of The Client Driven Practice and author of book Stop Asking For Referrals, recently sat down with me to talk about the things advisers *should* do to create an effective referral strategy, which includes a few technology tips as well.] Asking clients for referrals can be damaging says one expert; use technology instead to drive your business growth.

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Stop asking for referrals and use technology to drive growth

Posted on September 4, 2013 by in On Air, Online Marketing, Technology

Asking clients for referrals can be damaging says one expert; use technology instead to drive your business growth.

Asking for Referrals Stresses Clients

According to Stephen Wershing, president of The Client Driven Practice, you need to stop asking clients for referrals.

Why?

Wershing did, after all, write the book on it.

Asking clients for referrals is counter productive, says Wershing, adding “you actually stress the relationship, maybe even diminish the relationship,” when putting clients on the spot by asking for referrals.

Technology-driven Referrals

Instead, offers Wershing, advisers should use technology intelligently to identify clients and prospects with common characteristics and then provide content and information that addresses their needs.

So what is Wershing’s favorite technology tool?

“The biggest one is your CRM program,” says Wershing.

He provides examples of highlighting client characteristics and key words to track unique things about each client. Collectively, your CRM can reveal trends and commonalities across clients and prospects which you can then use to identify concerns or needs shared by the group.

Solidify Your Expertise

With that information in hand, Wershing says advisers can reach out to them with helpful resources. Doing so “solidifies your expertise,” he says, adding “it’s more likely that you’re going to come to mind,” when clients do have the opportunity to make a referral among friends and family.

For all of Wershing’s advice on using technology to drive your referrals, watch the On Air broadcast embedded above (or watch the broadcast on YouTube).

referrals

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FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 30

Posted on August 30, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

On this week’s broadcast, Laser App unveils new integrations to speed up your form processing, LPL Financial rolls out new technology to its representatives, how one-page websites might be your answer to stand out in today’s crowded marketplace, and more. So get ready, Bits and Bytes begins now.

(Watch on YouTube) This week’s edition of Bits and Bytes is brought to you by Redtail Technology, providers of cloud-based CRM for financial professionals since 2003.

Redtail Technology

Check out their popular advisor solutions and sign up for a 30-day free trial. Visit fppad.com/redtail for more information.

Here are the links to this week’s top stories:

Filling Out Forms No Longer a Pain in the App for Busy Advisors from Laser App and TDAmeritrade

[Leading off is an update on Laser App, the form-filling software provider, who held its annual broker-dealer conference last week in San Diego.At last year’s conference, Laser App unveiled Laser App Anywhere, a cloud-based version of its software that can create account forms in the cloud and on a variety of mobile devices. But Laser App Anywhere was only made available to broker-dealers and their affiliated representatives. That is, until now.

At the conference last week, Laser App announced that TD Ameritrade Institutional will be the first custodian to offer Laser App Anywhere to advisors through the Veo advisor platform. This means that independent advisors who custody with TD Ameritrade Institutional will be able to leverage Laser App Anywhere to simplify their form creation and account opening processes.

In addition, TD Ameritrade Institutional also announced it will integrate Laser App Anywhere with electronic signature capabilities from DocuSign, giving independent advisers one of the first officially-supported straight-through-processing solutions for account-related forms.] TD Ameritrade Institutional Announces Integration of Laser App® Anywhere: a New Cloud-Based Tool to Help Advisors Complete Forms Faster and on Mobile Devices

LPL Financial Unveils Enhancements to Technology Platform at Annual Financial Advisor Conference from MarketWatch.com

[Now Laser App wasn’t the only company holding a conference in San Diego last week. LPL Financial hosted the LPL Financial Focus Conference and announced a number of technology initiatives and updates for its representatives. LPL is the largest independent broker-dealer in the country in terms of both total representatives and assets, so whatever they do, expect the industry to follow suit.

Notable announcements include a new Enhanced Trading and Rebalancing platform being rolled out to representatives over the next 12 months. LPL is offering the rebalancing platform for free through June of 2014, then for $150/month thereafter. Couple that with TD Ameritrade Institutional’s announcement earlier this year that iRebal will be offered for free through the Veo platform, and you can bet this will put considerable pricing pressure on third-party rebalancing software providers.

LPL also released the LPL Financial Mobile app for iOS and Android, giving advisers the ability to monitor client portfolios and send secure messages to clients, all from inside the app.

And finally, LPL continues to expand its support of electronic signatures with none other than DocuSign, as over 80% of LPL’s documents and forms are eligible for electronic signature processing.] LPL Financial LLC, the nation’s largest independent broker-dealer, a leading RIA custodian and a wholly owned subsidiary of LPL Financial Holdings Inc., today announced a set of enhanced technology offerings and new mobile capabilities for financial advisors and their clients, designed to simplify account management; improve practice efficiency and scalability; and enhance the client experience.

Envestnet Completes Integration Of HiddenLevers Application Into Envestnet’s Next Generation Platform from PRNewswire.com

[In other integration news, Envestnet, the unified wealth management technology provider, announced that it completed the integration of Hidden Levers into its platform. The integration was originally announced back in May at the company’s Advisor Summit and was anticipated to be in production by June. Despite the delay, this is another big win for Hidden Levers, the New York-based startup that continues to attract significant attention with its scenario-based portfolio stress testing capabilities.] Envestnet, a leading provider of unified wealth management technology and services to investment advisors, announced today the integration of the HiddenLevers application into its unified wealth management platform.

Quickview: Strikingly Simple Advisor Websites from Morningstar.com

[And finally, if you’re looking for new ways to stand out among a crowded field of financial advisors, consider how your website might be able to differentiate your business from all the rest. Tons of advisor websites use similar templates with navigation menus, photos, and a few columns of text. But a trend in website design gaining momentum is the sinle-page layout.

In my Morningstar Advisor Quickview update this month, I wrote about one service called Strikingly that you can use to quickly set up your own single page website and use it to differentiate yourself from everyone else.] A single-page website might just set your business apart in a sea of advisor website monotony.

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The one thing advisers should do with their website today

Posted on August 22, 2013 by in General

Big baseball crowd at Fenway Park

Does your financial adviser website stand out from all the others?

Advisers need to simplify their online presence to stand out in a sea of website monotony

Financial advisers should follow the trend of website simplification if they hope to attract the wealth management client of the future.

Adviser Websites All Look The Same

Given a half dozen websites from financial advisory firms featuring solo advisers up to multi-billion dollar juggernauts, prospects likely won’t be able to tell the difference between anyone.

The downside to websites built with content management software like WordPress and Drupal (note: FPPad uses the WordPress framework) is that sites generally all have the same look and feel. Logos are in the top-left corner, a navigation bar is in the top right, and photos and text are below the main header.

With FPPad, I’m just as guilty as all the rest.

How to Make Your Website Stand Out

So to stand out in a sea of monotony among adviser websites, consider simplifying everything to one page.

Yes, a single page website.

Fortunately, you can experiment with single page website designs without taking your primary website offline.

Read this month’s Morningstar Advisor Quickview to find out what service you can use to quickly set up your own single page website and differentiate yourself from everyone else.

Image credit: Boston Public Library on Flickr

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