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How small broker-dealers can fight margin compression and avoid closing their doors

Posted on July 10, 2012 by in Video Spotlight

Faced with extreme margin compression, hundreds of broker-dealers closed their doors in 2011. One technology provider can help others avoid that fate.

In the first quarter of 2011 alone, 137 broker-dealers closed their doors (see Are the days of the small Broker-Dealer numbered?), leaving affiliated reps scrambling to find new broker-dealers for their support.

Since the onset of the Great Recession five years ago, broker-dealers as a whole continue to face anemic trading volume, declining ticket charges, and increasing regulatory costs. All these factors combine to put extreme pressure on profit margins, according to Atindra Barua, President and CEO of TrustFort, and technology and back-office service provider to financial companies.

I recently sat down with Mr. Barua and discussed what firms must do to fight margin compression and return to a cycle of growth and expansion. Here is the interview below.

(watch TrustFort President & CEO Atindra Barua speaks about broker-dealer margin compression on YouTube)

[VIDEO] How TrustFort helps make financial service companies more efficient

Posted on July 3, 2012 by in Video Spotlight

TrustFort powers many back-office functions of small- and mid-size broker-dealers and is expanding its partnerships with RIA technology providers

Last week I introduced the first of three videos on TrustFort, a Woburn, Mass.-based technology provider (see TrustFort targets broker-dealers and large RIAs with its scalable back office solutions).

In the second video below, I asked TrustFort President & CEO Atindra Barua about the company’s background in aggregating and normalizing investment portfolio data and also about the latest partnership with AssetBook to enhance their go-to-market strategy.

(watch How TrustFort makes financial service companies more efficient on YouTube)

[VIDEO] Redtail CRM launches new mobile apps and makes them free to advisers

Posted on June 26, 2012 by in Video Spotlight

The leading web-based CRM provider overhauls its suite of mobile apps and eliminates its monthly charge for access

UPDATE 07/09/2012: Users can now download Redtail CRM from the Blackberry App World

In an announcement sent to users today, Redtail CRM announced the release of completely new mobile apps for use with iOS, Android, and Blackberry devices. All mobile apps can be downloaded for free and the company has eliminated the monthly access fee it used to charge for use of its mobile apps.

In the spotlight video below, Redtail Technology CEO Brian McLaughlin tells me about how the company developed the new apps in-house, focusing on the security of web streaming but preserving the speed and responsiveness of a native application.

“Redtail first released a mobile application for accessing Redtail CRM in 2009.  Since that initial release and through subsequent versions of Redtail Mobile, we have been fortunate enough to receive invaluable feedback from our subscribers as to what we can do to make the mobile experience of Redtail CRM better,” the company said in its statement.

Redtail’s existing mobile apps generally received lukewarm reviews in the various app stores. Most notably, users expressed dissatisfaction that an additional monthly access fee was charged to enable mobile device access to CRM data.

Today you can download Redtail CRM for iPhone/iPad in the App Store, for Android in the Google Play market, or from the Blackberry App World.

(watch Redtail CRM: Announcing new mobile apps for iOS, Android & Blackberry on YouTube)

[VIDEO] TrustFort targets broker-dealers and large RIAs with its scalable back office solutions

Posted on June 26, 2012 by in Video Spotlight

TrustFort, a Woburn, Mass.-based technology provider, is seeking to expand its recognition among broker-dealers and investment advisers.

Founded in 2004, TrustFort has primarily stayed behind the scenes, powering a growing number of broker-dealer technology platforms, including portfolio reporting and client portal functions. Now the company is expanding its relationships and taking on a more public profile.

To learn more about the company and its value proposition, I met with TrustFort’s President & CEO Atindra Barua. I filmed several segments on a variety of topics, the first of which addresses how TrustFort can enhance back office scalability to better serve today’s client in a mobile and social world.

(click here to view on YouTube)

[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.

[VIDEO] TD Ameritrade Institutional’s Veo® Open Access to enhance trading, fee billing, and client on-boarding processes

Posted on June 19, 2012 by in Practice Management, Video Spotlight

Veo® Open Access, the award-winning integration platform initiative launched by TD Ameritrade Institutional last year, is getting additional upgrades this summer to further simplify advisers’ processes.

Several weeks ago, I met with Chris Valleley, director of the new Technology Solutions group for TD Ameritrade Institutional, and asked him about what’s in store for advisers currently using Veo®, the custodian’s account management and trading platform (see TD Ameritrade Institutional’s Jon Patullo discusses electronic signature and future enhancements of Veo® Open Access). The number of supporting integrations with Veo® Open Access Architecture continues to grow, now surpassing 60 vendors in all.

“Throughout the summer, we’re really focusing on those features where the vendor can push data back to Veo, [such as] things like trading and allocations,” Valleley said. (see Orion CEO discusses Veo® integration at the TD Ameritrade Institutional 2012 National Conference)

He discussed three key workflow enhancements planned for the near future: trading and rebalancing, management fees, and client on-boarding and electronic signature.

For example, Valleley highlighted how updates to Veo can streamline the quarterly process of submitting management fee invoices for accounts held at TD Ameritrade Institutional.

“Instead of creating [an intermediate] file and all the manual work that goes along with that, the [integrated portfolio management] vendor can then push the invoice directly to Veo,” he said.

Watch the full interview to get all the information on the progress TD Ameritrade Institutional is making with its integration platform.

[VIDEO] How financial advisers can compare technology integrations

Posted on June 5, 2012 by in Practice Management, Video Spotlight

Financial advisers can quickly assess technology integrations with TD Ameritrade Institutional’s analysis tool

How well does one CRM integrate with financial planning software? What about integrations between portfolio management software and rebalancing software?

To answer those questions, TD Ameritrade Institutional created the Integration Analyzer. Available to all of its affiliated advisers, Integration Analyzer quickly displays how well one software program integrates with another, and with Veo® Open Access.

For insight as to how Integration Analyzer works, I met with Chris Valleley, Director of Technology Solutions for TD Ameritrade Institutional at the custodian’s offices in Fort Worth, Texas. View the video below for the demo.

(click to view on YouTube)

[Video Spotlight] FutureAdvisor co-founder Bo Lu at FinovateSpring 2012

Posted on May 15, 2012 by in Video Spotlight

In my final spotlight interview from FinovateSpring 2012, I asked Bo Lu, co-founder of FutureAdvisor, about his company’s service offering to the retail investor.

Hear how the platform is designed to deliver personalized, actionable advice to all investors and the company’s plans to incorporate financial advisors via recommendation marketplace.

(click to view on YouTube)

[Video Spotlight] Sarah Carter of Actiance at FinovateSpring 2012

Posted on May 11, 2012 by in Video Spotlight

Another presenter at FinovateSpring 2012 that should be familiar to FPPad readers is Actiance. The Belmont, Calif.-based company provides compliance solutions for regulated financial professionals in the form of its Socialite Engage platform.

Here’s Sarah Carter from Actiance telling what Socialite Engage can do for advisers and gives a bonus tip on what day and time is best to post social media updates.

(click to view on YouTube)

[Video Spotlight] iQuantifi CEO Tom White at FinovateSpring 2012

Posted on May 10, 2012 by in Video Spotlight

iQuantifi is a new company I discovered at FinovateSpring 2012 (see FinovateSpring 2012 highlights for independent financial advisers: Day 1). I met with with founder and CEO Tom White to get more information on the company’s product. iQuantifi was also awarded Best in Show for FinovateSpring 2012, one of 7 out of 64 presenters. Quite the accomplishment!

(click to view on YouTube)