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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.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 16

Posted on August 16, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

On this week’s broadcast, Fidelity shows what Google Glass might do to change wealth management, a startup looks to tame the onslaught of digital statements, controversy over GMail’s privacy policy, and more.

(Watch on YouTube) This week’s edition of Bits and Bytes is brought to you by Orion Advisor Services, the nation’s largest privately held portfolio accounting service bureau.

Orion Advisor Services

Providing full-service data reconciliation, advisory fee billing, Salesforce integration, mobile apps and more, Orion believes it’s time for you to enjoy your business again.

Visit fppad.com/orion for more information.

Fidelity Market Monitor for Glass from Fidelity Labs

[First up this week is news from Fidelity Labs which just developed, oh wait, I just got a stock alert from my glasses. Right! Fidelity Labs developed an app for Google Glass, Google’s entry into the wearable computing market. Using the app, anyone donning Google’s controversial glasses can log in to their Fidelity account with voice authentication, get real time quotes by taking a picture of a company logo, and receive trading alerts. While the app is a glimpse of the not-too-distant future of mobile computing, I would not be surprised to see many of the quote and news-related updates provided by default in the Google Glass operating system. Still, the ability to perform account-related functions without having to hold a device in your hand can prove to be very popular, especially as wearable computing devices mature and become more socially acceptable.] Fidelity Labs is participating in a Google early developer program, and is working with a prototype of Google Glass to better understand the technology and how it may benefit our customers.

FileThis Fetch iPhone app available from FileThis

[Next up is news from a start-up in California called FileThis, which is new to my radar. Many of you are slowly making the transition to a paperless office, but you also should recognize how you can help clients make the transition to a paperless home. Nearly all of the major financial institutions provide statements we can download, but with ten or twenty accounts spread across banks, credit cards, and investments, it can easily take hours on the weekend to download and organize everything. This is where FileThis comes in. This week, FileThis released a free app for iPhone and iPad called FileThis Fetch. Within a few minutes of creating a free account, users connect their financial accounts and FileThis will automatically Fetch electronic statements and PDF files, and then route them to the user’s destination of choice, including Evernote, Dropbox, Personal, and Google Drive. Six connections are available for free, and users can purchase up to 30 connections for just $5 a month.] FileThis, a Marin, California-based startup, today announced the availability of an iPhone app for its award-winning FileThis Fetch service that lets consumers go paperless

No, Google did not say that there is no privacy in Gmail from TheNextWeb.com

[In online privacy news, Google’s GMail service made headlines this week as the company’s lawyers cited case law where, now I’m summarizing here, users of web-based email services cannot have a legitimate expectation of privacy when voluntarily turning over information to third parties. Websites like Consumer Watchdog and Gizmodo crafted pretty sensational headlines this week, making it sound as if Google had all but given up on protecting users’ privacy when they use the company’s free GMail service. But that’s not entirely true. Josh Ong at The Next Web helped clarify what Google’s lawyers actually said, and pointed out how their quote was taken out of context and blown out of proportion. But as an advisor, you should be concerned about how much information you volunteer to third party services, and would be well served by using business-class providers that have clear and explicit privacy policies. This means using email from Google Apps for Business, Redtail Email, Smarsh, and many more.] Earlier on Tuesday, Google was quoted by Consumer Watchdog, RT.com (Russia Today) and Gizmodo as having argued in a legal motion that customers have “no legitimate expectation of privacy”, but the quote has been taken out of context.

Video Creation 101 for Advisors – Join the Webinar! from Advisor Websites

[And finally, if this is the first Bits and Bytes broadcast you’ve watched, or you caught all three, you might be inspired to start your own broadcast to raise your own online profile or communicate with clients in new ways. If so, you’re in luck, because I’m teaming up with Advisor Websites to broadcast a free webinar about Video 101 for Financial Advisors. So clear your calendar for Tuesday, August 27th at 2pm Eastern, 11am Pacific, and sign up for this free webinar.] Advisor Websites is thrilled to announce that we’ll be presenting a brand new, action-packed webinar with our friend and trusted financial technology expert, Bill Winterberg! Join us as we present a comprehensive and simplified explanation designed to help you begin creating and sharing video content online.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 9

Posted on August 9, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

I spent all day Thursday traveling out and back to Minnesota, but I still managed to find time to write and produce this week’s episode of Bits and Bytes (click to watch on YouTube).

First, a word from this week’s sponsor. Without their support, Bits and Bytes wouldn’t be possible!

Today’s Bits and Bytes is brought to you by the 2013 T3 Enterprise Conference, exclusively designed for the technology needs of broker-dealers and financial enterprises. Mark your calendar for November 3rd through 5th in Chicago, and register today at www.t3enterpriseconference.com

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

Find your lost phone with Android Device Manager from the Android official blog

[This week’s lead story is for all of you Android users out there. Now there’s one less reason to be jealous of your fellow iPhone owners. Late last week, Google announced that it will be introducing an app called Android Device Manager later this month for all users of Android version 2.2 and higher, which pretty much means 98% of all the Android devices on the market. Now iPhone and iPad users have been able to track, lock, and even remotely wipe the contents of their devices since 2010 using Apple’s Find My iPhone app, and Windows phone and Blackberry users have also had remote device management apps of their own for some time. Finally, this long-overdue app from Google will especially be useful for those of you using Android devices, because you can now have better remote administration of lost or stolen devices that may contain personal or client information.] Have you ever lost your phone in between the couch cushions or forgot it in a restaurant? Or maybe searching for your phone before you rush out the door is part of your morning routine? Later this month, the new Android Device Manager can help you out. It’s one of a few simple features you can use to keep your device—and the data you store inside—safe and secure.

Mobile Portfolio Management Gets Easier from Morningstar.com

[Speaking of mobile devices, huge numbers of financial advisers are using mobile devices to stay connected and get work done while on the road. But one of the areas with significant room for improvement is the use of mobile devices to check client portfolios, especially for clients with accounts at multiple custodians. All of the major custodians have mobile apps you can use to check on client accounts, but those only work for clients who hold all their assets with one institution. Fortunately, third party portfolio management software providers have their own apps advisors can use to review all of their clients’ holdings, regardless of where they are held. Two and a half years ago, Orion Advisor Services was one of the first to debut a mobile app for advisors, and just last month they updated their app with a cleaner, sleeker version advisers should find more user friendly. And another provider to watch is AssetBook, which launched its own app for advisors, also about a month ago. Details of what you’ll find in each mobile app are in this month’s column for Morningstar Advisor.] One of the first mobile portfolio management apps for advisors gets an update, while an under-the-“radar” provider debuts its own native app.

Laserfiche Announces Integration with DocuSign eSignature Platform from MarketWire.com

[Now for some news in the document management arena. It’s pretty to easy to scan paper documents or save PDF files to a document management system, but applying client signatures to those documents has always been a challenge. Often the easiest thing to do is to just print out a document, have a client sign it, and then rescan it back into the system. It gets the job done, but it’s not really efficient, and that means it costs you money. Fortunately, Laserfiche, the enterprise content management provider, announced this week that their solution now integrates with DocuSign, one of the leading electronic signature providers. And remember, custodians such as TD Ameritrade Institutional, Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services, and Pershing, as well as broker-dealers like Cambridge and LPL accept documents signed using DocuSign, with just a few exceptions. So this development is welcome news for all advisors seeking a true end-to-end paperless solution for processing client forms that require signatures.] Laserfiche today announced an integration with DocuSign, The Global Standard for eSignature®, to further enhance the value of the company’s industry-leading enterprise content management (ECM) solution with secure electronic signature.

Six tech tools that help you improve your writing output here at FPPad.com

[Wrapping up this week’s update is an article from Susan Weiner on six technology tools you can use to boost your writing output. Susan is the author of a brand new book titled Financial Blogging: How to Write Powerful Posts That Attract Clients, and this week she shared her best technology tips on FPPad for all of you looking to build your online profile with effective blog posts.] Writing is a cerebral art, but sometimes technology helps. I’ve found six tools that can boost the quality and productivity of your writing. They play the roles of idea generator, disciplinarian, transcriptionist, enforcer, and mistake revealer.

And if you want to read the best material in financial planning knowledge and information over the weekend, click or tap the button below to head over to Michael Kitces’ Nerd’s Eye View blog and see the latest in Weekend Reading.

Click to view Weekend Reading at Kitces.com

FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 2

Posted on August 2, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

It’s here! Bits and Bytes has gone video.

I’m now delivering the week’s best technology bits for financial advisers in a video broadcast you can bite into anytime you like (oh yes, I just did that).

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.

(Watch on YouTube). But still, those with short attention spans or aficionados of the written word can get this week’s stories of interest in their full-text glory below.

Like it? Hate it? Let me know!

Like the new format? Hate it? Don’t care for it? Be honest, and let me know by contacting me.

Tech reporter Davis Janowski leaving InvestmentNews to become editor for WealthFront, via Davis’ Twitter feed

[In this week’s lead story, venerable technology reporter Davis Janowski announced this week that he will be leaving his position as tech reporter at InvestmentNews to assume the editor role over at WealthFront. Most of you should recognize WealthFront from a number of past articles about online financial advice platforms and so called “robo-adviser” platforms. For as long as I can remember, Davis has been a solid journalist covering technology for financial advisers and inspired me to launch FPPad back in the day. So Davis, thanks for all your work and passion, and I look forward to what you have in store for advisers with your new role at WealthFront.]

 

USB flash drives masquerading as keyboards mean more BYOD security headaches from ZDNet.com

[In my Defending Against Phishing, Hacking, and Spoofing Attacks presentation, this is one of the attacks I talk about under social engineering. See, hackers drop these little USB flash drives in business parking lots, labeled with enticing messages like “personal and confidential” or “2012 tax returns.” They hope than an unsuspecting employee will pick it up and plug it in to their corporate computer, which unbeknownst to the employee unleashes all kinds of malware and spyware inside the corporate firewall. The best defense against this tactic: train everyone in your organization not to use USB drives from unknown sources. The risk of stumbling on a rogue device is just too great.] You should be already aware of the data theft risks that USB flash drives pose to your company – even a seemingly lowly 2GB drive can hold a lot of precious data – but a new threat has emerged which makes them even more dangerous.

inStream Hires Professor Dr. Wade Pfau to lead Financial Planning Research from inStreamWealth.com

[inStream, the provider of free web-based financial planning, strike that, practice management software, just beefed up its chops in the retirement planning area by hiring Dr. Wade Pfau to lead its Financial Planning Research division. Pfau is the Professor of Retirement Income for the American College and has authored a number of influential papers on retirement research. Clearly, advisers looking to serve the needs of their retiring clients want access to the leading research on retirement planning, and Pfau’s connection with inStream will likely raise the company’s profile on most advisers’ radar. A final note: inStream is an advertiser on FPPad and helps support content production just like this.] inStream Solutions (“inStream”) announced today that American College Professor of Retirement Income Dr. Wade Pfau has joined the firm to lead Financial Planning Research.

Orion Advisor Services Enhances Integrated Performance Reporting Capabilities from MarketWatch.com

[Orion Advisor Services is well-known for its hosted portfolio management software and reconciliation service bureau. One issue with many of these services is that the reports themselves might not be exactly what advisers are looking for and want to present to their clients. Some advisers turn to third-party providers like MorningStar or AdvisoryWorld for more attractive reports that better convey information advisers want to put in front of clients. Well this week, Orion announced that its Report Builder solution now integrates with AdvisoryWorld, so advisers can pull in components like risk analytics, Modern Portfolio Theory statistics, and diversification and overlap analysis directly from AdvisoryWorld, but be able to match the font size and look and feel of standard Orion reports. If you’re one of the hundreds of Orion users, check out the updated Report Builder and see how you can enhance your reports with the latest AdvisoryWorld integration.] Orion Advisor Services, LLC, a premier portfolio accounting service provider, is delivering more robust performance reporting capabilities to its advisor clients through expanded integrations with AdvisoryWorld, a leading provider of customizable portfolio analytics and investment planning applications to the financial services market and PIEtech’s MoneyGuidePro, the leading goal-based financial planning software for financial advisors.

BlazePortfolio Completes Integration with Black Diamond from BlazePortfolio.com

[For rebalancing software, advisers are pretty familiar with Envestnet|Tamarac, TD Ameritrade Institutional’s iRebal, and Total Rebalance Expert. One of the programs not on most advisers’ radar is Atom Align from Blaze Portfolio. This week, the folks at Blaze Portfolio announced that their solution, Atom Align, is now integrated with Advent’s Black Diamond portfolio management software. So if you’re a Black Diamond user and don’t have rebalancing software, you have one more option to consider to increase your efficiency when rebalancing client accounts.] BlazePortfolio is excited to complete its integration with Black Diamond.  The BlazePortfolio and Black Diamond integrated solution offers Investment Advisors the opportunity to utilize both platforms for their back office systems.

LinkedIn Company Pages Add Analytics from Mashable.com

[If you’re like me, you work hard to build your brand and build your profile through a number of social media websites. So a big part of measuring your success for the time you spend on social media is the ability to get metrics and real data behind your social media activity. Mashable reported on Wednesday that LinkedIn is now offering analytics for Company Pages set up on the site, so if your firm has a Company Page, go sign in and look for the new analytics tab in your menu.] LinkedIn added analytic support to Company Pages Wednesday, giving businesses the opportunity to track how content shared on LinkedIn performs.

And if you want to read the best material in financial planning knowledge and information over the weekend, click or tap the button below to head over to Michael Kitces’ Nerd’s Eye View blog and see the latest in Weekend Reading.

Click to view Weekend Reading at Kitces.com

FPPad Bits and Bytes for July 26

Posted on July 26, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

Denver Airport

I’m in Denver today presenting at the WealthCounsel Planning for the Generations conference (look for conference tweets with #p4g2013), so I juggled intermittent GoGo inflight WiFi on my Delta flight to add several last-minute articles from Thursday.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

Advisory firm invites clients, others to ‘hang’ in high-tech office from InvestmentNews.com

[Oxygen Financial is really stirring the pot in a good way. The opening of a new retail-based storefront in a high-traffic area of Atlanta (Buckhead, specifically) is an experiment by the progressive financial advisory firm, but one that has a very good chance of paying off in a big way. The new office is literally 10 minutes from FPPad headquarters, so I hope to visit soon and film some video for you and post it in a few weeks.] Oxygen Financial Inc. opened a second office in Atlanta today, aimed at helping meet the needs of time-starved young investors.

Bloomberg Is Liquidating Its New Wealth Management Business from BusinessInsider.com

[Well that was quick. BloombergBlack only just announced it’s shutting down its entry into the online financial advice arena. The good news: You don’t have to persuade clients against moving to a $100-$500/month online service. The bad news: If Bloomberg can’t figure out how to make the economics of an online financial advice platform work (see BloombergBlack Review: This Is Not The Disruptor You’re Looking For from I heart Wall Street), who can?] Bloomberg LLP is liquidating its wealth management business, BloombergBlack affecting 30-40 employees that could return to the company or be laid off permanently, according to sources close the situation.

10 Things You Need To Know About Google’s New Chromecast from ReadWrite.com

[Hey, did you hear that Google is now selling this USB-thumb-drive-sized device to plug in to your HDMI TV and stream videos, all for $35? This ReadWrite article covers lots of the consumer benefits of streaming video content, but here’s your takeaway. You can buy this, plug it in to your flat screen TVs in your office, and beam what’s in your Chrome browser directly to your big screen. Now you CAN’T completely mirror your mobile device, which a minority of advisers have already been doing with with the $99 AppleTV and an iPhone or iPad (I love my AppleTV!). Google’s Chromecast opens up video streaming to a lot more mobile devices, but I still think the AppleTV and iOS device combo is the go-to mirroring system for advisers.] Google’s push for the living room got a fuel injection yesterday when the company revealed its Chromecast streaming stick.

And if you want to read the best material in financial planning knowledge and information over the weekend, click or tap the button below to head over to Michael Kitces’ Nerd’s Eye View blog and see the latest in Weekend Reading.

Click to view Weekend Reading at Kitces.com

FPPad Bits and Bytes for July 19

Posted on July 19, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

storm

Another day, another rain storm in the Atlanta metro. Need some water? We have plenty!

While most of the country has baked under oppressive heat and humidity, Atlanta’s temperatures didn’t get above 90 degrees in all of 2013 until Wednesday this week! “Hotlanta?”

Summer is half over, so you have roughly six more weeks before the activity in your office picks up again as clients return from vacation. What have you accomplished so far for your technology goals of the year?

Here are this week’s top stories:

Banks that offer money management tools may have advantage over startups and software companies from PRNewswire.com

[I must admit, I am shocked by this research! Banks have an edge over companies like Mint and Personal Capital when it comes to likelihood to take action and trust? Ok, trust I can believe, since a “big” bank with brick and mortar assets has a tangible component to it, while online finance websites have nothing but a virtual storefront. But likelihood to take action? I would have guessed that Mint, Personal Capital, HelloWallet and others would certainly convert many more visitors to use their tools compared with the spartan tools of a big bank. I’m flat out wrong, according to this Change Sciences Group study.] Today leading web researchers Change Sciences Group (www.changesciences.com) released new research showing that banks may have an advantage over startups and software companies like Mint when it comes to providing financial tools which help consumers take control of their finances online.

YCharts: Bloomberg for the rest of us? from InvestmentNews.com

[If you are copying and pasting charts from Yahoo! Finance into your client reports, I think you are making a mistake. Here’s an affordable alternative from YCharts that let’s you scan over 17,000 equities and sort by over 3,000 individual metrics to create the charts of your dreams. At $199/month (plus 20% off if you buy a full year), it’s significantly cheaper than the competition from Bloomberg.] When it comes to getting real-time or near-real-time stock or other equity data there are two ends of the spectrum.

Hear That? It’s Your Financial Adviser Tweeting from the New York Times

[Financial institutions just don’t get it. Canned tweets don’t work. If you’re an adviser, I don’t think your audience really cares that much about random facts on Federal holidays. What I think they (your audience) DO care about is information that helps solve their problems or helps them learn something new they can actually use. And guess what? You can’t provide that level of value with prescreened, canned tweets from Hearsay Social, Socialware, Actiance, or anyone else providing scripted content.] Judging by his Facebook page, it would seem that Jeffrey E. Blum experienced a surge of patriotic inspiration around July 4. Mr. Blum, a financial adviser, posted no fewer than 12 updates with good wishes and trivia about the holiday.

Arbor Point Fills Gap for Independent Advisors from Businesswire.com

[First there was Pinnacle Advisory Solutions, an outsourced investment management program and back office solution provider designed to lighten the management load of the average RIA firm. Now Securities America has partnered with Orion Advisor Services to launch Arbor Point Advisors, an SEC-registered corporate RIA with no allegiance to any one custodian. Much of the software available today allows RIAs to be custodian agnostic, but now advisors can also benefit from regulatory registration and compliance support that I assume will be provided in some fashion by Arbor Point Advisors.] Arbor Point Advisors LLC, a new SEC registered investment advisory firm, intends to fill the gap for advisors seeking the freedom of the independent advisory model and a choice of custodians without the need to form their own registered investment advisory firm.

And if you want to read the best material in financial planning knowledge and information over the weekend, click or tap the button below to head over to Michael Kitces’ Nerd’s Eye View blog and see the latest in Weekend Reading.

Click to view Weekend Reading at Kitces.com

FPPad Bits and Bytes for July 12

Posted on July 12, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

The upper cascade portion of Amicalola Falls in the north Georgia mountains

The upper cascade portion of Amicalola Falls in the north Georgia mountains

I spent much of the week on vacation at Amicalola Falls State Park in Georgia, home to the tallest waterfall east of the Mississippi.

So, you know that this week’s stories of interest are some of the best for me to take time away to list them here:

Addepar Expands Management Team with Appointment of Chief Executive Officer, President and Chief Operating Officer from BusinessWire.com

[Earlier this week I posted my interview with former-president-turned-chief-strategy-officer Mike Paulus of Addepar (see: Managing over $100 billion, Addepar’s Mike Paulus reveals how the company will cultivate RIA business). I had to add an explanation at the beginning of that video because of Paulus’ title change, and know we know why. Addepar now has a new CEO, and President and COO, who bring seasoned experience from Palantir (Addepar co-founder Joe Lonsdale’s more recognized venture) and the private equity industry.] Addepar, the leader in smart technology platforms for global wealth and investment management, today announced the appointment of Eric Poirier as Chief Executive Officer and Karen White as President and Chief Operating Officer.

Client of the Future from AdvisorOne.com

[Practice management expert Mark Tibergien, Chief Executive Officer of Pershing Advisor Solutions, a BNY Mellon company, issues a stern warning that if your firm isn’t changing to adapt to service expectations of Gen X/Y, you’re in trouble. Tibergien is inspired by Cam Marston’s book Generational Insights and argues that the tactics used to satisfy baby boomers won’t work with the client of the future.] Something has been nagging at us about the way in which most advisory firms are oriented. The epiphany came when we realized our view was more about the advisor of the future than the client of the future.

Twitter Advertising: A $100 Experiment Pays Off from Financial-Planning.com

[I don’t think columnist Dave Grant wrote the title of his article, because I don’t think he would have used the phrase “pays off.” Grant experimeted with advertising and promoting his Twitter accounts with $100 seed money, and experienced ho-hum traffic to his website. Remember, nearly anyone can access Twitter analytics for free (my screencast showing how is embedded below) and you can see your account with as little at $1 for some testing. You don’t have to start with $100.] As an avid Google Analytics user, and having previously explored Facebook ads, I thought I would see what effect “Promoted Tweets” would have on my website.

15 power Tweeters every adviser should know from InvestmentNews.com

[Remember, you don’t have to tweet to get benefits from Twitter. Following these 15 “power Tweeters” recommended by Nerd’s Eye View publisher Michael Kitces will get you off to a fast start to get the most out of Twitter without the compliance headaches of posting your own tweets.] While there are many social media lists out there of people and businesses to follow on Twitter, InvestmentNews’ own Power 20 “Power Tweeter” Michael Kitces, partner and director of research for Pinnacle Advisory Group and publisher of The Kitces Report and the blog Nerd’s Eye View maintains a list of people financial advisers should follow on Twitter.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for July 5

Posted on July 5, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

fireworks

The Fourth of July holiday is an ideal time for independent financial advisers in the U.S. to celebrate independence.

But before you leave for the long weekend of hot dogs, hamburgers and cold drinks, take three minutes to review this week’s stories of interest:

Lockbox and Smarsh Partner to Offer a New Standard in Privacy and Security Service to Financial Services Professionals from Marketwire.com and Exemplar Turns to the Cloud for Document Security from Financial-Planning.com

[Who is Lockbox? They rapidly advanced up my watch list of companies with technology solutions for financial advisers. Lockbox is an Australian company that just entered the US market in May this year. They are entering a crowded space of cloud document storage providers along with Dropbox, Box, ShareFile, SpiderOak, and many more. Lockbox’s strong points are that it offers two-factor authentication and client-side encryption (see: Evaluating Online Document Storage at the Journal of Financial Planning for more details), but Lockbox lacks a number of features I’d like to see in a true solution for advisers. As of today, Lockbox isn’t compatible with Mac, they don’t offer desktop file synchronization, and they don’t have mobile apps for iOS or Android. Add these capabilities and change pricing from user based to storage capacity based, and I’ll be interested.] Lockbox, the leader in privacy and security service, today announced that AdvisorSquare, part of the Smarsh suite of website services designed specifically for financial services professionals, has joined the company’s affiliate community.

SigFig Lands $15 Million in Series B Funding From Top Investors from Finovate.com

[Officially launched just under two years ago, San Francisco-based SigFig raised $15 million in Series B funding to . Formerly known as WikiInvest, SigFig aggregates over $75 billion in assets on its platform and is entirely about making investment analysis accessible and transparent, while delivering investment recommendations in an attempt to generate a higher return in a portfolio. Recommendations typically cover switching mutual funds or ETFs for similar, lower-fee versions, or changing financial institutions where lower trading commission charges are offered. But for clients who have professional investment advisers, SigFig compares portfolio performance to a peer group of thousands of other investment advisers aggregated in the platform. If your portfolio isn’t performing, SigFig tells clients “Your adviser sucks for the following reasons:” How’s that for a nudge?!?] SigFig, the platform that helps users manage a total of $75 billion in assets, recently received $15 million in Series B funding.

Tech Review: New Digital Content Services from Financial-Planning.com

[You work something like 40 hours a week. If you want to maximize time servicing existing clients and attracting new ones, how much time should you be devoting to creating content shared on social media networks? Probably not a lot. Thankfully, Joel Bruckenstein shares two providers, Vestorly (listen to my podcast with Vestorly co-founder Justin Wisz at Social currency might just be the answer to financial advisers’ frustration with social media) and AdvisorDeck,  in his July column at Financial Planning that can streamline your content generation process, saving you precious time while still allowing you to maximize your compliant use of social media.] While many advisors have struggled to adopt social networking tools, there have been few low-cost, turnkey solutions to help advisors curate information and automatically deliver digital content to clients and prospects.

Succession Planning for an Entire Industry: Why Study Groups Aren’t That Bad from AdvisorOne.com

[Warning: subtle self promotion ahead! This story by AdvisorOne’s John Sullivan tells you why study groups are not bad, contrary to what compliance adviser Tom Giachetti might say. I belong to an outstanding study group called Xcelsior, and in this story you’ll ready why this study group shows that an exciting future lies ahead for the financial planning industry.] Compliance curmudgeon Tom Giachetti doesn’t think much of study groups. “Study groups are a bunch of people sitting around convincing each other that they’re right,” the chairman of the securities practice group at the law firm of Stark & Stark said recently in Denver.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for June 28

Posted on June 28, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

2013 is half over. How much have you accomplished towards your technology goals?

2013 is half over. How much have you accomplished towards your technology goals?

And just like that, the first half of 2013 is over.

Remember the technology objectives you had when you entered the year? How have you fared on increasing efficiency and enhancing the service you deliver to clients?

If you’re not as far along as you had hoped, you still have 26 weeks to move ahead!

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

What I Learned from Getting Robbed: Part 2 from Advisortechbuzz.com

[This is the second update from Justin Unton from Commonwealth about the theft of his laptop and mobile devices. As an Apple user, he has several preexisting options for device recovery including updating his Apple ID with stolen device information and attempting to locate devices with the Find My iPhone app. Prey is also a clever app to install on your laptop which will try to contact the owner and send webcam photos of whoever is trying to access the laptop.] As I mentioned in the previous post, after getting robbed I was thankful I’d taken steps to protect the information stored on my electronic devices. Today, I’ll discuss a few specific security measures that served me well (and one that I wish I’d had in place).

RIA technology updates from Schwab Advisor Services’ Tech Talk series from FPPad

[Yes, I’m shamelessly promoting my own coverage of technology updates from Schwab Advisor Services. But let’s face it; you could read the PR-heavy press release, or read my review of the technology updates that matter to your business.] In a move to be more visible and transparent, Schwab Advisor Services launched a periodic series of conference calls called Tech Talk, featuring the latest updates on Schwab’s technology and related services for independent investment advisors.

Erado Announces Addition of Google Plus to Social Media Capturing Suite from Erado.com

[Erado continues to grow under the radar of most advisers, and that’s partly due to their success in cultivating new broker-dealer relationships. Now Erado becomes more attractive after recently adding Google Plus archiving (or Google+ which isn’t so press-release friendly) to their compliance suite.] Erado, the nation’s leading compliance and archiving firm in electronic communication, officially announces the newest addition to their Social Media Capturing suite, Google Plus.

Convenience or security: You can’t have both when it comes to Wi-Fi from TechRepublic.com

[Frequent Bits & Bytes readers might be tired of hearing about the risks of using public WiFi networks. For a refresher specific to you as a financial adviser, go read Why advisers can’t trust their clients anymore and How to secure mobile devices against “WiFi honeypots” here at FPPad. In this TechRepublic.com article, author Michael Kassner interviews an information security professional about how the risks of using public WiFi and what tools and programs to have in place to protect against hacking. But again, everything in the TechRepublic article has been covered for you in the two posts I provided as a refresher.] Open Wi-Fi networks can be a godsend when you need them. Michael P. Kassner interviews a network-security expert who explains why bad guys like them even more.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for June 21

Posted on June 21, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

integration

For financial advisers, integration, no matter how simple or complex, leads to higher revenue, profitability, and income says one survey.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

What I Learned from Getting Robbed: Part 1 from Advisortechbuzz.com

[This is a last-minute addition to this week’s Bits and Bytes. Here’s a personal story from Commonwealth’s Justin Unton about a robbery at his house and the theft of a bunch of his electronics. Unton strongly advocates the use of two-factor authentication (see: How to enable two-step verification on your LinkedIn account) which renders these devices and online logins useless without access Unton’s mobile phone. Let this be a lesson to us all: turn on two factor authentication wherever you can to give yourself an additional layer of protection in the event something like this happens to you.] At first, we thought it was our cat, Oscar, who had caused the mass destruction in our living room. We even laughed it off, thinking that he must have seen a fly and done his best puma impression to track it down and pounce on it. That all changed as we went down the hallway to our bedroom and saw the contents of our drawers strewn about the floor.

Envestnet | Tamarac White Paper: Technology Integration Leads To 20% More Annual Income For Advisors from Marketwatch.com

[I think it’s generally common sense to equate the use of integrated software tools with increased profitability. But just in case you have your doubts, here’s a white paper compiled from an Aite Group survey that demonstrates this fact. So what is “some degree” of technology integration? The white paper says it’s single sign-on, manual data sharing, automatic data sharing, and cross-product functionality. Want a copy of the white paper? Visit http://tamaracinc.com/White-Paper-Download.aspx and offer your contact information.] Envestnet | Tamarac, part of Envestnet, Inc., a leading provider of integrated web-based portfolio and client management software for independent advisors and wealth managers, has released a white paper showing that financial advisors at independent RIA practices with some degree of technology integration earn approximately 20 percent more in annual income than their counterparts at independent RIA practices with no technology integration.

AssetBook rolls out mobile portfolio management application from InvestmentNews.com

[AssetBook joins other portfolio management software providers including Black Diamond and Orion Advisor Services (see: Eric Clarke, President of Orion Advisor Services, on additional integrations and mobile apps) in offering a native mobile app advisers can use to view portfolios.] AssetBook LLC announced Friday the release of AssetBook Mobile: a native application for devices running both iOS and the Android operating system.

Smarsh, an archivist for the information age from OregonLive.com

[Smarsh routinely appears on FPPad for email and social media compliance. Clearly they’re a popular service provider among their regulated financial service customers, and that popularity has resulted in dramatic growth of what was once a small start up in the Pacific Northwest.] Companies used to wish away their old correspondence. Old letters were a legal liability, the thinking went, and ought to be destroyed. Smarsh has built one of Portland’s fastest-growing tech businesses by taking the opposite approach, contending that in the information age nothing is ever really gone.

Dell owns 60 percent of Smarsh, with an option to buy more from OregonLive.com

[This is a sidebar to the Smarsh article above, but I felt it important enough to break it out separately. Did you know Dell, yes, that Dell, now owns 60 percent of Smarsh? I didn’t either. That news managed to fly under my radar.] Companies that produce the kind of growth that Smarsh has inevitably attract suitors. But don’t look for a buyout at Smarsh: It’s already happened.

Tweet this: Finra spot-checking firms for social media compliance from InvestmentNews.com

[Surprise, surprise, FINRA is checking broker-dealer rep’s use of social media! It’s not breaking news, FINRA is doing what they’re supposed to be doing; their job! Still, if these spot-checks scare you, here’s what you need to have: 1) A compliance manual that includes your social media policy, 2) documentation that reps are periodically trained, and 3) a monitoring and archiving system that contains the history of social media posts. Is there anything I left out?] The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. is doing social-media compliance spot checks on some of its member firms. In a notice posted Monday on Finra’s website, the regulator said it wants broker-dealers to identify the sites used by a firm, as well as all individuals who post or update the firm’s content on social-media sites.