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FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 26

Posted on August 26, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

Again, I found myself fully engaged in content creation and research this week. I completed my Morningstar Advisor column for September and added new content to my Transformative Technology slide deck for a presentation in September. Next week I’ll be attending the Gemini + Orion Advisor Forum in Denver, CO, immediately followed by a week of vacation to escape this brutal heat in Dallas.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

There are multiple stories on Schwab Advisor Service’s Intelligent Integration initiative to kick off this week.

My take: Schwab’s Intelligent Integration is finally producing results. But will Schwab’s approach on limiting its integrations prove to be a prudent move or a platform-limiting one? Think about Apple’s success with app developers: Would the iPhone and iPad be so successful today if Apple were the only developer of applications for the devices?

ByAllAccounts and Redtail Technology Offer Centralized Access to Clients’ Comprehensive Account Data from GlobeNewswire.com

ByAllAccounts, Inc., the financial advisor’s choice for account aggregation, and Redtail Technology, a leading provider of Client Relationship Management software, today announced a partnership that provides financial advisors easy access to a more comprehensive client snapshot.

Special Report: The technology products advisers use most from InvestmentNews.com

My take: There are a few articles here about adviser use of technology plus two updates of survey results listing the most popular technologies overall and by category. I’ll likely compare the InvestmentNews survey results with those of the 2010 Financial Planning Magazine Technology Survey.

A Look Inside LPL Financial’s Social Media Strategy from Financial-Planning.com

[If you’re the nation’s largest independent broker-dealer by assets, just how do you implement social media across thousands of reps?] At focus11, LPL Financial’s national conference held earlier this month, it was clear that social media was clearly more than just a casual “focus” for the 5,000-plus attendees.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 19

Posted on August 19, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

While August may mean a typical slowdown in client activity for advisors, I’ve had one of my busiest week’s yet. I’m working on my second contribution for the Journal of Financial Planning (to be published in November), conducting research for September’s Morningstar Advisor column, creating content for Blueleaf, and creating two new slide decks for presentations coming up in September and October.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

Financial Advisors Putting Client Data in “The Clouds” from RegisteredRep.com

[Jude is a good friend and I’m pleased to see this interview about how he runs his new practice almost entirely in the cloud.] When Jude Boudreaux launched his solo practice, Upperline Financial Planning in September, he headed for the clouds. There’s no server, no software upgrades, no technology manager — just him, his MacBook Air and a home office.

Cabinet NG Introduces Industry First Features With CNG-WEB 8 from Marketwire.com

[The battle in document management for financial advisers continues. Cabinet NG steps it up with increased support for web and mobile access to documents stored in its hefty repositories.] Cabinet NG, provider of document management and workflow management software, today announced a new version of CNG-WEB, its browser-based document management interface. This release marks the latest step in the company’s strategy to make documents available to authorized users securely at any time, from anywhere.

Socialware raises $7 million from Statesman.com

[Social media compliance services are getting serious. Many companies are now entering a period of strong growth, including Socialware, which has nearly tripled its staff in less than a year.] Software developer will use funding for research and development, adding staff.

Schwab Intelligent Integration Begins Pilot Phase from Financial Advisor magazine

[Schwab IMPACT is about 2 months away. Will SII’s platform be ready for primetime with all advisers by then?] Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. has completed beta testing of its custom Salesforce integration, and is entering the pilot testing phase.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 12

Posted on August 12, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

Enjoyed the wild ride this week? The market must be captivating everyone’s attention, as there’s been a distinct lull this week of tech-related news worth sharing. And I’m in New Orleans to round out this week strategizing on where FPPad is headed over the next few years. So stay tuned.

Now on to this week’s stories of interest:

Did you send a blast e-mail (or several?) to clients this week? Then you should read my column this month at Morningstar Advisor, Tools to Manage Your E-Mail Newsletter.

Automate & Integrate Arkovi Reports with Evernote, Box.net & more from Arkovi.com

[Arkovi continues to expands its capabilities, a very good sign that they’re proactive in support of new social media platforms.] We are pleased to announce today that Arkovi customers can easily automate the distribution, via email, of their Arkovi archives to any email destination. Most compelling, this includes integration with Evernote, Box.net and Zoho Docs along with any cloud storage platform or digital storage destination that provides an email address for adding files.

Bulletproof Your Practice Using Mobile Dictation from Mobile Assistant

[Corey Westphal, President of Mobile Assistant and a good friend, talks about two important features advisers should seek in their dictation solution.] Increased client documentation combined with time savings is hard for most advisors to imagine, but mobile dictation accomplishes both.

Legal analysis: The chances that Wealthcare beats UBS or upends the financial planning community at RIABiz.com

[You use financial planning software. Say MoneyGuidePro. Well then you need to read Ron Rhoades’ contribution regarding Wealthcare vs. UBS at RIABiz] Wealthcare Capital Management (i.e. Financeware, Inc.) alleges that UBS, by providing “financial advice and reports” to clients “utilizing computerized financial advising software and systems, including, for example, MoneyGuidePro” has infringed two patents.

 

FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 5

Posted on August 5, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

I spent much of the week attending a retreat to help plan the future of the financial planning profession. Add to that my commitments for Morningstar, Blueleaf, and the Journal of Financial Planning and I had a nose-to-the-grindstone schedule.

But still, you can count on my Friday updates to deliver the best tech related articles from around the financial planning industry. Here they are:

Ebix may hit a CRM sweet spot for some RIAs from RIABiz.com

[I used SmartOffice CRM from E-ZData back in 2006-2007, now part of the Ebix family. It has the potential to grow in the financial adviser space, but the CRM has a lot of work ahead of it.] For advisors looking for a happy medium, say a company with some heft whose people – and maybe even the inner workings of its computers – know the difference between an advisor and a carpet wholesaler, Ebix might be worth a look.

VirtualPlanning from Financial-Planning.com

[Think you need to meet clients in your office all the time? Think again. Here are some spotlights of advisers using remote tools like Skype and RingCentral to meet with clients on their terms.] In an era when clients can easily reach their accounts online, many planners are cutting overhead and staff and working remotely.

The Mobile Advisor from Financial Advisor

[Another article on advisers working remotely, only this time the focus is on eliminating operating overhead and infrastructure, rather than identifying specific technology to facilitate remote working.] In the wake of economic pressures on financial advisory practices, some have chosen to dramatically downsize their firms, opting to fire staff, work without an office or even give up certain types of clients.

CRM: An Untapped Engine for Growth from AdvisorOne.com

[Schwab Advisor Services VP Neesha Hathi explores survey results on advisers using (and not using) CRM effectively.] By taking advantage of these key untapped growth drivers in CRM, advisors can boost their success in three areas.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for July 29

Posted on July 29, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

It’s been another busy week this week with phone calls squeezed in on Monday and Tuesday, a presentation to the FPA of San Antonio and South Texas on Wednesday, an all-day client visit on Thursday, followed by a day off with my son on Friday.

In the meantime, I’ve gathered the best stories on adviser technology from around the web:

Getting a handle on adviser technology from InvestmentNews.com

A link to InvestmentNews’ adviser technology survey is in this column, the results of which will be featured in the Aug. 22 issue of InvestmentNews.

Review: EISI is producing a simpler NaviPlan in an effort to keep its towering market share from RIABiz.com

According to a 2010 Aite Group report, EISI’s 250,000 users account for 25% of the financial advisors that are candidates for using financial planning software. This is more than the next three competitors combined.

NPH Contracts with Erado to Monitor Advisor Social Media Use from Financial-Planning.com

National Planning Holdings, Inc., one of the nation’s larger independent broker-dealer networks, announced this week it has contracted with business technology firm Erado to supply its more than 3,500 affiliated representatives with compliance services for social media applications.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for July 22

Posted on July 22, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

I’ve had a wonderful week here in Portland, OR speaking to the FPA chapter, spending the day yesterday in Seattle, and basking in 70 degree summer days. I’ll be back in Dallas Monday and Tuesday next week, then speaking to the FPA of San Antonio & South Texas on Wednesday and all-day client work Thursday and Friday. Whew!

I also just confirmed a new speaking engagement at the Cabinet NG Collaborate 2011 conference to be held in October in Huntsville, AL. See my speaking page for more information.

So with that, here are this week’s stories of interest:

Update on Black Diamond-Advent merger from RIABiz.com

Brooke Southall covers the four things advisers should know about how the knitting together of the two companies is progressing.

MSSB data breach is a lesson for advisers from InvestmentNews.com

Still putting client data on CD-ROMs and USB drives? Davis Janowski highlights several resources and best practices advisers should consider to keep their clients’ personal information safe and secure.

RIAs fed up with Facebook should hop on the Google+ bandwagon from RIABiz.com

So you’ve heard of this new network from Google called Google+. Nevin Freeman and Brooke Southall share their experience on the network and forecast how advisers might adopt it within their practice.

 

 

FPPad Bits and Bytes for July 15

Posted on July 15, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

I’m flying with the family to Portland, Oregon tomorrow for business and pleasure. I’ll be speaking to the FPA of Oregon & SW Washington on Wednesday and visiting with a technology provider on Thursday. Outside of those commitments we’ll be touring the natural wonders of Oregon and relishing in the temperate summer weather (in contrast to 14 days of 100+ degree temperatures we’ve experienced here in Dallas!).

[Photo used under Creative Commons from camknows]

Now on to this week’s stories of interest:

Interactive Advisory Software joins the horse race with VC funding, a new look, and new CEO from RIABiz.com

[You’ve probably never heard of IAS unless you’re a user. They ranked far below competing platforms in the 2010 Financial Planning Technology Survey, so will their refresh and new marketing initiatives result in larger adoption by RIAs?] Based out of Atlanta, Ga., Interactive Advisory Software is stepping out of its “hidden gem” history with new investment, a new CEO, and a brand new look.

Fidelity adds trading to WealthCentral Mobile from InvestmentNews.com

[I suspect advisers are not too inclined to submit trades in client accounts from mobile devices. But from a marketing perspective, saying your app supports mobile trading is a nice checkbox in the functionality matrix] Financial advisers on the WealthCentral platform can now add trading to the list of things they can do from their iPhones and later model Android smart phones.

Social Media Archiving Meets the Back Office – a Cloud Computing Solution for Registered Investment Advisors from Arkovi.com

[Anyone heard of WinWeb? It’s new to me, and I have no clue how well they serve the adviser marketplace.] Arkovi and WinWeb Announce Integrated Partnership Bringing CRM, Social Media Archiving and Operations into One Solution for Registered Investments Advisors.

Orion Welcomes Advance Capital from PRNewswire.com

[Orion, the popular web-based portfolio accounting and service bureau, keeps gaining users and assets reconciled through their platform] Orion Advisor Services, LLC, a comprehensive portfolio accounting service bureau, is pleased to welcome new client Advance Capital Management, Inc., a Broker-Dealer and Registered Investment Advisor with almost $2 billion in assets under management including its own proprietary funds. Advance Capital Management joins a rapidly expanding roster of premier investment firms to utilize Orion’s innovative back-office solutions.

Read this month’s column for Morningstar Advisor, Save Time, Reduce Errors with Text Expanders. You might benefit tremendously from using tools like TextExpander and PhraseExpress.

And if you’re convinced your clients aren’t texting, you need to read my post this week for Blueleaf, Your Clients Are Leaving You In The Dust.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for July 8

Posted on July 8, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

I took advantage of the typical summer slowdown and spent most of the week on vacation. I’m back at FPPad headquarters for the next week and then off to Portland, OR to speak to the FPA of Oregon & SW Washington chapter on July 20. Drop on by if you can!

Now, on to this week’s stories of interest.

Fiserv purchase of CashEdge could affect account aggregation space from RIABiz.com

[CashEdge is one of those names that pops up every so often when discussing account aggregation. However, it’s an incomplete solution for advisers seeking reconciliation-ready data for held-away accounts. So I don’t see Fiserv’s acquisition of CashEdge for $465 million dramatically altering the account aggregation space] $465 million deal is mostly a payment processing technology-grab, according to ByAllAccounts.

Envestnet unbundles portfolio management software for RIAs and it won’t be a sideshow from RIABiz.com

[Envestnet is competing in the portfolio management software market with its Vantage product. Will it be powerful enough to compete with market dominators Advent and Schwab?] Envestnet has long been the undisputed leading platform for separate account managers, used by tens of thousands of advisors. The portfolio management software capability it provided, on the other hand, was always viewed as an add-on service.

The Relationship Manager from AdvisorOne.com

[Actifi’s Spenser Segal identifies the Achilles heel of poor CRM software implementation: people] Even though CRM systems have matured, with many systems built specifically for financial advisors, most firms are only scratching the surface when it comes to taking advantage of key features that are designed to help advisors grow their practices.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for July 1

Posted on July 1, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

Originally I was going to forego this week’s Bits and Bytes, but a few articles popped up in the latter half of the week that are worth sharing.

I’m still on vacation through next week, so let’s move on to week’s stories of interest:

How one RIA is running his practice on a Mac and finding it totally doable from RIABiz.com

RIABiz’s Nevin Freeman highlights how one adviser, Sunit Bhalla of Ft. Collins, Colo.-based OakTree Financial Planning, has successfully centered his practice’s technology entirely around the Mac platform.

 

FPPad Bits and Bytes for June 24

Posted on June 24, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

I’ve been in 100% focus mode this week, working on new products and services for FPPad’s consulting business. eBooks are a part of that development, too, so if there’s a hot topic in which you’re interested (e.g. iPad for advisers, social media compliance, etc.), please let me know.

Here are this week’s stories of interest.

Advisers: How do you know when it’s time for an upgrade from InvesetmentNews.com

Financial advisers, whether solo practitioners or members of a multiperson firm, need to think regularly about whether their technology is keeping pace with their business needs. Experienced advisers and technology experts have plenty of advice and experiences to share.

Portfolio management, reporting spawning new players, products from InvestmentNews.com

[Davis Janowski had a busy week this week!] Advisers seeking portfolio management software have choices beyond venerable offerings such as Advent Axys and Schwab PortfolioCenter. Take, for example, the demonstrations of two portfolio management and reporting systems that I received last week: PowerAdvisor and Atom Align Cloud Service.

Review: How Redtail got hot fast among RIAs and how it plans to leapfrog itself from RIABiz.com

[I reviewed Redtail’s upcoming Project Leapfrog release in May’s Morningstar Advisor column, A Popular CRM Gets an Upgrade] Fondly named after CEO Brian McLaughlin’s red-tailed golden retriever (not the hawk or the beer), Redtail is a Sacramento-based company living the American dream.

LPL Financial Provides Advisor Access to Social Media from FA-Mag.com

[If you read this month’s Morningstar Advisor column, How to Make Social Media Compliance Automatic, then you already knew Erado was on LPL’s preferred vendor list. Now the deal is official.] LPL Financial becomes the latest independent broker-dealer to allow its advisors to use social media, signing a multiyear deal with Erado Message Control Solutions that will provide monitoring that meets Financial Industry Regulatory Authority requirements for review of online marketing, officials said Wednesday.