From Schwab IMPACT® 2018, I connected with John Connor, Vice President of Digital Advisor Solutions for Schwab Advisor Services to tour the “Tech Alley” section of The Exchange exhibit hall.
In this week’s shocking news, it turns out that you can’t trust everything you read online about personal finance.
This week, the Chronicle of Higher Education revealed that a journalist who went by the name Drew Cloud is not actually a real person at all. In it’s exposé, the Chronicle explained how a company called LendEDU made up the pseudonym of “Drew Cloud” to represent a group of authors who wrote content for Student Loan Report, a company LendEDU owns, but also failed disclose its financial interest to Student Loan Report readers!
The admission by LendEDU sheds light on controversial practices where content and influencer marketing tactics are used to lure readers into buying financial products recommended in blogs and websites sites that are actually owned by the product providers themselves, who don’t disclose the conflict of interest to their readers.
So be careful out there, you can’t always trust what you read online about personal finance recommendations!
Addepar Surpasses $1 Trillion in Client Assets
In adviser technology news, this week, Addepar announced that its comprehensive portfolio management, reporting and aggregation solution passed $1 trillion dollars in client assets on the platform. Co-founded in 2009 by PayPal alumni Joe Lonsdale, Addepar provides investment management technology to over 300 large financial institutions, wealth advisors, and family offices according to a company statement.
Calendly Solves Scheduling Frustrations
And finally, are you tired of wasting time sending emails back and forth trying to book a meeting? Then check out the online calendar solution from Atlanta-based Calendly, which has helped close to 30 million people worldwide schedule their meetings. The Atlanta Tech Village recently highlighted the story of Calendly’s founder Tope Awotona which I recommend you check out, and then see if Calendly’s might help you save time when scheduling meetings with clients and colleagues.
Just visit FPPad.com/flashbriefing to find the links to all of today’s top stories.
I’m Bill Winterberg, and those are your fintech headlines for today from FPPad.com. Check back in with me later for more fintech news.
On today’s broadcast, Vanare becomes AdvisorEngine after a $20 million dollar investment, RightCaptial gets a favorable review, and Addepar opens up about the capabilities of its technology.
Today’s episode is brought to you by eMoney Advisor, the leading provider of digital wealth management solutions. eMoney just introduced two new Advanced Analytics products: Advisor Analytics Pro, offering advisors and support staff deeper business insights, and Office Analytics, offering never-before-seen firm-wide insights.
Featuring a customizable Analytics dashboard, an expansive library of new and interactive data charts, and more, eMoney’s Advanced Analytics solutions will help you put your data to work and uncover more opportunities. For more information the eMoney Analytics solutions, visit fppad.com/emoneyanalytics.
[First up is news from Advisor Engine, which you may recognize under the company’s former name of Vanare. The name change was carried out as WisdomTree, the exchange-traded fund sponsor and asset manager, announced a $20 million dollar investment in Advisor Engine for 36% equity in the company.
This investment is the latest example of ETF issuers getting in the automated investment service space, but remember, BlackRock acquired FutureAdvisor, Invesco acquired Jemstep, yet WisdomTree chose to make a minority equity investment. I’m just not exactly sure why they didn’t acquire the whole business, but then again, I’m not the one that has to cut a check for $50 million dollars.
So let me connect some dots. All of the automated investment services are putting downward pricing pressure on asset allocation and periodic rebalancing. So in general, margins for traditional portfolio management are being compressed. You can either add value elsewhere, or look for ways to save on operational costs for your business.
AdvisorEngine’s new capital means it likely won’t shut down anytime soon, AND, the company recently added support for custody services at Apex Clearing, which could be a potential way you reduce your operational expenses AND allow you to pass some of those savings directly to your clients, all from a white-labeled solution.
For me, that’s why this transaction is an interesting one to keep an eye on.] WisdomTree is providing [Vanare] with an injection of funds in a bid to better position itself for industrywide changes wrought by new technologies and stiffer regulations, according to CEO Jonathan Steinberg.
[Next up is news about RightCapital, as Financial Planning magazine columnist Joel Bruckenstein reviewed the financial planning software and offered his take of where it fits in the marketplace. One of the distinctive features RightCapital offers is the ability to generate simulated tax forms so you can actually see how decisions on deductions, distributions, and taxable withdrawals will impact a client’s personal tax return.
Also, just because RightCapital has a fresh and modern UI doesn’t mean it’s a solution only for younger clients. RightCapital’s robust modeling of asset withdrawal strategies was highlighted in the review, allowing clients to simulate the best withdrawal strategies when factoring in Social Security and tax-deferred tax-free retirement accounts.
Of course, there’s much more to the review, but overall, RightCapital gets recommended as a more-than-adequate application for the mass affluent market. A 14-day free trial is available so you can evaluate the solution for your clients’ needs.] The middle ground in financial planning software is exactly the niche that RightCapital is targeting, according to co-founder Shuang Chen.
[But, if your business serves high net-worth households, this week’s final story on Addepar should be worth taking note. The investment management technology company appears to be opening up a bit more about exactly what it is they do.
In an interview with SourceMedia managing editor Suleman Din, Addepar’s CEO Eric Poirier described how much of the high net-worth marketplace has been historically addressed by custom Excel spreadsheets.
When clients start identifying assets like their limited partnership interests, equity investments, venture capital, and so on, most off-the-shelf solutions just aren’t compatible with the esoteric properties of these assets. But that’s been Addepar’s focus for five years, according to Poirier.
That kind of development sets Addepar apart as the Ferrari of the investment management technology space and is appropriate for households that require that kind of horsepower, and while that power certainly scales down to more traditional accounts with stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds, I suspect you’ll find it’s a bit overkill in capabilities and price if your business primarily serves the needs of mass affluent households.] While other fintech startups claimed they would disrupt the wealth management industry, Addepar has taken the tack that it can make it better.
Here are stories that didn’t make this week’s broadcast:
A close examination of the [2016 FP Tech Survey] data reveals other interesting trends, including which broker-dealers, custodians and third-party tech providers seem to be the best at meeting advisers’ needs, where advisers can get a good return on tech investment and how the next generation of advisers approaches tech.
Digital advice as an industry will take off once it is built into retail banking, capitalizing on an investor segment ignored by wealth managers, says SigFig CEO Mike Sha. That’s why, announcing his firm’s newest partnership with Citizens Bank, Sha predicts his platform will reach half of all U.S. households by next year.
On today’s broadcast, the World’s Most Famous Hacker shares his top cybersecurity tips, Fidelity previews its next-generation advisor technology platform, and get rapid-fire news from three of the fastest-growing portfolio management providers.
Today’s episode is brought to you by Envestnet | Tamarac, providers of Advisor Xi, an industry-leading fully integrated web-based suite for RIAs. Tamarac’s Advisor Xi unifies portfolio management, modeling, rebalancing, trading, billing, and reporting with a fully customizable client portal and enterprise-grade CRM.
If you’re going to Schwab IMPACT next week, be sure you make some time to visit the Envestnet |Tamarac booth for a live demo on their latest client portal and financial planning capabilities.
[Now continuing with the National Cyber Security Awareness theme this month, my first story is about Kevin Mitnick, the World’s Most Famous Hacker, as he presented some jaw-dropping examples of cyber and social engineering attacks that are being used today to compromise businesses of all kinds, including financial advisory firms.
Envision Consulting hosted the event in Washington DC and brought me in as the master of ceremonies, so I wanted to be sure I shared my top three takeaways with you.
First, Mitnick advised that none of the computers in your business or home should have any kind of peer-to-peer sharing software installed. This software is usually used to download pirated movies and music across peer-to-peer networks, so while you might not be downloading any pirated content, it’s possible that some of your colleagues or even your kids are doing so.
Mitnick said that some peer-to-peer software exposes the contents of a computer’s ENTIRE hard drive to the sharing network without the user’s knowledge, which is never a good thing, so you need to be sure it’s not installed on any of your systems.
Second, Mitnick showed how hackers can use a custom wireless access point to mimic public WiFi hotspots and perform man-in-the-middle attacks on your devices. For about $100, hackers broadcast their own hotspot pretending to be attwifi or free airport wifi, wait for your device to automatically connect, and then intercept the data your device sends back and forth.
So whenever you’re in a public place, turn your wifi connection off and use your mobile carrier’s network, or if you must connect to an untrusted WiFi network, use a virtual private network, or VPN, to encrypt the traffic sent to and from your device.
And third, instead of opening email attachments directly with Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat, consider using Google’s file preview built into the Chrome browser. This way, you won’t risk executing what Mitnick calls “weaponized” files, because Chrome will render a preview of the document in the web browser first, helping you determine if the file looks legitimate or if it seems suspicious. You can check the plugin settings in Chrome to see if the PDF viewer is enabled for your computer.]
[Next up is news from Fidelity Investments, as the company offered a preview of its automated investment solution for advisors called the Fidelity Automated Managed Platform, a solution co-developed with eMoney Advisor expected to be in pilot in the late first quarter of 2017.
Now if you take a look at the linked article, you’ll see a few screenshots of the solution powered by the eMoney online experience, so this doesn’t appear to be a repackaged version of Fidelity Go that is offered to retail clients, and the portfolio allocations are the same as those in Fidelity Go which are managed by the sub-advisor Geode Capital Management.
Unfortunately the preview didn’t cover any specific pricing of the Fidelity Automated Managed Platform, and advisors not already using eMoney will have to purchase at least the eMX Select subscription that’s somewhere around $1,500 to $2,000 per year, which is an interesting way to get advisors to buy more eMoney subscriptions. The press release also includes descriptions of the coming Wealthscape total advisor platform, Wealthscape Portfolio Tools, Wealthscape Regulatory Early Warning, and more. There’s a lot to take in from the press release, so be sure to follow the link included with this week’s top stories if you want to get completely up to speed.]
[And I’m running out of time, so let me finish with a rapid-fire update that starts with Envestnet | Tamarac, as their Advisor View client portal integration with MoneyGuidePro is now officially in production, then Orion Advisor Services, as the company announced a partnership with BAM Advisor Services to provide portfolio management software services to their collective $27 billion dollars in assets, and finish with a surprise update from Addepar, which used a rare press release to announce that the company surpassed $500 billion in assets managed on its platform and the rollout of the Addepar Open API for third party developers.]
On today’s broadcast, online investment advisors are coming to an RIA new you. Find out who the latest company is to enter this growing market. JemStep is another provider that’s white-labeling its technology to RIAs. Learn how one RIA is using the platform to serve its emerging clients. And Joel Bruckenstein is concerned about the future of advisor technology. Find out what issues keep this technology expert up at night.
Today’s episode is brought to you by ITEGRIA, providers of complete outsourced technology support, security, infrastructure and IT solutions exclusively for RIAs.
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/itegria.
[This week’s top story comes from Upside Advisor, the latest startup to join the class of online investment advice providers. But unlike the direct-to-consumer startups like Wealthfront and FutureAdvisor, Upside Advisor is specifically targeting financial advisors who can white label Upside Advisor’s platform to provide a low-cost managed account solution to their emerging clients.
Upside’s platform offers paperless account opening using a DocuSign integration, automated trading and rebalancing, a client portal, and more, and just raised $1.1 million in new funding to continue to enhance its features for advisors. Upside comes on the heels of the introduction of Guide Financial, a similar advisor-focused solution I highlighted back in March in episode 124, giving you one more solution to offer a low-cost, high-tech automated solution to compete with the algorithm-based competition.] Upside, which today announced that it has raised a $1.1 million funding round led by Cultivation Capital, gives financial advisers a white label solution that’s very similar to what other robo-advisers offer.
[Now another online investment provider also dipping its toe into the RIA waters is JemStep, which just recently announced a partnership with Redhawk Wealth Advisors based in Minneapolis. Under the agreement, the RIA is able to white label the JemStep platform as Redhawk Online Advisor, where investors can sign up online, connect their financial accounts, and receive investment recommendations for a fee ranging from $17 to $69 dollars a month based on the amount of assets under advisement.
It’s important note that while JemStep offers investment recommendations, it does not automatically execute trades on behalf of its users. Actually following through on JemStep’s recommendations is the responsibility of either the advisor or the end-user, which could pose an implementation challenge as the platform gains momentum with RIAs.] Redhawk Wealth Advisors, a registered investment adviser with a wealth management practice, and Jemstep Inc., also an RIA but with an algorithm-driven account aggregation and investment advice platform, have become partners, bringing online advice to help Redhawk’s retail clients manage their investments, including funds held in their 401(k) accounts.
[And finally, all this news about competition from online investment advice providers might give you cause for concern, and it’s also one of the topics that keeps technology consultant Joel Bruckenstein up at night, too. In his latest column for Financial Advisor Magazine, Bruckenstein expresses his anxiety over the state of affairs in financial advisor technology.
He highlights complacency, insufficient integrations, and competition from automated online advisors as significant threats to the growth and success of the independent advisory industry. Fortunately, Bruckenstein cites vendors like Envestnet|Tamarac, Orion Advisor Services, Ornaj, Advyzon, and more who can equip independent advisors with technology solutions that not only rival those of the competition, but can also live up to the increased expectations from today’s tech-savvy clients and prospects.] Over the last several months, I’ve traveled thousands of miles, met hundreds of advisors and spoken with numerous representatives of custodians, broker-dealers and software vendors. Although I’m generally rather upbeat about the future of this industry, there are some things that concern me about current affairs.
Here are the stories that didn’t make this week’s broadcast:
Advent Software, Inc., a leading provider of software and services for the global investment management industry, today announced that Black Diamond, an independent business group of Advent, has surpassed 540 clients and exceeded $245 billion in assets on its portfolio management, reporting, and rebalancing platform.
Some of the engineers who used to help the Central Intelligence Agency solve problems have moved on to another challenge: determining the value of every conceivable investment in the world.
Vestorly, a leading client engagement and lead generation platform, and Advisor Websites, a leading provider of websites to advisors, announced today a joint venture to develop highly engaging websites that build advisors’ brands with investors, as well as generate qualified leads for marketing purposes.
At Guide Financial, our core mission is to help America’s next generation achieve a secure financial future. We are excited to roll out a new release that underscores our commitment to advisors serving the next generation. The new release is now available to currently subscribed advisors and will become more broadly available in the coming weeks.
On today’s broadcast, two financial technology startups raise new rounds of capital. Find out how their solutions have the potential to enhance your business. A popular online document storage provider adds new features. Will they be enough to wean advisors off of consumer services like Dropbox? And this month I say farewell in my final column for Morningstar Advisor, but not before I leave readers with a glimpse of disruptive advisor technology coming in the near future.
This week’s episode is brought to you by Wealth Management Marketing, providers of complete outsourced marketing services for Registered Investment Advisers.
Learn how outsourcing your marketing can result in successful custom marketing campaigns that grow your business by visiting fppad.com/wmm.
[Leading off this week’s broadcast is news on two financial technology startups, Motif Investing and Addepar, which both announced new rounds of financing this week. Motif Investing, fresh off its second Best of Show award from Finovate, raised $35 million in funding from new investors, bringing its total to $86 million in venture capital.
During its Finovate Spring 2014 demo, Motif unveiled the Motif Advisor Platform, a solution that allows financial advisors to build, manage and rebalance their own motifs on behalf of clients. Motifs can include a combination of up to 30 stocks and ETFs, but instead of paying a commission to trade each individual security, motifs can be traded for one flat fee of just $9.95. Combining your model portfolios into motifs has the potential to save you time when trading, and it undoubtedly saves your clients in transaction fees that can add up quickly.] Motif Investing’s Advisor Platform, which was recently awarded “Best of Show” at the FinovateSpring conference, streamlines how advisors can build, monitor, and rebalance model portfolios.
[And moving on to Addepar, the company announced a round of Series C financing to the tune of $50 million dollars, bringing its investment total to $66 million. Addepar’s technology is designed to bring better transparency to the world of complex investments, which includes private equity, committed capital, non-traded alternatives, and more. If you need a refresher on Addepar’s technology and its potential to serve the RIA market, you can watch my interview with Addepar’s former president and chief strategy officer Mike Paulus.] Addepar, a leading financial technology platform for the $120 trillion investment management industry, announced that it has raised $50 million in its Series C financing.
[Next is an update on ShareFile, the web-based document storage service now owned by Citrix. At its annual conference in southern California last week, Citrix announced several enhancements to the document storage service popular among financial advisors. First is a new Software Development Kit, or SDK, that enables support for more third-party integrations with the ShareFile service.
Second, a ShareFile Personal Cloud Connector was introduced to facilitate the migration of files stored in other online services like Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, and Microsoft’s OneDrive and consolidate everything in ShareFile. Third, the company announced the upcoming redesign of the ShareFile app for iPhone that will offer a simplified and easier-to-use interface. And finally, all ShareFile users can now review and edit Microsoft Office documents or annotate PDF files on a mobile device, which are features that were once only available to enterprise subscribers.] Today at Citrix Synergy™, Citrix announced new Citrix ShareFile® features that deliver the broadest storage access for users and the most choice for IT.
[And finally, if you’re want to stay up to date on the big trends in financial services technology, you should read my farewell column at Morningstar Advisor this month. Yes, after four years of monthly columns, I have decided to hang up my hat, but not before leaving loyal readers with a glimpse of what I feel will be the most significant technology trends to affect the advisory profession. A preview of those trends includes big data and social collaboration in your CRM, first offered by Redtail and Wealthbox respectively, modern on-demand portfolio reports from companies like Blueleaf, Quovo, and Guide Financial, and the disruptive potential of tech-heavy online investment providers like Wealthfront, Betterment, Personal Capital, and more.] In a farewell report, MorningstarAdvisor.com technology columnist Bill Winterberg reflects on the advancements and evolutions in cloud-based and mobile technology, CRM, portfolio management, rebalancing software, and online advice over the last four years.
Here are stories that didn’t make this week’s broadcast:
[Earlier this week I posted my interview with former-president-turned-chief-strategy-officer Mike Paulus of Addepar (see: Managing over $100 billion, Addepar’s Mike Paulus reveals how the company will cultivate RIA business). I had to add an explanation at the beginning of that video because of Paulus’ title change, and know we know why. Addepar now has a new CEO, and President and COO, who bring seasoned experience from Palantir (Addepar co-founder Joe Lonsdale’s more recognized venture) and the private equity industry.] Addepar, the leader in smart technology platforms for global wealth and investment management, today announced the appointment of Eric Poirier as Chief Executive Officer and Karen White as President and Chief Operating Officer.
[Practice management expert Mark Tibergien, Chief Executive Officer of Pershing Advisor Solutions, a BNY Mellon company, issues a stern warning that if your firm isn’t changing to adapt to service expectations of Gen X/Y, you’re in trouble. Tibergien is inspired by Cam Marston’s book Generational Insights and argues that the tactics used to satisfy baby boomers won’t work with the client of the future.] Something has been nagging at us about the way in which most advisory firms are oriented. The epiphany came when we realized our view was more about the advisor of the future than the client of the future.
[I don’t think columnist Dave Grant wrote the title of his article, because I don’t think he would have used the phrase “pays off.” Grant experimeted with advertising and promoting his Twitter accounts with $100 seed money, and experienced ho-hum traffic to his website. Remember, nearly anyone can access Twitter analytics for free (my screencast showing how is embedded below) and you can see your account with as little at $1 for some testing. You don’t have to start with $100.] As an avid Google Analytics user, and having previously explored Facebook ads, I thought I would see what effect “Promoted Tweets” would have on my website.
[Remember, you don’t have to tweet to get benefits from Twitter. Following these 15 “power Tweeters” recommended by Nerd’s Eye View publisher Michael Kitces will get you off to a fast start to get the most out of Twitter without the compliance headaches of posting your own tweets.] While there are many social media lists out there of people and businesses to follow on Twitter, InvestmentNews’ own Power 20 “Power Tweeter” Michael Kitces, partner and director of research for Pinnacle Advisory Group and publisher of The Kitces Report and the blog Nerd’s Eye View maintains a list of people financial advisers should follow on Twitter.
With its build first objective, Addepar has quickly attracted hundreds of billions in assets and is now targeting the lucrative RIA market
Addepar, the Silicon Valley tech startup, spent four years building the next-generation portfolio management platform.
Now the company is ready to solicit business from RIAs with its premiere analysis and reporting capabilities.
Addepar’s Origins
Mike Paulus, Chief Strategy Officer of Addepar
I recently sat down with Addepar Chief Strategy Officer Mike Paulus (who held the title of president up until June 2013) to clear some of the mystery surrounding the tech startup.
Addepar originated with the goal of solving founder Joe Lonsdale’s frustration with managing his own personal wealth from his success at PayPal and Palantir.
“[Lonsdale] looked at the tools that were available to him and really didn’t see any tools that met his need,”said Paulus.
Lonsdale founded Addepar in 2009 with the goal of creating “modern, well-built technology” that was capable of addressing the intricacies of a complex portfolio. Non-public and non-traded assets including private equity, committed capital, and hard assets are examples of holdings that can be difficult to manage with existing technology.
What About RIAs?
Four years later, Addepar’s robust platform is available to registered investment advisers.
“Some of our happiest clients are RIAs,” said Paulus.
“A lot of our workflows around billing and reporting are just better suited to RIAs,” he added.
Watch the entire interview to learn more about Addepar’s capabilities, how the company retains top talent in Silicon Valley’s competitive environment, and details on pricing.
[You’ve no doubt noticed much of the new video content here at FPPad. My YouTube channel is close to 7,000 total views and continues to grow. So it’s about time you consider adding video content for your own firm. My good friend Kristen Luke, owner of Wealth Management Marketing, now offers professional video production services throughout the country. Special discount to FPPad subscribers: if you use discount code VIDFP12, you’ll get $200 off your first 30 second video, $400 off a 60 second video and $600 off a 90 second video. Discount applies to the first video only, expiration 3/31/13.] Wealth Management Marketing introduces professionally produced HD videos optimized for TV, web and mobile viewing.
[The generally secretive Addepar opens up a bit to the reporters at BusinessWeek (it’s ok Addepar, RIABiz and I understand…), but the few details disclosed sound a lot like what Orion Advisor Services and Private Client Resources currently do. Read for yourself.] Joe Lonsdale is also running a new company called Addepar that’s attempting to modernize the software that ultrawealthy families and foundations use to manage their billions. “I work 110-hour weeks,” he says. “I’m always investing and building things at the same time.”
[Clearly, mobile devices and their software apps are changing the way you do business. Expect even more functionality and enhanced security, such as facial recognition or biometrics, for mobile devices in the coming years.] Smart gadgets packed with apps are changing the way financial advisers do business and relate to their clients. As more advisers snap up mobile devices like iPads, the investment firms they work with are offering up apps that let them do their jobs from a small screen.
[Forbes managed to extract info from start-up Addepar that both RIABiz and I failed to get. Now we know Addepar charges 5 basis points on AUM, generates about $25 million in revenue, has 75 “lean” employees, and a sales force with connections to the ultra high net worth segment of the wealth management market.] Having made a small fortune in his twenties, Joe Lonsdale has set his sights on a new challenge: designing software for the ultrawealthy.
[So who out there has 401(k) fee evaluator tools? Brightscope and FutureAdvisor do, and they’ve been mentioned here before. Now start-up RIA Personal Capital has one, too. Add this to their free mobile app, free peer-to-peer payment support, and free stock option analyzer, and you’ve got a robust offering of pipeline-filling marketing tools. Oh, and they now are selling “America’s BEST 401k” plan at http://www.personalcapital401k.com/ with management fees around 50 basis points.] Personal Capital will be demoing its free 401(k) fee calculator, which enables users to determine how much their 401(k) costs and what long-term fees they can expect to pay over time. The calculator has the potential to save investors hundreds of thousands of dollars over a lifetime.
[Alternative investments are gaining adoption among financial advisers. The challenge with them, though, is getting updated data populated in a portfolio management system like PortfolioCenter, AssetBook, and in this case, Advent. From the press release, it sounds like advisers have a way to perform bulk updates to alternative assets in Advent’s Black Diamond platform. If there were 30 hours in a day, I’d have specifics for you on how that actually takes place.] Advent Software, Inc., a leading provider of software and services for the global investment management industry, today announced the launch of an alternative investments solution within the Black Diamond platform. The new functionality enables advisors and wealth managers to manage and report the details of their alternative investment holdings down to the transaction level allowing them to provide a more complete financial picture to their clients.
[MarketCounsel’s MailBanc email archiving service was one I covered last year in a review of archiving providers for Morningstar (see Avoid E-mail Audit Headaches). Thursday MarketCounsel said it sold MailBanc to archive provider Global Relay, who by no coincidence, was also featured in the same Morningstar column. When MailBanc was launched, advisers had few choices for email archiving. Today, there are many more options. As founder Brian Hamburger said, “The industry has now matured to a point where we can step aside and continue our focus on RIAs.”] “We have sold our MailBanc messaging compliance service to Global Relay,” Hamburger said, offering no details of the deal.
[The number-two CRM (according to most financial advisor surveys, and excluding Microsoft Outlook!), now has over 10,000 users on its platform. This is a good milestone for a niche product, but the company faces an uphill battle to close the gap with leading CRM provider Redtail Technologies, which at last report had over 43,000 users.] Junxure, an industry-leading CRM practice improvement firm that integrates technology, consulting, and training, today announced that it surpassed 10,000 active users on its Junxure CRM as of July 2012.
and argues that the tactics used to satisfy baby boomers won’t work with the client of the future.] Something has been nagging at us about the way in which most advisory firms are oriented. The epiphany came when we realized our view was more about the advisor of the future than the client of the future.
