Archive | Bits & Bytes RSS feed for this section

FPPad Bits and Bytes for March 14

Posted on March 14, 2014 by in Bits & Bytes

On today’s broadcast, Google Drive adds new features with third party add ons. Find out which ones will help you be more efficient. A new startup emerges to help advisors compete against “robo advisors.” How their partnership with a leading network of planners could change the mass-market advice model forever. And, find out about the biggest mistakes you should avoid before you upload your first video to YouTube.

So get ready, FPPad Bits and Bytes begins now.

(Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes on YouTube)

Today’s episode is brought to you by Wealthbox CRM. Wealthbox is collaborative, social, and outrageously simple CRM for financial advisors.

Wealthbox CRM

Sign up for a free trial today by visiting fppad.com/wealthbox

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

Google launches Docs plug-ins to better compete with Office from PCWorld, and

The Best Add-Ons for Google Drive from Lifehacker

[Three weeks ago, I covered news from Microsoft as they changed the name of SkyDrive, their cloud-based file storage solution, to OneDrive, and added several useful features to the service. Not to be left out, Google announced this week that it is extending the functionality of Google Drive with third-party plugins.

The new feature, called “add-ons,” allows users to enhance the Docs and Sheets office apps similar to what you can to today with Extensions in Google Chrome or packaged apps for ChromeOS. So what are the best new add-ons you can start using today?

The first is HelloFax, which allows you to send a file from Google Docs to any fax number by simply clicking on the HelloFax add-on and typing in the destination phone number. Now you can finally get rid of your fax machine and return it to 1985. Next is an add-on called Mapping Sheets, which lets you create custom Google Maps using data in a Google Sheet file. So for example, if you wanted to quickly map the addresses of all your clients, you could create a Google Sheet with the data and use the Mapping Sheets add-on to easily make the map.

And last is an add-on called Track Changes, which is one of the features where Google Docs underperformed its Microsoft Office counterpart. The new Track Changes add-on now essentially replicates the track changes feature found in Microsoft Word, closing the gap between the two programs, at least for the time being.] Yesterday, Google introduced add-ons for Google Docs and Sheets. These add-ons allow you to add all kinds of functionality to your documents, including signing faxes, creating bibliographies, and more.

Garrett Planning Network To Make Guide Financial Available to Its Network Of 300+ Advisory Firms from PRNewswire

[Next is news from a company new to the advisor technology marketplace called Guide Financial. Guide works in a similar fashion to Mint.com, as it aggregates data from banking, credit card, and investment accounts, but Mint.com doesn’t have an advisor dashboard, which is where Guide steps in.

Recognizing the potential of Guide’s dashboard, the Garrett Planning Network announced this week that it will begin to private-label the Guide online portal to the Network’s 300 plus advisory members.

This is a clever agreement between the two companies, as the online portal form Guide will help Garrett members boost their client-facing technology, squarely taking on the competition from robo advisor services that are proving to be very attractive to Gen X and Gen Y clients.

Pricing details of the private-labaled portal weren’t disclosed in the press release, but you can sign up for your own 15-day free trial to test Guide Financial on your own and watch their presentation from Finovate Fall 2013 by visiting the links to this week’s top stories.] Guide Financial (www.guidefinancial.com), a web-based service provider targeted to financial professionals at advisory firms, banks and insurers, announced today that it has reached an agreement to make its service available to the over 300 advisory companies in the Garrett Planning Network.

Guide Financial Finovate Fall 2013 Video

 

YouTube secrets for financial advisers from FPPad

[And finally, you’re probably watching today’s broadcast on YouTube, and you might be considering uploading your own video content to get discovered on the world’s second largest search engine. But before you get started, do you know what the top mistakes advisors are making on YouTube?

Earlier this week, I joined Joe and Luke Simonds in a lively Google+ Hangout to talk about the opportunities of YouTube content, but we also highlighted the biggest mistakes some advisors are making when they post content online. These mistakes include not getting compliance to review a script prior to filming, not making your own thumbnail images, and not using video annotations and hyperlinks to their fullest potential.] Effective video thumbnails, annotations, and hyperlinks are the biggest missed opportunities on YouTube for financial advisers

And stories that didn’t make this week’s broadcast:

Save more with Google Drive from Google

We’ve lowered the price of our monthly storage plans to $1.99 for 100GB (previously $4.99), $9.99 for 1TB (previously $49.99), and $99.99 for 10TB, with even more storage available if you need it.

4 New Advisor Tech Trends from Financial Planning

For advisors, technological change can seem both lightning fast and very slow.

 

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for March 14, 2014

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for March 14, 2014

FPPad Bits and Bytes for March 7

Posted on March 7, 2014 by in Bits & Bytes

On today’s broadcast, hackers launch a massive denial of service attack, so what should you do if one of your providers gets attacked? Apple is releasing yet another update to iOS, find out how this will help you support the bring-your-own-device trend in the workplace, and passwords are growing like weeds. Find out what programs you should use to better manage passwords while also protecting your account security.

So get ready, FPPad Bits and Bytes begins now.

(Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes on YouTube)

Today’s episode is brought to you by The Mercato, an online marketplace of do-it-yourself practice management tools, templates and training for independent advisors.

The Mercato

Discover the tools that can help take your business to the next level and receive a free practice management resource by visiting fppad.com/mercato.

Get your free resource by adding the guide to your shopping cart, and right before you enter your payment information, use the discount code: FPPad

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

Hit with a DDoS from Aweber

[This week’s top story serves as a warning for anyone who uses cloud-based software services, which pretty much means all of us. Last week, dozens of popular web-based services were the victim of a distributed denial of service attack, or DDoS, including popular email newsletter services like MailChimp, GetResponse, and Aweber, the service I use to send out my weekly Bits and Bytes updates via email.

The DDoS attacks essentially flood websites with malicious traffic, making it impossible for legitimate traffic to make it through, bringing entire websites down. The good news is that no passwords or user data are ever compromised, but the bad news is that the website is totally offline, and in this recent attack, many websites were down for several days. So what lesson did I learn from the DDoS attack on Aweber?

The primary way I communicate with you, the FPPad audience, is through my email newsletter. But without access to Aweber, I had no way to send out updates to anyone. So the lesson for me is to get in the habit of making an offline backup of my newsletter subscribers, so that when Aweber is down, I can still send out an emergency message if I need to.

It takes less than a minute to export my database to a spreadsheet, and I probably only need to backup my data once a week. So if you’re dependent on access to your online services to communicate with clients, be sure you make a periodic backup of client contact information so you can still contact them in the event your website provider goes down.] Starting on Monday, February 24 at about 1PM, AWeber began experiencing large, sustained, and repeated DDoS attacks that completely disabled all aspects of our service for extended periods of time.

iPhone in Business from Apple

[Next up is news of a pending release of Apple’s latest version of their mobile operating system, iOS 7.1, which will feature expanded mobile device management, or MDM, capabilities. This is a big deal for any advisor who wants to use an iPhone or iPad to access a mix of personal and business information on one device, a trend known as bring-your-own-device.

iOS 7.1 will allow IT administrators to deploy MDM profiles wirelessly to devices, which is a big advantage over the existing process of requiring physical access to the device so administrators could plug it in. Users will be able to accept the MDM profiles on their devices and can view what access and controls the IT administrator has over the device. IT can also install apps, settings, and device policies wirelessly over the air without ever needing physical access to the device.

These new MDM controls will be supported by third party solutions, so if you’re seeking a way to support BYOD in your business, look to companies like airwatch, MobileIron, and Zenprise for a solution that meets your needs as well as your budget.] Progressive IT organizations worldwide are prioritizing productivity and innovation by empowering employees with iPhone and iPad.

Easing the burden of password management from InvestmentNews

[And finally, you are no stranger to the growing number of passwords you need to manage in order to log in to your online accounts. With a new password seemingly created each week, how do you possibly manage them all without jeopardizing your account security? In a recent article on InvestmentNews, Joyce Hanson highlighted several password managers advisors are using to organize and secure of all the passwords they need to log in to web-based services.

Top contenders cited by advisors include LastPass, 1Password, or DirectPass, which are all available for less than $50 per year per user, which is inexpensive insurance compared to the cost of a security breach should just one of your passwords become compromised.] Cloud software helps advisers keep track of the minutiae

Plus one story that didn’t make this week’s broadcast:

The world’s largest photo service just made its pictures free to use from The Verge

Getty Images is betting its business on embeddable photos

 

FPPad Bits and Bytes for March 7, 2014

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for March 7, 2014

 

FPPad Bits and Bytes for February 28

Posted on February 28, 2014 by in Bits & Bytes

On today’s broadcast, iPhone and iPad users on high alert; what you need to do right now to fix a huge security flaw, how Schwab Advisor Services plans to give thousands of advisors a presence in the popular app stores, and what’s the next hot technology you might see coming from the industry’s largest independent broker-dealer?

So get ready, FPPad Bits and Bytes begins now.

(Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes on YouTube)

Today’s episode is brought to you by Redtail Technology, providers of cloud-based CRM for financial professionals since 2003.

Redtail Technology

Check out their popular CRM, document imaging, and complaint email solutions and sign up for a 30-day free trial by visiting fppad.com/redtail.

Behind iPhone’s Critical Security Bug, a Single Bad ‘Goto’ from Wired, and

Apple Patches Critical OS X ‘Gotofail’ Security Hole from PC Magazine

[This week’s top story is for all of you who use iPhones and iPads in your business. In case you haven’t heard, Apple quietly rolled out a new update to iOS this week to patch a critical flaw in the way secure Internet connections are handled.

It’s been dubbed the “gotofail” flaw, as the operating system’s source code had an inadvertent goto command, essentially bypassing the final steps in the security authentication process.

So what you need to do right now is to turn on your device, open the Settings app, tap General, and then tap Software Update to start the download process. The same bug also affects Mac users, so be sure to perform a Software Update on your Mac to patch this security hole.] Like everything else on the iPhone, the critical crypto flaw announced in iOS 7 yesterday turns out to be a study in simplicity and elegant design: a single spurious “goto” in one part of Apple’s authentication code that accidentally bypasses the rest of it.

Schwab OpenView Mobile launches, allows RIAs to create branded mobile apps for iOS and Android from FPPad

[Next up is another story about mobile devices, only this one comes from Schwab Advisor Services. In a press release this week, Schwab announced that it officially rolled out Schwab OpenView Mobile, a service that allows advisors to publish native mobile apps branded for their business. Schwab OpenView Mobile lets advisors perform limited customization of things like logos, contact details, and color schemes and publish the app in the iTunes App Store as well as Google Play.

But Schwab isn’t the first to offer custom branded apps for advisors, as both Orion Advisor Services and Trust Company of America have both been offering this service to their clients for several years at no additional charge. The Faulkner Media Group also publishes branded mobile apps for advisors at a reasonable price.

But for a cost of of $5,000 up front plus $2,000 in annual maintenance, Schwab OpenView Mobile might prove to be a bit too expensive relative to the other third party app solutions currently on the market. I’ll come back in a few months to report on the overall adoption of OpenView Mobile by Schwab’s advisors, so stay tuned.] Schwab OpenView Mobile officially launches, allowing RIAs to publish branded mobile apps to the iTunes App Store and Google Play

LPL Financial to deploy Microsoft Lync for enterprise messaging from Twitter

[And finally, wrapping up this week’s broadcast is a little inside information on how LPL Financial hopes to make its advisors a bit more efficient when collaborating with the home office. According to my sources, aka a tweet from Jamie Cox, LPL will soon be deploying an instant messaging and video chat service from Microsoft called Lync.

Now I know several RIAs have been experimenting with collaboration platforms like Yammer, Google Chat, and Salesforce Chatter, but this is the first I’ve heard of an independent broker’s plans to roll out an enterprise-wide messaging app. Retail pricing for Lync is $2 per user per month, but I don’t have details on what the final cost will be to LPL representatives, if any.
While the apps might seem a little funky at first, it’s clear that realtime messaging and collaboration is really gaining momentum in the enterprise, so if you aren’t at least experimenting with some of these apps, you might want to put them on your technology roadmap for this year.]

 

 

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for February 28, 2014

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for February 28, 2014

FPPad Bits and Bytes for February 21

Posted on February 21, 2014 by in Bits & Bytes

On today’s broadcast, why did Microsoft rebrand several of its services, and how might it change the tools that you use, how one large RIA’s technology change created a time savings of over 40%, and a new collaboration hopes to eliminate concerns over support for one Salesforce overlay provider.

So get ready, FPPad Bits and Bytes begins now!

(Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes 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

Fresh off its acquisition of PowerAdvisor, TRX offers advisors tax-efficient rebalancing, an easy to use interface, and more, all at an affordable price. Learn how you can gain a half a million dollar return on your technology investment by downloading their latest white paper at fppad.com/trx

Here are this week’s top stories:

Microsoft launches Office Online in battle with Google Drive from TheVerge.com,

Microsoft SkyDrive Morphs Into OneDrive, Bringing New Features from Mashable, and

Microsoft and DocuSign announce strategic partnership to bring eSignature to Office 365 customers from Microsoft

[Now occasionally I get feedback that I don’t pay enough attention to Microsoft, so Mike, this week’s lead story is just for you! The world’s largest software company just announced the rebranding of several of its product lines, beginning with its free web-based versions of Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, formerly known as Office Web Apps.

The company acknowledged that using the word ‘apps’ led to some confusion among its customers, as many assumed that native Office apps for iOS and Android were available, so now Microsoft is referring to the web-based tools as Office Online. While this move hopefully will clear up confusion over the different versions of Office available, no new features were released to coincide with the rebranding. Office Online will continue to store files in the cloud, which leads me to the second story about Microsoft.

Microsoft’s answer to online storage services like Dropbox, Box, and Google Drive has been SkyDrive, but this week the company rebranded SkyDrive to OneDrive, due to a legal dispute over the use of the word ‘Sky.’ Unlike the Office Online name change, OneDrive’s launch DID come with a series of new features.

OneDrive users can now automatically upload photos from their Android devices, which previously was only supported on iOS and Windows Phone. Online collaboration has also improved, as real-time editing in Office 365 documents is now done character by character. And subscriptions to OneDrive are now available on a monthly basis in addition to the annual subscription previously required under SkyDrive.

And rounding out the Microsoft trifecta this week, the company announced that eSignature support will be coming to Office 365 users through a new partnership with DocuSign. Expected to roll out in March, Office 365 users will be able to submit and sign documents using DocuSign without leaving their Microsoft applications. So if you use Microsoft documents for your internal client agreements and disclosure materials, the DocuSign integration should help you further streamline the e-signature process as you complete the on boarding of new clients.]

How a $5 billion RIA’s Laserfiche conversion generated time savings of 40% from FPPad

[Next up is a fascinating case study from a large RIA about its search for a robust electronic document management solution. At last week’s T3 conference, Jim Anderson of CLS Investments highlighted the firm’s approach to converting from IBM FileNet, its legacy content management system, over to a new implementation with Laserfiche. The RIA, which manages more than $5 billion in assets, migrated over 1.5 million documents into Laserfiche, and Anderson estimated that in the first year alone, the firm has realized a time savings of roughly 40%.

There’s a lot more to the story, including a time Anderson said everyone acted as if their hair was on fire, so be sure to get the link to read all the details.] One $5 billion RIA converted 1.5 million documents to Laserfiche in less than a year, saving the company 40% of its collective time

AppCrown Collaborates With a Global Services Major to Help Market, Deliver and Support Their Integrated Financial Services Platform in Banking and Wealth Management from PRWeb

[And finally, many of you who use Salesforce for your CRM might be familiar with AppCrown, the financial services technology provider built on the Salesforce.com platform. In prior years, AppCrown received criticism for failing to provide adequate support to its users who were implementing Salesforce in their business.

So to beef up its support, AppCrown just announced a new collaboration with Mphasis, a global service and solution provider owned by HP. It remains to be seen how the collaboration with Mphasis will improve AppCrown’s support of its financial advisor users, but if concerns about support have stalled your implementation plans, it might be time to reconsider whether AppCrown’s version of Salesforce could be a potential solution for you.] AppCrown, the leading provider for cloud based financial systems across CRM, Banking & Wealth Management, today announced its intent to partner with Mphasis.

 

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for February 21, 2014

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for February 21, 2014

FPPad Bits and Bytes for February 14

Posted on February 14, 2014 by in Bits & Bytes

On today’s broadcast, find out who earned the most buzz at the industry’s top technology conference this week. Which custodian just joined the integration arms race? Which partnership will put downward pricing pressure on account aggregation costs? And who launched a new social CRM with an all-out media blitz?

So get ready, FPPad Bits and Bytes begins now!

(Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes on YouTube)

Today’s episode is brought to you by Wealthbox CRM. Wealthbox is collaborative, social, and outrageously simple CRM for financial advisors.

Wealthbox CRM

Sign up for a free trial today by visiting fppad.com/wealthbox

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

T3 2014: Joel Bruckenstein and David Drucker kick off the 9th annual adviser tech conference from FPPad

[Unless you’ve been buried in snow or covered in ice, you probably know that T3, the industry’s top technology conference for advisors, was held in southern California this week. There are too many new companies and press releases to cover in just one broadcast, so here are the stories I feel are most relevant for you.] T3 2014 is the place to be and be seen for all things financial adviser technology

T3 2014: SEI enters the integration arms race through strategic partnerships with Redtail Technology, MoneyGuidePro, and ActiFi from FPPad

[First is an update from SEI, the investment outsourcing provider, who just announced a new strategic partnership to bring integrations to its SEI Wealth Platform(SM). By the end of 2014, SEI will integrate an automated workflow solution using Redtail CRM and MoneyGuidePro financial planning software, all powered by workflows customized by ActiFi. While advisors will need to subscribe to Redtail and MoneyGuidePro, workflows will be available to the nearly 6,000 advisors who work with SEI at no additional cost. This partnership will likely boost SEI’s profile among institutional custodians known for their technology integrations that help advisors run more efficient businesses.] SEI announces strategic partnerships and enters the integration arms race dominated by four leading custodians

T3 2014: MoneyGuidePro to integrate Yodlee for account aggregation from FPPad

[Next up is news from MoneyGuidePro, who told a packed house at T3 that the financial planning software program will soon provide account aggregation capabilities through a new integration with Yodlee, the largest data platform provider in financial services. When I mention account aggregation, you probably think of companies like ByAllAccounts, Fiserv’s CashEdge, or perhaps even Intuit, but these solutions are often too expensive for many growing RIAs to implement.

With the new MoneyGuidePro and Yodlee integration, advisors will be able to aggregate data from over 12,000 financial institutions for an introductory price of $365 per year. <That’s right, it’s just a dollar per day!> Expect the Yodlee integration to rollout during the second quarter of 2014.] Popular MoneyGuidePro financial planning software to aggregate held away accounts through a new Yodlee integration

Next Generation CRM: Powered by Social from Morningstar Advisor

[And rounding out my abridged coverage of T3 is the launch of a new platform designed to help advisors embrace social collaboration tools in their business. The platform is Wealthbox CRM, which deployed an all-out media blitz this week, including the sponsorship of this week’s broadcast, to get the product in front of advisors.

There are about a dozen CRM vendors in the marketplace, so financial advisors could stand to benefit from a few more choices among providers. And what makes Wealthbox CRM unique is the embedded realtime collaboration functions, better known under the banner of Social CRM.

Wealthbox CRM lets you tag clients and employees in status updates, just like you would when tagging friends or contacts on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. You can use those tags along with other information displayed in the CRM’s activity stream to find out what you should be doing for clients, what employees are doing for clients, and what clients are saying on their social media profiles.

The Social CRM feature is just one of many in the new product, and Wealthbox CRM’s introductory price of $29 per month per user places it squarely between the affordable CRM from Redtail and premium pricing from CRMs like Junxure Cloud and Salesforce.] CRMs powered by social collaboration and real-time updates could be the next game-changer in the industry.

And here are stories that didn’t make it into this week’s broadcast:

Raymond James Selects HiddenLevers for New Portfolio Stress Testing Offering for Advisors from WSJ.com

Raymond James Financial, Inc. has partnered with HiddenLevers, the portfolio stress testing toolkit, to provide macro research, scenario modeling and predictive risk analytics. Now, any of Raymond James’ 5,400 US-based advisors can subscribe to HiddenLevers to proactively discuss potential economic and market scenarios with clients, and gauge the impact on individual investment portfolios.

Tech Review: Scottrade’s New Platform from Financial Planning Magazine

Scottrade is now addressing shortcomings in its technology with the release of a totally new advisor platform.

 

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for February 14, 2014

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for February 14, 2014

 

FPPad Bits and Bytes for February 7

Posted on February 7, 2014 by in Bits & Bytes

On today’s broadcast, TD Ameritrade Institutional unveils a new interface designed to be “mission control” for advisors, how you can customize videos for hundreds clients with the push of a button, and a new provider delivers technology to simulate portfolio crash testing before the next crash occurs.

So get ready, FPPad Bits and Bytes begins now!

(Watch this episode on YouTube)

Today’s episode 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 latest white paper on social engineering attacks by visiting fppad.com/mimic.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

A Smart Start at National Conference: TD Ameritrade Institutional Reveals Plans to Launch New Intelligent Technology Platform for Advisors from TD Ameritrade Institutional

[Leading off this week is a recap of the first institutional custodian conference of 2014, as TD Ameritrade Institutional held its annual event in Orlando last week. In the past, TD Ameritrade Institutional announced a number of new innovations in technology, including the release of Veo Open Access platform and a free web-based version of iRebal for its advisors. This year’s technology announcements were a bit more subdued, but most relevant to advisors is the introduction of the new Veo Open Access Dashboard.

The Veo Dashboard is designed to be “mission control” for advisors, enabling access to dozens of integrated solution providers from one consolidated web-based screen. Early integrations include Redtail CRM, Orion Advisor Services portfolio management, MoneyGuidePro financial planning, and TD Ameritrade Institutional’s own iRebal software.

Tom Nally, president of TD Ameritrade Institutional, said that the first iteration of the Veo Dashboard is expected to come this summer.] Building on the success of its Veo® open access effort, TD Ameritrade Institutional will give advisors the ability to harness the collective power of more than 60 leading advisor technology providers integrated with its Veo trading platform.

New Orion App Revolutionizes Client Reports from PRNewswire

[Another cool innovation announced at last week’s TD Ameritrade Institutional conference comes from Orion Advisor Services, who debuted a new client communication platform called Engage. Many of you might already be using mobile apps and video market commentary from Orion to enhance your communication with clients.

But what Engage allows you to do is further customize videos you make for clients. With Engage, you can retrieve things like performance data from Orion, the confidence meter from MoneyGuidePro, or calendar scheduling from Redtail CRM and embed that information using graphics right in your video. While you still can’t say client names or announce specific performance numbers, your clients receive a compelling video that contains personal details to help them not only hear about, but actually see the progress they’re making towards their wealth management goals.

Once again, if you’re not thinking about how you should be using video to enhance client relationships, I think it’s time you start creating a strategy new, and Engage from Orion gives you a pretty clever way to get started. Clients of Orion can use Engage for no additional charge, and pricing details for non-Orion customers will be coming soon.] Orion Advisor Services, LLC, a premier portfolio accounting service bureau, announces the release of a new web-based app, Orion Engage, which helps advisors communicate more effectively with clients by creating interactive videos that can present portfolio performance and other unique details specific to individual clients.

Don’t Be A Crash Test Dummy from Financial Advisor

[And finally, one hot technology trend right now involves applications that perform macro economic analysis and portfolio stress-test simulations. By now you’ve likely heard of startups like HiddenLevers and MacroRisk Analytics, but a new provider in this space making waves is RiXtrema. In a recent Financial Advisor column, Joel Bruckenstein reviewed the company’s Riskostat product, which offers patent-pending technology to assess stock market behavior in times of crisis.

Bruckenstein offered a favorable review of Riskostat, and with a list price of $300 per months, feels it is competitively priced in a market that’s a small, but growing segment, of advisor technology.] Now a third firm, RiXtrema, is launching a software product called Riskostat that is designed to help advisors analyze the vulnerability of their clients’ portfolios to various macroeconomic risk factors as well as help advisors explore opportunities to hedge away some of those risks.

Stories that didn’t make the cut for this week’s broadcast:

Advisor Software, Inc. And Orion Advisor Services, LLC Integrate Apps For Financial Advisors from PRNewswire

Advisor Software, Inc. (“ASI”), a provider of wealth management solutions for the financial advisor market, announced today a partnership with Orion Advisor Services, LLC (“Orion”) to integrate the two companies’ software applications for financial advisors.

Junxure Announces Limited Release of Junxure Cloud CRM for Financial Advisors from Junxure

Junxure announced the limited release of Junxure Cloud™, its comprehensive, cloud-based CRM solution for financial advisors.

Road Warrior Advisors–Keep Your Data Private from Morningstar Advisor

Protect your client and business information by hiding it from wandering eyes.

 

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for February 7, 2014

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for February 7, 2014

FPPad Bits and Bytes for January 24

Posted on January 24, 2014 by in Bits & Bytes

On today’s broadcast, can you really share documents on Dropbox and SkyDrive without violating compliance? How does one RIA manage the security concerns of the bring-your-own-device trend? And does Salesforce create more problems than it solves? One RIA decides to bare all.

So get ready, FPPad Bits and Bytes begins now!

(Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes on YouTube)

Today’s episode is brought to you by Hill Compliance Advisors, a virtual compliance consulting firm to RIAs. As a former RIA herself, Cindi personally performs your compliance tasks, allowing you to do what you do best: run your business and spend more time with clients.

Hill Compliance Advisors

With a little help, compliance will no longer feel like the enormous burden it might seem to be today. Follow Cindi’s blog and sign up for her free newsletter by visiting fppad.com/hilladvisors.

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

NetDocuments Announces ndOffice™ and ndConnect™ to Embed Cloud-Based Document Management in MS Office, and Integrate with SkyDrive and Dropbox from NetDocuments

[On the heels of last week’s announcements by Laserfiche, NetDocuments is out with news of its own. The popular cloud-based document management provider announced two new enhancements that should be very useful for advisors.

First, NetDocuments has reengineered its ndOffice product, which allows NetDocuments to be integrated directly with Microsoft Office applications, including the online Office 365 Web Apps. Instead of temporarily saving documents to a desktop or server and then uploading them to NetDocuments, ndOffice allows users to open and update Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files directly from their NetDocuments repository. That should save a lot of mouse clicks!

And second, NetDocuments announced the scheduled release of ndConnect coming this April. Now *you* may use NetDocuments for your own document management, but your clients prefer to use consumer services like Dropbox or SkyDrive to manage their own files. So how do you get the two services to play nice with one other?

ndConnect is NetDocuments’ way of bridging the gap between these services, as it applies rules and permissions to support file sharing with Dropbox and SkyDrive without circumventing the security and compliance requirements advisors need to follow. So you can continue to meet your compliance obligations for document management while allowing your clients to use their preferred file sharing service.] NetDocuments brings document management directly into MS Office applications and integrates the enterprise content management service with Dropbox and SkyDrive

Why a ‘bring your own device’ strategy is critical for small business owners from InvestmentNews

[Next up is news on the mobile device security front. I bet you wouldn’t even consider running your business today without using a smartphone, and you probably allow your colleagues and employees to use their mobile devices to stay connected with the workplace, a trend identified as “bring-your-own-device,” or BYOD.

But accessing your business and client information on your mobile device does raise serious security concerns. Alex Murguia, Managing Principal of McLean Asset Management Corporation, shared how his firm supports the BYOD trend while also enforcing the security of information stored on mobile devices. And coincidentally, the product he selected just got acquired by VMware this week for a reported amount of $1.5 billion dollars.] Our firm is instituting a Bring Your Own Device policy as part of our new Mobile Device Management strategy.

How one RIA’s faith in Salesforce’s sophistication led to cut-and-paste hell and a major rethinking from RIABiz.com

[And finally, if you’ve been considering an upgrade to your CRM or want to officially cut the cord from Microsoft Outlook (note: not a CRM), you’ve probably considered SalesForce, the 800-pound gorilla of CRMs, as a potential solution. Well one firm recently dove in head-first into a Salesforce implementation, but quickly found that things did not go as smoothly as they had planned.

An article published this week in RIABiz chronicles one RIA’s trials and tribulations with the CRM behemoth and reveals many important lessons learned along the way. So if you want to avoid the frustrations of a Salesforce deployment encountered by one RIA, I suggest you read this account and use it to influence your plans for a more successful CRM transition.] After a dazzling SF demo, Portland Global Advisors planned to dump its advisor-dumb Microsoft CRM for Salesforce but the devil was in details

 

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for January 24, 2014

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for January 24, 2014

 

FPPad Bits and Bytes for January 17

Posted on January 17, 2014 by in Bits & Bytes

On today’s broadcast, have robo advisers finally cracked the code to asset gathering? A leading document management provider rolls out mobile and social features your business soon can’t live without, and who are the top industry bloggers all financial advisors should be reading? All this and more.

So get ready, FPPad Bits and Bytes begins now!

(Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes on YouTube)

Today’s episode is brought to you by Blu Giant Advisor Studios, a multi-disciplinary creative firm, empowering advisors to engage clients though branding, social media, video and the web; an experience called “hypermedia.”

Blu Giant Advisor Studios

Experience Blu Giant’s new interactive website and see what’s possible for your business by visiting fppad.com/blugiant

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

Wealthfront Reaches Over Half a Billion Dollars in 2013 from Wealthfront

[This week’s top story comes from the world of online advice providers, aka “robo advisors,” as Wealthfront announced this week that the company surpassed $500 million dollars in assets under management. While topping $500 million in AUM might seem like celebrating another 1,000 point threshold in the Dow Jones index, Wealthfront is starting to increase the gap over similar competitors like Betterment, which manages a reported $360 million, and Personal Capital, weighing in at a little over $200 million.

Wealthfront claimed over $67 million dollars in new assets for the month of December, which for many RIAs would make up a great year in new assets under management. Still, Wealthfront may not be a profitable business just yet, as Nerd’s Eye View blogger Michael Kitces estimated an optimistic annualized revenue of $1-and-a-quarter million dollars generated to support a team of expensive, full-time software engineers.

But pay careful attention to the types of clients Wealthfront cites in its announcement. Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, and more make up the top ten list of Silicon Valley companies with the most employees that are Wealthfront clients. This group IS next generation of clients for your business, so if you’re interested in attracting them, your technology needs to be up to par, but you must offer something that robo advisors completely lack; a real relationship with a trusted advisor.] Although we began the year with less than $100 million in assets under management, we closed 2013 with over $538 million, growing over 450% to become the largest and fastest-growing software-based financial advisor.

Laserfiche Unveils Product Roadmap at Empower 2014 from BusinessWire.com

[Next up is news from Laserfiche, one of the leading providers of document and electronic content management to financial advisors. Laserfiche held its annual Empower conference for users and resellers in Southern California this week, selling out for the first time in the event’s history.

Laserfiche announced a number of updates, including a complete redesign of its web-based interface called Laserfiche Web Access 10. Users will find the fresh interface easier to navigate and much more user-friendly on tablets and smart phones. And speaking of smartphones, Laserfiche also introduced a brand new app for Android, adding more support for mobile devices since the introduction of the app for iOS back in 2011.

Finally, an interesting development for financial advisors is the addition of new feature in Laserfiche Forms 9.1. Laserfiche posted a form online that anyone could fill out to post a message on Twitter. But before each tweet went global, the message was automatically routed through an approval process built in to Laserfiche.

Tie that in with Laserfiche’s archiving capabilities, and you have a pretty elegant solution anyone in your business can use to stay compliant on social media and also avoid those embarrassing drunk tweets.] Laserfiche today kicked off its sold-out Empower 2014 Conference with a keynote speech from company CTO Karl Chan outlining new and upcoming software releases. The new lineup includes social BPM, expanded mobile offerings and new web products.

The RIABiz top 10 industry blogs — and what bloggers they recommend from RIABiz

[And finally, many of you ask where I get my news and information to produce each episode of FPPad Bits and Bytes. Well several of my favorite sources were just listed among the top 10 industry blogs for financial advisors.

This week, RIABiz published its list of the best industry blogs, and what’s wrong with a little shameless self-promotion since FPPad.com was listed as number three!

So let me thank you for helping make FPPad a part of the top industry blogs, because without your questions, feedback, and loyal viewership, FPPad would not be the resource that it is today.] The RIA business is a land of micro-niches where owner-operated blogs are often the best reading spot for advisors to find the vibe and the level of granularity they seek on a subject

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for January 17, 2014

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for January 17, 2014

FPPad Bits and Bytes for January 10

Posted on January 10, 2014 by in Bits & Bytes

On today’s broadcast, how a business model pivot by a rising wealth management software provider will affect your technology spending, technology experts chime in on the trends that are sure to affect all advisory businesses, new integrations provide marketing resources to grow your online audience, and more.

So get ready, FPPad Bits and Bytes begins now!

(Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes 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

Fresh off its acquisition of PowerAdvisor, TRX offers advisors tax-efficient rebalancing, an easy to use interface, and more, all at an affordable price. Learn how you can gain a half a million dollar return on your technology investment by downloading their latest white paper at fppad.com/trx

Here are this week’s top stories:

inStream abandons free plan, introduces subscription pricing from FPPad.com

[This week’s lead story comes from inStream Solutions, which just announced that the company is no longer offering a free subscription plan to financial advisors. inStream first received attention in 2011 by introducing the free financial planning software tool for advisors, with hopes of monetizing advisor participation through an online product marketplace.

But just like many well-known startups including Twitter, Instagram, SnapChat and more seek ways to monetize their platform, inStream shares the challenge of figuring out how to build a sustainable revenue model for its innovative platform.

So the free plan is going away, replaced by a $2,400 annual subscription. Existing users do have the option to subscribe for $1,000 in the first year, and any advisor who signs up by this summer will receive 50% off their first year subscription.

More details about inStream’s pivot as well as the release of a new Safe Savings Rate tool are in this week’s show notes.] Financial planning software startup inStream Solutions drops its free pricing plan, switches to annual subscription model

Technology for Planners: Trends, Spending, and the Rise of Robo Advisers from the Journal of Financial Planning

[Next up is a peek into the minds of technology experts in financial services. The cover story of this month’s issue of the Journal of Financial Planning is all about technology for planners; the trends, spending patterns, and rising concern of online “robo-adviser” services.

I had the privilege of joining tech experts Joel Bruckenstein, Jennifer Goldman, and JP Nicols in this roundtable discussion moderated by none other than the venerable Michael Kitces. Be sure you read the roundtable transcript and think about what changes you need to make in your business for 2014 and beyond.] Technology is essential to operating a successful and profitable planning practice. Whether it’s software integration, mobile devices, cloud computing, or the latest on so-called robo advisers, you’ve got questions. The Journal’s practitioner editor, Michael Kitces, uncovers the answers in this roundtable discussion with tech experts Joel Bruckenstein, CFP®, Jennifer Goldman, CFP®, JP Nicols, CFP®, and Bill Winterberg, CFP®

Bill Good Marketing Integrates Gorilla with Redtail CRM

[Now one of the takeaways from the roundtable cover story is that advisors don’t have the budget or venture capital funding to deploy a nationwide marketing blitz. So how can you build your brand and online audience in the face of this competition?

One way is to use content marketing libraries that integrate with your current technology. New this week is the integration of the Bill Good Marketing library into Redtail CRM, giving over 75,000 Redtail users access to compliance-approved marketing material from Bill Good.] CRM systems Gorilla and Redtail Technology collaborate to address major trends affecting Financial Advisors

Exclusive new content & videos from Advisor Websites

[And another offering comes from Advisor Websites, which now offers its “Hall of Famer” users the ability to embed written as well as video content on their website through a partnership with FogLifter.

For more information on the marketing integrations and to view some of the sample content, go to Video 1: Tax & Income Planning http://www.viddler.com/v/1c97c093 and Video 2: Fiduciary Difference http://www.viddler.com/v/479dfc19 .] It’s a new year and big things are happening at Advisor Websites! We are thrilled to announce the addition of new content for all Advisor Websites users!

Unboxing the 2013 Mac Pro: The ultimate desktop for financial advisers from FPPad

[And finally, many of you have asked me what equipment I use to produce each episode of FPPad Bits and Bytes. Well just a few weeks ago, I received my new Mac Pro from Apple and have transferred all of my video editing over to this powerhouse of a machine.

I filmed the unboxing of my Mac Pro and uploaded my review to my YouTube channel this week, so if you’re interested in building your multimedia production capabilities, I suggest you watch the review to see if a Mac Pro purchase makes sense for you. And in case you don’t know, everyone who subscribes to the FPPad newsletter gets my complimentary guide to creating awesome videos. Sign up at fppad.com/subscribe to get your copy today.] The all-new Mac Pro is a powerhouse loaded with processors and memory, but it might (just might) be a little bit overkill for financial advisers

 

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for January 10, 2014 on YouTube

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for January 10, 2014 on YouTube

FPPad Bits and Bytes for January 3

Posted on January 3, 2014 by in Bits & Bytes

On today’s broadcast, hackers make headlines targeting high-profile companies, so how can you avoid a security breach in your business? Electronic signature technology gains momentum, find out which providers you should add to your processes. Big data is coming. Who’s harnessing all the data you gather in your business, and how will these tools help you make better decisions in 2014 and beyond? All this and more.

So get ready, FPPad Bits and Bytes begins now!

(Click to watch on YouTube)

Today’s episode is brought to you by New Planner Recruiting, which specializes in the sourcing, screening and integration of entry level financial planners within financial planning firms nationwide.

NewPlannerRecruiting620

Whether you’re a firm looking to hire or an aspiring planner establishing your career path, sign up for the free newsletter full of valuable resources and information by visiting fppad.com/npr

Here are this week’s links of interest:

Financial Adviser Technology Trends in 2014

Financial advisor technology news moved at a snail’s pace over the holidays, so today’s episode is going to cover the most important technology trends I see coming in 2014. These trends break down into four main categories:

  • Security
  • Electronic signature
  • Big data, and
  • Enhancing your online presence

Security

Security news has received a lot of attention recently, headlined by the recent data breach at Target of over 40 million credit and debit card accounts, and quickly followed up by the release of over 4 million usernames and phone numbers from users of Snapchat, the private mobile messaging service.

While these are big companies with a potential bounty of user information, don’t think that your business is immune to attacks from hackers seeking personal and financial information.

This year, you should make it a priority to strengthen the defenses of your computers, mobile devices, and your network. Also, social engineering will likely be the primary method hackers will use to exploit people in your organization, so periodically test how susceptible your organization is to well-designed social engineering attacks.

Vendors that can help with your security include Mimic Technologies, Right Size Solutions, True North Networks, Envision Consulting, and many more, and you can use simulated phishing applications from Wombat Security Technologies, TraceSecurity, ThreatSim and more.

Electronic Signature

Next up is the increased adoption of electronic signature by financial institutions. You heard about e-signature several times in last years’ broadcasts as TD Ameritrade Institutional, Fidelity, Pershing, LPL and others support some form of the technology in their existing account processes.

But you can also deploy e-signature for the contracts and agreements you have for your internal documentation. So it’s worth exploring your options from providers such as RightSignature, Adobe® EchoSign®, DocuSign, and more to streamline your signature-gathering process, all while satisfying compliance, of course!

Big Data

The third trend I see ramping up big time for advisors in 2014 is Big Data. More technology providers are developing big data capabilities to help you analyze your data more effectively so you can make informed decisions about your client needs and business opportunities.

Look to adopt one or more of the business analytics tools available from Redtail Data Cloud, AssetMark, Orion Advisor Services, Envestnet|Tamarac and more.

Enhancing Your Online Presence

Finally, 2014 should be the year you make a serious effort to enhance your online presence. This is about more than just creating a Twitter account, posting a few tweets, and calling it a day.

More and more prospects are looking for financial advice and evaluating financial advisors online, long before they pick up the phone to schedule an initial meeting. And some prospects don’t even care that your office be in the same city where they live; they want an advisor who is an expert regarding their specific needs and circumstances, without imposing some arbitrary geographic requirement.

That said, does your website have what it takes to attract this generation of web-savvy prospects? Does your social media activity reinforce your value proposition to potential clients? And does your technology live up to the expectations of individuals born in the digital age?

Boost your online presence with services from providers like Advisor Websites, Wealth Management Marketing, Vestorly, Advisor Studios, Wired Advisor, and more.

So there you have it!

You’ve heard what I think the most important technology trends of 2014 will be, and I’ve given you a head start with a number of vendors and providers that can help you get the new year off to a fantastic start.

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for January 3, 2014

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for January 3, 2014