Most of you know that I contribute a monthly column on technology to Morningstar Advisor (and if not, go check it out here!)
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I’m attending Schwab IMPACT 2011 this week and will post reports from the event as time permits.
Kyle Hiatt (L) and Jon Reiners (R) of Orion Advisor Services, LLC
My first item of business at Schwab IMPACT 2011 was to tour the vendor expo floor and connect with the many technology vendors here. I ran across the booth of Orion Advisor Services, where Kyle Hiatt, Todd Bertucci, and Jon Reiners were stationed.
Our conversation gravitated toward mobile platforms and mobile apps, so I mentioned one app I discovered just on Monday called FlipZu. FlipZu is an app that allows anyone with a mobile phone to broadcast live audio on the Internet.
I played around with FlipZu for the first time today, attempting to broadcast some of the highlights from Advent Software’s Expo Showcase featuring Black Diamond and Advent OnDemand. My 3G service was spotty from inside the Moscone Center, but you can see my FlipZu channel for the recordings I was able to make.
While talking about FlipZu, Bertucci mentioned how advisors could leverage the app to broadcast their market commentary in realtime directly from their phone. Anyone, including clients and prospects, could listen to the live broadcast right from their own mobile phones with the FlipZu app. Those on computers can use the FlipZu web player to listen as well.
We thought that was such a cool idea that I told Bertucci I’d blog about it later in the day. So, know you know.
Note: reps of broker-dealers will want to avoid live broadcasts, for obvious compliance reasons. Advantage independent RIAs.
Schwab IMPACT® 2011, one of the industry’s largest conferences, is set to kick off in less two weeks. On Thursday November 3, I’ll be appearing on a panel along with Daniel Bernstein of MarketCounsel and Mike Byrnes of Byrnes Consulting in a session titled Building a Compliance-Friendly Social Media Strategy.
While preparing for the session, I discovered that Schwab just released a mobile app for the conference for iPhone and iPad. The mobile app contains some useful resources such as the entire conference agenda, maps of the venue and expo area (though they open websites when clicked, so one will need an Internet connection to view maps), and exhibitor and sponsor information.
Conference attendees with a valid login can view and update their personal schedule from within the mobile app (though I personally had issues removing events from my schedule while testing the app). Session surveys can also be completed using the mobile app, eliminating the need to drop paper forms at the back of the room at the conclusion of a session.
Click here to open the Schwab IMPACT® 2011 mobile app in the App Store.
Financial advisers are concerned about the security of data they place on the cloud. Cloud services including CRM, portfolio management, document management, and more are all accessed by credentials connected with the adviser’s account. The strength of the login credentials largely determines how well account data is protected from attack or unauthorized use.
Technically, the strongest passwords have a high amount of entropy. There’s a lot of science that goes into the explanation of entropy and its application to passwords, but allow me to share a webcomic from xkcd that captures the concept in six short frames.
[Hat tip to Ben Gilbert, CFP®]
Sometime between 11:00am and 1:00pm today, my Internet provider’s service went down in the Dallas area (Time Warner Cable if you’re curious, and I confirmed the outage with their service reps on Twitter @TWCableHelp). That means no Internet and no phone service for my office, and Time Warner has no ETA on a fix.
But I’m still up and running with all of my web-hosted tools, including email, contacts, and my blog. I powered up my MiFi 2200 and bought a small data plan ($10 for 100MB) to get me through the service disruption. So everything I need over the web is still accessible. The MiFi supports five active WiFi connections, so I can share the Internet connection among my iMac, iPad, Macbook Air, and Acer laptop.
And what about my office phone line? That, too, is tied to my Internet connection, as it’s a voice-over-IP (VoIP) line. It’s dead.
But, my main number is connected to my Google Voice account, so all I need to do is enable my mobile phone as the primary phone to use (it’s typically active along with my office phone so I can receive calls anywhere). You call, get routed to my mobile phone, it rings, and I answer. You have no idea my office line is dead. And I don’t need to deliver excuses for not picking up your call.
So what’s your backup plan when your connection to the outside world is severed? Good luck dialing up your custodian’s trading line to verbally submit your trades in this market volatility!!!
I’m taking a long break for the holiday weekend, taking my son (he’s 2) to go camping with Grandma and Grandpa.
I’m traveling with my iPad and MiFi, so I’ll be in touch periodically to address your questions, comments, and requests.
I do plan on publishing a Bits and Bytes update this Friday.
See you next week!
I am happy to announce that I’m now contributing technology-related content to Blueleaf, a new personal financial tracking tool for both consumers and financial advisors.
Take a moment and read my first post Why Advisor Software Feels So Outdated.
Look for more posts featuring industry perspectives, best practices, and Blueleaf highlights in the future on the Blueleaf blog. And if you’re interested in learning more about the Blueleaf platform, click to request an invite.
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If you support the application of a fiduciary standard to all who personalized investment advice, please take 15 seconds to sign the Fiduciary Standard for Financial Professionals petition.
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We received an email message this morning announcing a new partnership between FamilyOfficeNetwork, a client document vault provider and David Lawrence, owner of the Efficient Practice consulting firm, both based in San Diego, Calif.
Both entities have now formed a new company called Global Practice Network.
Here’s a brief description of the new network’s objectives from their email message:
Together we are providing a resource-rich platform to increase the efficiency and profitability of your firm. Backed by a team of experts, we can enhance your operational efficiency, your support systems, and your people, helping you fit the pieces of your practice together seamlessly.
For more information on the new company, you can visit either website linked above.
We want to congratulate Peter Wheeler, Aaron Pickett, David Lawrence, and the rest of the GPN team on their new endeavor and look forward to seeing them soon at upcoming events!
We were hoping to bring you a series of live blog updates from FPA Business Solutions 2011, but Bill fell ill Tuesday night and felt it necessary to cancel his travel plans to the conference (face it; you don’t want that guy with a fever and a monster cough sitting next to you on a three-hour flight, do you?!?).
So be sure to monitor the back channel activity on Twitter by following the #BizSol11 hashtag, and check back with us on Friday for this week’s Bits and Bytes post.
