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InvestmentNews launches new iPad app

Posted on October 5, 2012 by in Software

In an email to subscribers this morning, InvestmentNews announced the release of its new app, InvestmentNews Daily for iPad.

InvestmentNews Daily app for iPad

What it says is “the financial advice industry’s first and only real-time news app,” InvestmentNews Daily offers a simple way to view content normally accessed online via InvestmentNews.com.

The Daily

After a quick download, I found the app to be easy to use to quickly review each day’s updates.

What I’d like to see more of in an app like this is a way to curate content, similar to Zite. The app does have a “My Topics” section, but users select from a predefined list of topics, so there’s no way to add custom keywords (say, iPad for example).

Social Sharing

InvestmentNews Daily does have social sharing options, so users can simply click the “+” sign at the bottom of the screen to easily share articles on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn with one click.

Articles can also be saved to “My Briefcase” to view offline when the iPad is not connected to the Internet.

Nevertheless, I’m more likely to use InvestmentNews Daily to get a quick synopsis of the day’s news rather than use their website, that as of late takes a long time to load new pages.

Roll Camera

If I could make one suggestion: video would be a welcome addition to InvestmentNews Daily content. Take a look at Fidelity Investments’ iPad app for retail clients. That’s a good example of blending written articles with video news stories.

 

How to find alternatives to popular apps and programs

Posted on October 4, 2012 by in Efficiency, Software

Last month Tungle announced they’re shutting down their popular public calendar and scheduling service (see: Tungle, my go-to calendar service, is shutting down. Here are public calendar alternatives financial advisers should consider).

I used Tungle to book well over 200 meetings, so I’m going to need to identify a suitable substitute for a public calendar.

What’s an easy way to do that?

One way to quickly identify alternatives to popular apps and programs is a website I covered in my latest Morningstar Advisor Quickview post.

Find out what it is by reading Quickview: Quickly Identify Alternate Software Solutions

Trumpet Publisher might be your answer to manually uploading hundreds of files to a file sharing site

Posted on September 26, 2012 by in Efficiency, Software

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Jo Day, co-founder of Trumpet, Inc.

In my presentations to advisers, I talk about file sharing and synchronization services like Dropbox and ShareFile as an alternative to client web portals.

These file sharing services can sync to a folder on your local computer, so uploading and downloading files is as easy as dragging-and-dropping them in and out of a folder.

But what happens if advisers need to deliver hundreds of documents to all of their clients at once? This is exactly what happens during the quarterly portfolio reporting period.

One solution to avoid manual work is a new product from Trumpet, Inc. called Trumpet Publisher.

Trumpet Publisher integrates with the popular file sharing service ShareFile from Citrix (see: Rob Kirkland tells how ShareFile can be an alternative to Dropbox for advisers). The integration was announced in the press release a few weeks ago (see: Trumpet, Inc. Integrates with Citrix ShareFile)

To learn more about Trumpet Publisher, I spoke with Jo Day, co-founder of Trumpet, Inc., about her company’s latest product and how it can streamline many manual processes when attempting to share hundreds of documents with hundreds of clients at once.

Click the player embedded below to listen to the podcast.

Tungle, my go-to calendar service, is shutting down. Here are public calendar alternatives financial advisers should consider

Posted on September 18, 2012 by in Efficiency, Software

My Tungle.me calendar

Update, August 2016: I added Assistant.to, a slick Chrome plugin that works only with personal and corporate Gmail and Google Calendar accounts.

With a hat tip to Atlanta-based adviser Russ Thornton, I learned that Tungle.me, my go-to public calendar service, announced today that it is shutting down in December.

See the Life is About the Journey post from Tungle founder Marc Gingras on the company blog.

Sad but not surprising

This is a big disappointment, but it is not unexpected. Ever since being acquired by Research In Motion (the makers of BlackBerry mobile phones) in April 2011, Tungle’s blog and Twitter feed went silent, and customer service stopped responding to inquiries, mine included.

Still, over the two years that I used the service (see A Simpler Way to Schedule Meetings at Morningstar, login required), I booked well over 200 meetings and avoided unnecessary correspondence.

Why advisers need a public calendar

In my Transformative Technology You Can Implement Today presentation, I demonstrate how financial advisers can stop playing “email Battleship” when attempting to schedule meetings.

Instead of the constant back-and-forth emails trying to lock down a time that works for all those involved in a meeting, public calendar services allow one or more attendees to draw in the times they are available, and everyone receives a confirmation when a time is identified that all can attend. No more “how does Tuesday at 1pm work for you?” volleys.

Tungle alternatives

Never one to leave FPPad readers out in the cold, here are some free and low-cost alternatives to Tungle worth investigating. I’m not making any one specific recommendation now, but will soon have to switch my own public calendar over to one of these services (now sorted with the most recently modified first).

Have any others to recommend? Leave a comment below.

PODCAST: Cabinet President Andrew Bailey discusses secure file sharing, iPad app

Posted on September 6, 2012 by in Software

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Document management software provider facilitates secure file sharing between advisers and clients; iPad app releasing soon

For today’s podcast, I was joined by Andrew Bailey, president of document management software provider Cabinet, to learn more about his company’s solution for financial advisers.

Cabinet President Andrew Bailey

Readers likely recognize Cabinet as CabinetNG, but last month the company dropped “NG” from its name in a new branding campaign (NG stood for Next Generation, a label Bailey feels the company has since transcended).

Bailey and I spoke about Cabinet’s flagship product called SAFE, and how they’ve added features useful to financial advisers, such as a private cloud hosting option to eliminate the need for a local server to run the software.

Also, Bailey hinted at the upcoming release of Cabinet’s app for iPad, something I was able to see early versions of during a visit with vice president Jim True several weeks ago. Bailey anticipates the Cabinet iPad app will be released in Q4 this year.

You can learn more information on Cabinet at www.cabinetpaperless.com.

[photo: Cabinet – Flickr]

Dropbox user accounts compromised, new security features to appear

Posted on August 1, 2012 by in Compliance, Software, Technology

Last night I posted this tweet about a TechCrunch.com article on several compromised Dropbox accounts.

Unlike an issue last summer (see Bug Affects Dropbox Security: What Advisers Need To Know), you need to know that Dropbox’s security was not compromised.

Username and password credentials were stolen from a third-party website, which were then used to log in to associated Dropbox accounts.

In response, Dropbox said in a blog post that it will add new security features in the coming weeks, with two-factor authentication being the most noteworthy (see Boost your online security with two-factor authentication).

Events like this should be a lesson to you, even if you’re not a Dropbox user. Remember to follow good security practices to keep your account credentials safe, such as:

  • Avoid using the same username and password for multiple websites/accounts. Make each password unique for each account.
  • Avoid using unfamiliar or shared computers, as keystroke logging programs or other trojans may be installed without your knowledge.
  • Verify website addresses before typing in your login credentials. Look for the https:// address prefix and make sure you’re not redirected to a phishing website (see Cloud computing for financial advisers: How to stay safe)

In a few weeks, Dropbox should be rolling out the new security features. When they appear for your account, be sure to activate and use two-factor authentication. It’s one additional layer of protection you can add to better protect all the information you keep in your Dropbox account.

How to organize your contacts and search them efficiently

Posted on July 27, 2012 by in Software

One sign of a successful advisory business is a voluminous contact list. Between clients, prospects, colleagues, and allied professionals, your contact list growth shows no signs of slowing.

How do you best organize your contacts and search them efficiently?

In this month’s Morningstar Advisor Quickview, I covered a new app now available for the iPhone that seeks to simplify and automate much of your contact organization.

Be sure to read Latest App Tackles Your Hulking Contact List at Morningstar Advisor.

[VIDEO] How to use Redtail CRM like a power user

Posted on June 21, 2012 by in Software, Video Spotlight

All-day training helps advisers and operations staff get the most out of the popular online CRM.

As you review the CRM you use to manage client relationships, you probably recognize that you’re only using a small portion of all the features the program offers. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could get exposed and trained on some of the advanced features that improve your firm’s client communication (and your bottom line)?

Redtail CRM, the leading provider of web-based CRM software to financial advisers, provides an all-day training course to its users called Redtail University.

I recently met Redtail CEO Brian McLaughlin at a recent Redtail University event in Dallas and asked him about the value the course provides to advisers.

“With every new tool or software [advisers] get today, they’re only using 10, 20, 30% of the application. This is an opportunity to learn everything we have to do, take it back home, and hopefully implement one, two, or three new things,” said McLaughlin.

See the full video for more information about Redtail University, then view the schedule of upcoming training events.

How to save $325,000 in your wealth management business

Posted on June 14, 2012 by in Efficiency, Software

You have the potential to save over $325,000 in overhead by adopting one software tool.

As an adviser, you’re always looking for tools and technologies that help you run a more efficient business while increasing the level of service you provide for your clients. That’s one reason why you’re here at FPPad looking for the latest info on solutions.

In this month’s Morningstar Advisor column, I reviewed one software tool that has the potential to save six figures in your total overhead costs each year. And that’s not a made up number. That figure comes from a survey of 20 users that use this software every day.

Find out what it is by reading One Tool With Six-Figure Savings Potential.

 

Plantly launches “missing allocation tool” to the public

Posted on May 31, 2012 by in Software, Technology

Brooklyn-based startup launches free asset allocation planning tool to the public

Investors (read: your future clients) have an ever-increasing array of options to obtain financial advice online. You’ve read about sites and apps like Personal Capital, Betterment, SigFig, and Wealthfront on FPPad before.

Plantly, a Brooklyn-based startup, is the latest financial services startup seeking to lower the barriers between investors and access to investment guidance.

On Plantly’s website, users can select from a range of five plans arranged by targeted return and level of risk. Each week the five plans are optimized to adjust their asset allocations according to Plantly’s proprietary risk/return models.

Ideally, according to Plantly’s website, investors select a plan based on their tolerance for risk and expectation for return, allocate their own portfolio according to the plan, and reevaluate plans annually. Plantly plans begin with principles from Harry Markovitz’s Modern Portfolio Theory that are then run through custom forecasting, probability, and scenario engines to identify potential outcomes of individual plans.

There’s a lot more detail behind Plantly on its website, and when I stop traveling, I hope to have a chance to virtually sit down with Plantly’s founders for some additional insight.

It’s an intriguing option among the suite of online investment tools, especially for the do-it-yourself investor seeking allocation guidance supported by reasonable thought and scenario testing (though no back testing will ever produce a loss-proof allocation).