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FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 10

Posted on August 10, 2012 by in Bits & Bytes

A decent pace of technology news has returned, with this week’s Bits & Bytes featuring a variety of worthwhile stories.

First, read Avoid Legacy Portfolio Software Constraints at Morningstar Advisor to learn how you can switch portfolio management software without incurring huge transition times or astronomical fees.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

The Rise of Robo-Advisors from Financial-Planning.com

[You are not clueless when it comes to the term “robo-advisors.” (watch the two-part video, Competing Against “Robo Advisors:” Delivering Advice in a New World from T3 2012) Personal Capital, Wealthfront, LearnVest, and others have been highlighted here before, and Jonathan Leaf provides a new update in this Financial Planning magazine update.] Imagine being replaced by a robot. That day may be more imminent than many planners believe. In the past two years, a number of online financial platforms for investors have been launched. These sites offer computerized investment guidance aimed not only at the smallest customers, but also at those with upward of $250,000 in investable assets.

iRebal Receives Makeover from Financial Advisor magazine

[The last time I saw significant news concerning TD Ameritrade’s iRebal software was back in August 2010 when RIABiz posted their overview of the product. This week, the growing custodian announced several enhancements to the stalwart application. I’m taking a look at the updates later this afternoon.] ThinkTech Inc., a TD Ameritrade affiliate, recently announced a number of major enhancements to iRebal, its highly-regarded intelligent rebalance and trade order management system.

Schwab Expands Practice Management Consulting Program for RIAs from Financial Advisor magazine

[Custodians continue to ramp up their value-add practice management resources as a competitive differentiator. In this update, Schwab Advisor Services announces new content for its nationwide traveling workshop.] Schwab Advisor Services today is expanding its “Insight to Action” practice management consulting program for its registered investment advisors customers that provides support on growing and managing their businesses.

Work aside; BACK UP your personal data including memories from InvestmentNews.com

[Here’s another reminder how important it is to have a good backup routine and policy, not just for your business information, but your personal data, too. Details of Wired magazine contributor Mat Honan’s loss of photos and other personal files as a result of a hack were syndicated across hundreds of websites this week. So take the prompt as a reminder to back up your files; something bad will eventually happen to your hard drive, so don’t be without a plan. Me? I have a Time Capsule for my Mac.] Please back up your personal computers, especially photos and things of sentimental value, whether you use a Windows-based or Mac system.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 3

Posted on August 3, 2012 by in Bits & Bytes

Now that August is here, the flow of financial planning technology news has slowed to a trickle. This week you’ll want to stay on top of security developments at Dropbox, but also check out a potential app to manage your multitude of projects.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

If you missed Wednesday’s story, Dropbox user accounts compromised, new security features to appear, be sure to read it and review what you should do to protect your online accounts, whether or not you use Dropbox.

Salentica Inc. begins pilot phase of testing the Salentica Advisor Desk with Schwab OpenView Gateway from Salentica.com

[Salentica is the overlay provider for Microsoft Dynamics CRM. In this company press release, Salentica announces it is officially in a pilot phase of integrating account data obtained from the Schwab OpenView Gateway™ program.] In May, Salentica entered beta testing where our Client Advisory Panel which included Salentica clients as well as several RIA firms who are using a standard version of Microsoft Dynamics® CRM tested the newly developed functionality and provided us with feedback on the user interface and client experience.

Projectbook is the iPad productivity app for the disorganized from GigaOm

[If you’re searching for a new project management solution, Projectbook may be worth investigating. I often vascillate between managing everything in one CRM or working with multiple, specialized apps to manage tasks, reminders, and workflow. There’s no one right answer, so Projectbook may be a good resource for some of you.] Keeping your personal and professional documents in the cloud so you have access to them everywhere is on it’s way to becoming standard practice: it’s why Google and Apple now have their own cloud storage solution for users. But what if you’re on the fence about committing to the cloud but want an all-in-one mobile app to organize your stuff? Then a small midwestern app company called Theory.io has an iPad app for you.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for July 27

Posted on July 27, 2012 by in Bits & Bytes

Things are mostly unpacked (excluding books; why I continue to move these now that I’m 100% paperless is a mystery), the iMac is placed in front of a large window, and it’s actually cooler here in Atlanta than it is in Dallas.

It’s the middle of summer, as indicated by the slow trickle of useful financial planning technology news and information. Here are this week’s stories of interest:

InvestmentNews is running its adviser app, product and software survey this month. Similar to the annual Financial Planning Technology Survey, your responses will help benchmark where you and your peers fall in the technology spectrum in financial services.

Take the software survey at Investment News (login may be required).

FutureAdvisor, another advice site for the mass market from InvestmentNews

[In this short update, Davis Janowski provides a brief review of FutureAdvisor, the online mass-market advisory platform priced at just a few hundred dollars per year for their top plan. Recall that I interviewed FutureAdvisor co-founder Bo Lu at FinovateSpring 2012 (see FutureAdvisor co-founder Bo Lu at FinovateSpring 2012).] FutureAdvisor officially launched in March and its mission is to help the 99% get the most out of their investment portfolios. Its founders are chartered financial analysts and mathematicians, fairly atypical startup types and rather than Silicon Valley, the firm is based in Microsoft’s home turf up in Seattle.

How Financial Advisors Should Use a Customer Portal from Junxure

[So, yeah, Junxure sells a client portal called ClientView Live, so the highlights of this post focus on ClientView Live’s features. Two big features I want in a client portal solution not covered in this post: real-time synchronization of document folders with a client’s desktop/laptop of choice, and mobile device support.] Whether you’re shopping for a customer portal, or already have a customer portal for your firm, here are a few things to keep in mind.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for July 20

Posted on July 19, 2012 by in Bits & Bytes

I’m moving this week, so Bits and Bytes is on hold. Come back next Friday for a double feature of the best financial planning technology news.

Thank you for visiting!

FPPad Bits and Bytes for July 13

Posted on July 13, 2012 by in Bits & Bytes

I’m buried in moving boxes today (see FPPad is moving to Atlanta!). But still, I took a 10 minute break to give you the one story worthy of sharing in this week’s Bits and Bytes update.

Here is this week’s story of interest:

A Better Client Vault Solution? from Financial Advisor magazine

[In case you need a second opinion on ShareFile (see my column A Document Vault Your Clients Might Actually Use at Morningstar Advisor), Joel Bruckenstein also reviewed the file synchronization and sharing service in this month’s Financial Advisor magazine. I feel ShareFile is a very good fit for firms looking to eliminate cumbersome client web portals and replace them with a more elegant solution including mobile device support.] With all of these competing services, one might think that ShareFile, which was recently bought out by CITRIX, is fighting an uphill battle in its quest to win over advisors to its file-sharing solution

FPPad Bits and Bytes for July 6

Posted on July 6, 2012 by in Bits & Bytes

One thing a week split by a holiday does is drastically reduce the amount of news you need to know. So enjoy a short Bits and Bytes update today and get on with your weekend plans.

First, be sure you get the checklist of 10 things you should ask before signing on with a cloud service provider. Read How to Stay Safe When Using the Cloud from the Journal of Financial Planning.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

Six More Designate Erado as Their Social Media Compliance Provider from Erado.com

[Thankfully advisers have multiple vendors from which to choose for their social media compliance needs. Here, Erado announces six more engagements, though I might need to dig into the claim that they’re the “nation’s leading service.” Time for a face off article!] Erado, the nation’s leading service in SaaS based archiving of electronic communications, formally announces its exclusive agreement to provide social media compliance services to Soundmark Wealth Management LLC, Capitol Securities Management Inc., St. Croix Advisors LLC, Strategic Financial Services, Martin Wolf Securities, and Providence Financial & Insurance Services Inc.

‘Mint For Investments’ Startup SigFig Goes Mobile With New iPhone And Android Apps from TechCrunch.com

[SigFig is another one of the growing “robo adviser” online advice platforms for consumers and investors (see Competing Against “Robo Advisors:” Delivering Advice in a New World from T3 2012). Now they have an attractive mobile app that allows users to view all of their aggregated account information on their mobile device.] SigFig lets users connect all their various investment accounts — including 401k plans, IRAs, etc. — onto a single dashboard.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for June 29

Posted on June 29, 2012 by in Bits & Bytes

While last week was an onslaught of news, this week the flow was reduced to a trickle. Having returned from giving a presentation in San Francisco yesterday, my focus is now on my move to Atlanta in July.

First, be sure to read this month’s Quickview update at Morningstar Advisor, Supercharge Your Conference Calls

Have a great holiday week next week, and now on with this week’s stories of interest:

Schwab Launches Advisor App for the iPhone® from Yahoo! Finance

[Finally, Schwab gets onboard with iOS devices and now has an app for iPhone. But wait: it doesn’t feature trading, it doesn’t have streaming financial news… well, it’s a good version 1.0, but advisers already have more functionality out of the apps from Fidelity (see Fidelity WealthCentral Mobile now available for iPad) and TD Ameritrade Institutional (see Exclusive look at Veo® Mobile app updates for iPad from TD Ameritrade Institutional’s Jon Patullo).] After a successful pilot, Charles Schwab announced today that it will roll out the first version of the new Schwab Advisor Center app for the iPhone. Starting today, independent investment advisors who custody assets with Schwab Advisor Services can download the app to view their clients’ account balances, positions and transactions, allowing them to easily tap into the real-time data they need from Schwab Advisor Center while on the go.

Smarsh Report Reveals Challenges in Oversight of Electronic Communications from Smarsh

[Smarsh knows a lot about compliance and archiving, having a commanding presence in the broker-dealer industry as well as a decent number of independent RIA clients. In this second update to its compliance survey, you can identify the hot topics that concern compliance professionals. Hint: Mobile, social, and website archiving are trouble spots for advisers.]  Smarsh®, the managed service leader in secure, innovative and reliable email archiving and compliance solutions, today released its second annual Electronic Communications Compliance Survey report, revealing the findings of a survey of compliance professionals in the financial services industry.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for June 22

Posted on June 22, 2012 by in Bits & Bytes

Woah, who turned on the firehose of releases this week? Maybe everyone wants to get all their news out to the world before taking off for summer vacations.

So I don’t interfere with your vacation plans, let’s move right into week’s stories of interest:

Schwab Performance Technologies Announces Development of Hosted Version of PortfolioCenter from MarketWire

[My Twitter followers found out Monday morning of Schwab’s latest plans to offer a hosted version of PortfolioCenter to advisers. Getting portfolio management software off of your local server is one of the last hurdles to cross in transitioning your business into one that can operate completely in the cloud.] Schwab Performance Technologies® (SPT), a subsidiary of The Charles Schwab Corporation and a leading provider of technology solutions for independent investment advisors, announced today that the company is building a hosted version of its flagship portfolio management software for independent investment advisors.

Schwab Announces Availability of 28 New Workflows for Independent Investment Advisors from MarketWire

[My vision for workflows is an online exchange advisers can upload and download workflow scripts for specific CRMs. Well, that assumes CRMs can import and export workflow scripts, which most can’t do, not even Salesforce, if I remember correctly. Until then, advisers will have to settle for “pseudo-code,” i.e. a high-level description, of what steps to follow in a workflow, delivered in a PDF or Word document. And that’s exactly what Schwab Intelligent Technologies is delivering.] In order to help advisors gain greater efficiency in their business practices, Charles Schwab announced today that a full library of 28 universal workflows are now available in the Schwab OpenView Workflow Library(TM) (Workflow Library) through Schwab Intelligent Technologies.

Cloud version of Junxure on the way from InvestmentNews

[Junxure Essentials is coming, well, soon, and we don’t yet know how much it will cost. Last year, August 24, 2011 to be exact, I relayed the company’s plans to release a cloud-based version of Junxure in Q4 2012. According to CRM Software’s Greg Friedman, now plans are to launch a beta version in the fall with general availability in 2013. Building this is not easy, and Junxure’s only going to get one chance, in my opinion, to get this right. Oh, and if you made it this far, Junxure posted a sneak peek of Joel Bruckenstein’s review from the Technology Tools for Today newsletter.] Junxure, a CRM application popular among registered investment advisers, is heading to the clouds.

Smarsh Acquires AdvisorSquare from Symantec from MarketWatch

[If you archive websites (see Smarsh releases Web Archiving, an automated solution to archive adviser websites), you might as well support the creation of them in the first place. Here Smarsh announces the acquisition of AdvisorSquare and their website support for “thousands of investment professionals nationwide.” I stopped recommending AdvisorSquare to my clients back in 2009. Will Smarsh’s investment reverse my opinion of their product and service?] Smarsh(R), the managed service leader in secure, innovative and reliable email archiving and compliance solutions, today announced the acquisition of AdvisorSquare from Symantec.

Junxure Launches Blog for Financial Industry from PRNewswire

[Junxure, a top-three CRM in use by advisers, now has a public blog. I contacted Junxure president Greg Friedman and asked that he set up an RSS feed with Feedburner to offer a few more flexible options for visitors to subscribe.] Junxure, an industry-leading CRM practice improvement firm that integrates technology, consulting, and training, has launched its Company blog at www.junxure.com/blog. The new Junxure blog will primarily focus on topics related to the financial industry, from technology trends to industry best practices. In addition, the Junxure blog will report important news and updates about its products and services.

 AssetBook and BlazePortfolio Announce Strategic Partnership to Deliver End-to-End Back Office Solution for Investment Advisors from BlazePortfolio

[Managing portfolios for your clients means more than just downloading and reconciling account positions. You also need a tool that scales your ability to place trades. Here’s a good development between trade order management provider BlazePortfolio and  online portfolio service bureau Assetbook (see AssetBook CEO Rob Major discusses advantages of hiring an outsourced portfolio service bureau.] BlazePortfolio Systems  and AssetBook today announced an integration partnership between software platforms which would provide AssetBook users access to BlazePortfolio’s real-time trade order management system, Atom Align.  The combined offering will provide enhanced flexibility for registered investment advisors who are seeking a best of breed approach to manage their portfolio management systems.

YouTube Integration Reflects Growing Use of Video as Social Tool for Business from Arkovi.com

[You no doubt have noticed the addition of video content here at FPPad. You’re likely considering making videos of your own (if not already) to feature your business. But any video you post is marketing material, and is therefore subject to the same capture and archive requirements in FINRA and SEC regulations. So how do you archive videos you post to popular hosting sites like YouTube? One option is Arkovi’s extended solution.]  Arkovi announced today at the Morningstar Investment Conference a new integration with YouTube, continuing a series of major releases on its social media archiving, compliance and monitoring platform. The YouTube integration includes a number of key features including publishing, compliance and supervision, reporting and search features.

Black Diamond’s Clientele Swells After Advent Merger from WealthManagement.com

[A little more than a year after being acquired by Advent for $73 million, Black Diamond continues its healthy growth. What I’d like to know from you is what has (or has not) changed with respect to the customer service you receive.] Not every advisor was pleased in May 2011 when Advent Software announced it was buying its smaller, younger rival, Black Diamond Performance Reporting.

See, I told you there were a ton of new updates this week!

Kitces: Eleven blogs for all financial advisers to follow from InvestmentNews

[It’s a privilege to have FPPad included among excellent blogs you should follow. I hope you continue to enjoy the Video Spotlight and Bits & Bytes content produced for you.] While there are many lists of blogs out there, financial planning’s own social media “power tweeter” Michael Kitces, partner and director of research for Pinnacle Advisory Group and publisher of The Kitces Report and his own blog, Nerd’s Eye View, maintains a list of blogs specifically relevant for financial advisors.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for June 8

Posted on June 8, 2012 by in Bits & Bytes

So, have you reset your LinkedIn password yet?

With Boston on my schedule Monday through Wednesday (and some new video filmed that is coming soon), followed by Atlanta on Thursday and Friday, you can understand how frequent posts just aren’t high on my priority list. Nevertheless, I’m devoted to giving you the BEST (not simply all) technology stories from around the web this week.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

Cabinet NG Launches CNG-SHARE, Secure File Sharing Portal from Yahoo! Finance

[See, enterprise and business document management providers won’t stand still while consumer services like Dropbox race ahead. Here, Cabinet NG is extending its functionality by offering a portal to share documents in the CNG repository with individuals outside of the firm (e.g. your clients). The portal can be white labeled for your firm, too. Though not as slick as Dropbox’s desktop sync, it’s a step in the right direction.]  Cabinet NG (CNG), provider of electronic document management and workflow management software, today announced the availability of the industry’s first fully integrated document management, cloud-based file sharing, and workflow solution.

Can Future Advisor be the self-driving car for financial advice? from O’Reilly Radar

[Give FutureAdvisor credit: I filmed Bo Lu last month at FinovateSpring 2012, and in the last week, they received this feature in O’Reilly and one in the Wall St. Journal. Advisers, you need to pay attention to what these new web apps are doing for clients that you’re turning away because of low assets.]  Future Advisor launched in 2010 with the goal of providing better financial advice through the Internet using data and algorithms. They’re competing against startups like Wealthfront and Betterment, among others.

Schwab shifts its strategy on its massive Intelligent Integration from RIABiz.com

[I was on Schwab’s press call 30 minutes after delivering a presentation in Boston. Credit to Brooke for turning this article around quickly, which captured much of the essence of the call, while I was in holding patterns over a stormy DFW airport.] Schwab Advisor Services has shifted strategies on its giant Intelligent Integration initiative, and rather than picking the best of breed in technology categories, the firm is looking to select the industry’s top platforms.

Black Diamond is setting its sights on smaller advisors and other things I learned over breakfast with Reed Colley from RIABiz.com

[Another great segment from Brooke on Black Diamond’s first year under the umbrella of Advent (see Advent Purchases Black Diamond Performance Reporting for Approximately $73 Million). But what isn’t discussed is what Black Diamond is doing to address the challenges of scaling up the adviser on-board process, training, and customer support of critical portfolio management software. Anyone want to chime in?] Since being acquired at this time last year by Advent Software, Black Diamond has increased its assets administered by 75% to $110 billion and it now serves 350 advisory firms.

Managing Customer Contact from Financial-Planning.com

[The category of CRM software for advisers is crowded, yes, but there really are just a few market dominators followed by a long tail of solutions with 1%-2% adoption. Joel Bruckenstein highlights new player Wealth Advisor CRM. My take? Registered reps might find it useful, independent RIAs likely will find it limited. At $65/month for a 15-user database, Redtail is a very attractive alternative.] Advisors already have no shortage of customer relationship management products to choose from, so does the marketplace really need another one? The folks at Wealth Advisor CRM think so, and perhaps they are right. Their offering may be just different enough and inexpensive enough to attract a sizable following.