Advisor Software Archives

FPPad Bits and Bytes for July 29, 2016

Posted on July 29, 2016 by Bill Winterberg in Bits & Bytes

On today’s broadcast, it’s a robo free-for-all, so put on your best robo accessory, because FPPad Bits and Bytes begins now!

(Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes on YouTube)

Today’s episode is brought to you by Envision Consulting, providers of IT management and support, cloud computing, and cybersecurity services to RIAs. This October, Envision is hosting a cybersecurity event with Kevin Mitnick, the World’s Most Famous Hacker, where you can find out how to leverage Kevin’s knowledge of the latest hacking techniques to protect your business from attack.

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

Fidelity Launches Automated Investment Advice Service from WSJ.com

Fidelity Go Vs. Pokemon Go: Be A Low-Cost Investor Or AR Zombie from Investor’s Business Daily

Better Together: Automated Investing with Professional Guidance from BusinessWire

TD Ameritrade Earns $240M in Quarter; Says Retail Robo Is Coming from ThinkAdvisor

TD Ameritrade Institutional, XY Planning Network Launch Program to Cultivate Next-Generation RIAs and Investors from TD Ameritrade

Wells Fargo Plans to Start Robo-Advisory in 2017, Sloan Says from Bloomberg

Big News for the Quantopian Community: Managing External Capital from Quantopian

[Get ready for the robo news, as this week’s top stories come from Fidelity Investments and TD Ameritrade, as both financial institutions recently announced online investing solutions for the retail investor. A few days ago, Fidelity officially rolled out Fidelity Go, specifically targeting digitally savvy customers in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, with investment assets in the low six figures.

When asked by Investor’s Business Daily what happens when Fidelity Go customers get older and wealthier, Rich Compson, head of managed accounts at Fidelity, responded that customers would be referred “to other services like Fidelity’s Portfolio Advisory Services.”

Ok, ok, but advisors aren’t completely left out, as Fidelity did promise details about an automated service it’s developing for financial advisers by year-end. That’s, details, by year-end.

And a few weeks ago, TD Ameritrade announced it had completed updates to its Amerivest Managed Portfolios retail offering, including a digital overhaul for better goal setting, performance tracking, and more.

In ThinkAdvisor’s interview with incoming CEO Tim Hockey, he said that the company will be using Amerivest’s tech enhancements “to launch a new robo for the self-directed client’s needs” scheduled for sometime in 2017.

When asked about referrals to RIAs who custody with TD Ameritrade Institutional, Hockey added that retail clients with $1 million dollars or more are the “target referral” for affiliated RIAs.

That comment came out at the same time the company announced a program with the XY Planning Network to provide dedicated service and no minimum asset requirement to use TD Ameritrade Institutional’s custody services. That’s good, it’s gotta be awkward knowing TD Ameritrade is going to target digitally savvy investors, aka potential XYPN clients, with their own retail robo solution.

On top of all that, Wells Fargo also announced that it, too, is entering the robo market, with a solution expected also sometime in 2017.

And if you don’t like today’s current robo solutions, you can go build your own robo algorithm with Quantopian, who just received fresh venture capital this week from hedge fund investor Steve Cohen.

That’s it, all I hear all day long is how great robos do this, or how wonderful robos do that: robo, robo, robo!]

Envestnet | Tamarac to Roll Out Client Portal 2.0 from PRNewswire

[Now in NON-robo news, how about an update from Envestnet | Tamarac, as the company released the latest version of its client portal to advisors who use the Advisor View™ application. If you watched my coverage of the Envestnet Advisor Summit earlier this year, you would have seen a preview of the updated client portal, plus the key enhancements highlighted by Brandon Rembe. So click right here so you can watch that video.] Envestnet | Tamarac has completely redesigned the client portal in its Advisor View™ portfolio management and performance reporting application. The new client portal will be implemented as part of Tamarac’s July 2016 technology release, and seeks to help RIAs create highly customizable client portal experiences to engage their clients and appeal to the next generation of investors.

MoneyGuidePro creator releases DOL fiduciary-focused software from InvestmentNews.com

[Also, MoneyGuidePro recently released a utility called Best Interest Scout, intended to gather information about client goals, expectations, and investment details in one place. This should help you from a workflow perspective, but the tool should also be helpful in identifying when you must engage in a Best Interests Contract with a client. If you’re concerned about compliance with the pending fiduciary rule from the DoL, expect more tools like Best Interest Scout to come to market.] PIEtech, the creator of financial planning software MoneyGuidePro, has built a tool to see how well clients’ portfolios are aligned with their best interests, including retirement goals and concerns, insurance needs, and health-care costs.

Now since I took a few weeks off, I just don’t have time to cover all the stories in my backlog, including news on the talent exodus at Wealthfront, the Betterment for Business 401(k) offering surpassing 200 plan sponsors and $5 billion in AUM, Quovo, Riskalyze and more, so links to those stories are below:

Talent exodus hits Wealthfront including heads of product, marketing and operations from RIABiz.com

Wealthfront, founded in 2008, is experiencing its first big talent exodus — a flurry of departures that includes some C-suite titles and a Unicorn shepherd.

Betterment for Business Surpasses 200 Plan Sponsors from PRNewswire

Betterment for Business, the only turnkey 401(k) service that includes personalized investment advice for all participants, announced today that it has successfully added 200 plan sponsors to the platform in the last six months.

Betterment Becomes First Independent Robo-Advisor to Surpass $5B of Assets Under Management from PRNewswire

Betterment announced today that it is the first independent robo-advisor to reach $5 billion in assets under management. The company now helps more than 175,000 customers intelligently manage and grow their wealth.

Apex Clearing to Offer Vanare’s Digital Advice Platform from PRNewswire

Apex Clearing Corporation will begin offering to its broker dealer and RIA clients the ability to digitally manage investments using Vanare’s digital advice platform. Vanare offers a wealth management technology platform with a highly customizable white labeled Roboadvisor.

Advisor Software, Quovo Partner to Strengthen Goals-Based Planning Capabilities for Wealth Managers from PRNewswire

Advisor Software, Inc. has teamed up with Quovo to provide wealth managers with seamless access to aggregated client financial data, which can help put together an all-encompassing financial picture for every client.

Marstone and Quovo Announce Partnership from MarketWired.com

Marstone, an innovative digital wealth company, and Quovo, a financial data science company for the wealth management industry, today announced that they have completed a partnership to enhance Marstone’s digital wealth solutions with Quovo’s industry-leading data aggregation.

Riskalyze Autopilot for Retirement Plans from Riskalyze

LastPass introduces Emergency Access from LastPass

With the Emergency Access feature, you can give trusted family and friends access to your LastPass account in the event of an emergency or crisis.

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for July 29, 2016

FPPad Bits and Bytes for October 25

Posted on October 25, 2013 by Bill Winterberg in Bits & Bytes

(Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes on YouTube)

On this week’s broadcast, get the rundown of all the announcements from Apple this week, the trend of quick financial planning expands to a new software provider, and how you can impress clients with a survey. Yes, I said survey!

So get ready, a special Halloween edition of Bits and Bytes begins now.

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.

From iPad Air to Mac Pro: everything you need to know about Apple’s fall event from TheVerge.com

[By now, you’ve probably heard that Apple has further disrupted the hardware and software market as we know it. The company introduced a more powerful line of MacBook laptops, updated the release date of the Mac Pro uber-computer to December starting at just under $3,000, and revealed the both the iPad Air, with its ultra-thin 9.7-inch Retina display weighing in at just one pound, and a new iPad mini, upgraded with its own 7.9 inch Retina display and now priced at $399.

Apple also accelerated the race to zero on software pricing, announcing that Mavericks, the latest operating system for Mac, is now free for all users, and the iWork and iLife suites are free for anyone who purchases a new Mac or iOS device.

So what does all this mean to advisors?

Most of you run your business on Windows computers, with many of you still using Windows 7 and older versions of Microsoft Office.

The cost of upgrading your software is often a deterrent, especially if you need to buy one or two dozen licenses for everyone in your organization. That’s especially true now that Office 365 requires an annual subscription of $99 per person; that adds up quickly!

So with free versions of the latest software from Apple, you need to consider what your businesses technology will look like in the near future. Will you get more value from low-cost PCs that come with non-trivial software costs, or from higher-priced Apple hardware that includes core software for free?

And for those programs that don’t run on Macs: there’s always Parallels or VMWare Fusion if you absolutely must have access to your legacy Windows-only applications.] After a year in which Apple’s product announcements have largely leaked out ahead of time, today the company delivered something of a surprise: a redesigned tablet, the iPad Air, that is the lightest full-size iPad to date at just 1 pound.

SunGard Launches a Financial Planning Solution that Helps Advisors Quickly Create Holistic, Client-Friendly Plans from Sungard

[If you watched FPPad Bits and Bytes for October 11, you learned that Advisor Software published goalgamiPro, the company’s quick financial plan illustration tool, on the Salesforce AppExchange market.

Now the latest company capitalizing on the popularity of quick financial planning tools is Sungard, who announced this week the introduction of a new product called WealthStation CompAct.

The new tool is a single, stand-alone application advisors can use on their own or in collaboration with clients to highlight planning opportunities across eight areas, including cash management, asset allocation, and retirement planning.

WealthStation CompAct allows advisors to create basic plans simply and efficiently to help clients prioritize their financial goals. Should more detailed planning be needed, data from CompAct can be fed into the more robust WealthStation Financial Planning module.] SunGard has launched WealthStation CompAct, a new financial planning solution that gives advisors the ability to produce results-based, holistic financial plans quickly, simply and interactively.

Use Surveys to Impress Clients. Yes, Surveys! from Morningstar Advisor

[And finally, you’ve no doubt read countless articles why it’s important to send surveys to your clients. Client surveys provide valuable insight on what your clients are thinking, but the last thing you want to do is fill up your client’s inbox with another dull, plain-vanilla survey.

Enter a survey tool called Typeform. In four easy steps, you can use Typeform to create fun, yes I said fun, surveys that stand out among the rest. Instead of the standard radio bubbles and check boxes, Typeform gives you lots of options to add color, style, and bold icons to your survey. And since Typeform uses responsive design, your surveys look great no matter what device clients use to offer feedback.] The last thing you want is a client to see your survey request and think, “Hooray–another boring survey from my financial advisor.”

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for October 25, 2013, “Halloween Edition!”

goalgamiPro adds cash flow illustrations to its quick financial planning framework

Posted on February 7, 2013 by Bill Winterberg in Video Spotlight

A popular quick financial planning tool gets even faster with Open Access integration and cash flow illustrations

While attending the TD Ameritrade Institutional 2013 National Conference last week, I connected with Neal Ringquist, president of Advisor Software.

You’ve seen Ringquist before as Advisor Software announced the introduction of goalgamiPro, the quick financial planning software tool (See: Yes, you can create financial plans in eight minutes).

Now, goalgamiPro leverages Veo® Open Access from TD Ameritrade Institutional, streamlining the process of entering household asset information into the software.

“We’re fully integrated with Veo,” said Ringquist, “[allowing] advisors to bring accounts and holdings data into the application, which eliminates all that time and makes quick planning even quicker.”

goalgamiPro has also added a new data sheet with cash flow illustrations, further enhancing the conversations advisers can have with clients about planning opportunities.

“There are two ways to look at the viability of goal planning: one is through the balance sheet, but it doesn’t address ‘financeability,’ when cash will be available to meet goals,” added Ringquist. “So we’ve provided that cash flow report [which is] another way to evaluate the client’s goal plan.”

For more information, visit Advisor Software’s goalgamiPro product page at http://www.advisorsoftware.com/products/goalgamipro.asp

(click to watch on YouTube)

FPPad Bits and Bytes for November 16

Posted on November 16, 2012 by Bill Winterberg in Bits & Bytes

Remember, today at 4:15pm Eastern, 1:15pm Pacific I’ll be hosting FPPad On Air with Steven Ryder of True North Networks to discuss disaster recovery and business continuity in the wake of superstorm Sandy. Check Twitter or Google+ for the link this afternoon.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

David Drucker and Joel Bruckenstein Announce Preliminary Agenda for “T3” 2013 Conference in Miami from PRNewswire.com

[One of the industry’s top conferences on technology is approaching quickly. Save the dates of February 11-13 and soak up the Miami sunshine while you absorb technology and practice management ideas. Note that the book Technology Tools for a High-Margin Practice will be published with all new information, including a chapter I wrote on the top collaboration technologies. Do not miss this conference!] David Drucker and Joel Bruckenstein, producers of the 8th Annual “T3” Technology Tools for Today™ Conference to be held at the Hilton Miami Downtown from February 11-13, 2013, today announced the preliminary T3 2013 conference agenda and initial details of their new book, Technology Tools for a High-Margin Practice, due out February 6, 2013.

H.D. Vest Chooses Advent’s Black Diamond Platform from Marketwire.com

[H.D. Vest, once part of Wells Fargo & Company and now owned by Parthenon Capital Partners, is equipping its 4,800 affiliates with access to on-demand custom performance reporting via Black Diamond. Clearly this is how wealth management and financial planning services will be delivered in the future; online, mobile, and customized. AND if you were a private equity company looking to increase the value of the H.D. Vest purchase, don’t you think streamline portfolio reporting and management is a decent way to do it?] Advent Software, Inc., a leading provider of software and services for the global investment management industry, recently announced that H.D. Vest Financial Services® (H.D. Vest) has transitioned its performance reporting to Advent’s Black Diamond platform to enhance their Advisors’ ability to communicate portfolio performance during client meetings.

Envestnet | Tamarac(TM) Brings Tamarac University Online from MarketWatch.com

[Today you can learn how to cut an onion online. So why not learn how to rebalance client portfolios at the same time? If you’re an Envestnet | Tamarac user, you’re in luck, as much of their training content (a.k.a. Tamarac University) is now online and available on demand.] Envestnet | Tamarac(TM), a division of Envestnet, Inc., a leading provider of integrated web-based portfolio and client management software for independent advisors and wealth managers, has announced an expansion of its popular Tamarac University program to include an online option for RIAs covering its entire curriculum.

Envestnet Announces Integration With Junxure CRM Software via PRNewswire.com

[In the second release this week, Envestnet will combine “portfolio management with client recordkeeping and workflow management” inside the soon-to-be-released Junxure Cloud. What’s odd to me is that Junxure Cloud likely will have some type of workflow or task management component, yet the Envestnet integration adds in workflow management of its own. Which one will should advisers use?] Envestnet, Inc., a leading provider of technology-enabled wealth management solutions for investment advisors, has announced that it has agreed to integrate with Junxure Cloud, the upcoming web-based client-relations management (CRM) program for financial advisors. The integration is expected to be included with the initial release of Junxure Cloud, expected in the first quarter of 2013.

Advisor Software, Inc. Signs Agreement With Redtail Technology To Integrate goalgamiPro Quick Planning Solution With Redtail CRM from MarketWatch.com

[If you’re going to create a quick plan for a client, the last thing you want to do is perform double entry of a client’s name, address, etc. In this announcement, Redtail will soon partner with Advisor Software allowing users to pass client information to Advisor Software’s goalgamiPro (see: Yes, you can create financial plans in eight minutes).] Advisor Software, Inc., a provider of wealth management solutions for the financial advisor market, has finalized an agreement with Redtail Technology, Inc., a provider of client management solutions for financial professionals, to provide access to ASI’s unique quick planning tools. The strategic partnership will integrate ASI’s direct-to-advisor product goalgamiPro with Redtail’s Client Relationship Management (“CRM”) suite.

Yes, you can create financial plans in eight minutes

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Bill Winterberg in Software, Video Spotlight

I connected with Neal Ringquist, President of Advisor Software, Inc. and talked about the trend he’s seeing of advisers turning to quick financial planning tools in their business.

One of Advisor Software’s initiatives for 2012 is to supply advisers with that tool, a web-based program it calls goalgamiPro.

“[Advisers] can quickly generate a plan and a conversation with a client, collate the material, so the discussion with the client is about goals. It’s about them, and it personalizes that discussion,” said Ringquist in an interview.

For more information on goalgamiPro and the trend towards quick financial planning tools, view the video interview.

Clients dazed by financial planning tomes? Try this one-page diagnostic alternative

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Bill Winterberg in Software

Financial planning documents can be long, complicated, and intimidating. With so many assumptions, graphs, and recommendations, do your clients’ eyes glaze over when presented with their final plan?

Perhaps a succinct, one-page diagnostic report might be in order.

In this month’s column for Morningstar Advisor, I reviewed goalgamiPro from Advisor Software, Inc., which may help reduce that dazed and confused look you receive when delivering planning advice to clients.

Video Spotlight: Advisor Software, Inc. President Neal Ringquist on enterprise integrations, goalgamiPro, and the household balance sheet

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Bill Winterberg in Video Spotlight

In today’s video spotlight, Neal Ringquist, president of Advisor Software, Inc. speaks about his company’s enterprise integrations of rebalancing software. Most major custodians include this software, yet advisers likely don’t know they’re using an Advisor Software product.

Also on tap is a discussion of the goalgamiPro app for advisers and how it can be used to produce a Household Balance Sheet for advisory clients. Enjoy!

(click to view on YouTube)

FPPad Bits and Bytes for April 6

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Bill Winterberg in Bits & Bytes

At last, good content to share with you on financial planning technology from the last week! Here are this week’s stories of interest:

TD Ameritrade makes trading on iPads for RIAs available before mobile devices from RIABiz.com

[You found out Wednesday afternoon that TD Ameritrade Institutional rolled out an update to its Veo® Mobile app for iPad that includes trading, real-time client account access, and live streaming CNBC. In Brooke Southall’s article for RIABiz, he relates some clarity from Jon Patullo on why the company decided to support trading on the popular tablet.] Following the lead of Pershing LLC and Fidelity Investments but ahead of Schwab Advisor Services, TD Ameritrade Institutional is ma king it possible for advisors to place trades for mutual funds, ETFs and equities from chairlifts and hotel lobbies using iPads.

Mobile-Management from Financial Planning

[This is a decent short overview of a few apps with which advisers are finding success with clients. Included are goalgamiPro from Advisor Software (see my intervew on goalgami with ASI’s Neal Ringquist), AdvisorView from Tamarac, and mobile apps by Orion Advisor Services.] New and powerful planning tools lets advisors such as Betty Hedrick slash the time required for both nuts-and-bolts planning, as well as the once time-consuming transactional work of managing wealth.

Also note that AdvisorOne is starting a 10-part series by Actifi’s Spenser Segal on top technology trends for advisers. The first update is just an overview of what’s to come in the future, but it’s worthwhile taking note so you don’t miss subsequent updates in the future.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for September 30

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Bill Winterberg in Bits & Bytes

I’ve been on the road Monday through Thursday, sharing information on how advisors can use transformative technology in their businesses today. Despite my travel, I am still keeping you informed on the top stories in tech this week.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

Orion Updates Advisor Desktop for RIAs from AdvisorOne.com

[Orion is in the news again, this time announcing updates to its rebalancing tool to provide household-level management.] Orion Advisor Services unveiled the latest release for it Advisor Desktop portfolio management suite for RIAs on Monday with new features designed to make it easier for advisors using the primary database management tool to rebalance their clients’ portfolios and create tax efficient strategies at the household level.

Fidelity is set to add Envestnet, Redtail, Morningstar, AppCrown and Salesforce to WealthCentral from RIABiz.com

[If you’re a major custodian, you have technology news to share leading up to November. Case in point: Fidelity announces key integrations for its advisors.] As part of an accelerating arms race among RIA custodians, Fidelity Investments has more than doubled — to 11 from five — the number of vendors it plans to invest in integrating as part of its WealthCentral platform.

Trust Company of America is giving RIAs more weapons for free-wheeling from RIABiz.com

[Trust Co. of America announced its Liberty mobile platform two weeks ago. Hear from affiliated advisors on the benefits they see in the system.] Advisors currently using the product say that it takes the use of a mobile platform to a new level because everything that can be seen on a PC can be seen on a smart phone or tablet in the exact same configuration.

Advisor Software Debuts goalGetter App for iPad from Financial-Planning.com

[Today, if you don’t have a solution for mobile devices, iPad in particular, you might as well go back to the drawing board with your strategy. Here’s another iPad app for advisers from Advisor Software.] Advisor Software, a provider of wealth management applications for financial advisors, announced that its goalGetter financial planning application for the iPad is now available for free download from Apple’s App Store.

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