Tag Archives: Alex Murguia

FPPad Tech Tour: inStream Solutions

Posted on April 11, 2016 by in FPPad Tech Tour

Our second stop in Washington DC is a visit with Alex Murguia and John Wotowicz of inStream Solutions.

Hear how the need for a different approach to financial planning inside McLean Asset Management expanded to a dedicated wealth management solution for all financial advisors.

(Watch FPPad Tech Tour with Alex Murguia and John Wotowicz of inStream Solutions on YouTube)

Donate to the Foundation for Financial Planning and view more FPPad Tech Tour content online at http://www.fppadtechtour.com/

FPPad Tech Tour is brought to you by the following Back Stage Sponsors:
Envestnet|Tamarac: http://www.tamaracinc.com
Orion Advisor Services: http://www.orionadvisor.com
Redtail Technology: http://corporate.redtailtechnology.com

CHAPTER MARKERS:
0:10 FPPad Tech Tour Intro
0:43 inStream introduction
4:27 What prompted the move to make inStream a product for all financial advisors?
6:28 What are the important personal attributes of Alex Murguia?
7:20 Introducing John Wotowicz
9:38 How John applies his passion to the growth of inStream
11:20 How will inStream push the envelope of financial planning software in the future?
13:14 inStream announces match for contributions to the Foundation for Financial Planning

inStream abandons free plan, introduces subscription pricing

Posted on January 8, 2014 by in Software, Technology

Financial planning software startup inStream Solutions drops its free pricing plan, switches to annual subscription model

inStream Solutions made a splash in late 2011 with the introduction of its free financial planning software tool for financial advisers (watch Video Spotlight: inStream Solutions CEO Alex Murguia on achieving proactive financial planning).

But like many startups, inStream just made a pivot in its business model that eliminates the free plan altogether for some 2,000 users.

inStream No Longer Free

This week, inStream announced that it is switching to an annual subscription model, with retail pricing set at $2,400 per user.


inStream Solutions CEO Alex Murguia introduces the startup at FinovateSpring 2012 (watch on YouTube)

Volume discounts will be available for large firms, and existing users of the free plan will be offered the chance to subscribe for just $1,000. Also, as an incentive to new users, inStream is offering 50% off the retail subscription fee to any new adviser who signs up prior to June 30, 2014.

Not only that, inStream is also changing its positioning in the market by calling the solution a “wealth management platform” in favor of its former financial planning software heading.

More than Financial Planning Software

inStream replaces the financial planning software terminology in favor of a wealth management tool

inStream replaces the financial planning software terminology in favor of a wealth management tool

In an interview with Financial Advisor magazine tech editor Joel Bruckenstein, Alex Murguia, founder and CEO of inStream, said, “We are not trying to create financial planning software; we’re creating a wealth management platform that financial planners can use to run their businesses.”

To its credit, inStream has recently added features that transcend beyond traditional financial planning to increase the value and utility of the solution.

In recent months, inStream brought on Dr. Wade Pfau, Professor of Retirement Income for the American College, to lead its new Financial Planning Research division (watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 2nd for more details on Pfau’s involvement).

Out of this partnership, inStream will soon release what it calls the industry’s first “Safe Saving Rate” planning tool developed under the guidance of Pfau.

Existing Updates, Too

inStream is also upgrading many of its existing functions, which include mind map plugins, proactive alerts, and custom reports for financial plans.

For more information on the new pricing plans, as well as feature enhancements, visit inStream online at www.instreamwealth.com

[Video Spotlight] inStream Solutions CEO Alex Murguia at FinovateSpring 2012

Posted on May 10, 2012 by in Video Spotlight

Yesterday I covered inStream Solutions’ presentation at FinovateSpring 2012 (see FinovateSpring 2012 highlights for independent financial advisers: Day 2). Below watch a short spotlight video with inStream CEO Alex Murguia about the ways the application can expand beyond the independent RIA marketplace.

(click here to view on YouTube)

Video Spotlight: inStream Solutions CEO Alex Murguia on achieving proactive financial planning

Posted on March 29, 2012 by in Video Spotlight

Today’s video spotlight features Alex Murguia, CEO of inStream Solutions, a new financial planning software application built around the proactive planning process.

Hear Murguia address the challenges his firm, McLean Asset Management, faced with traditional, reactive financial planning models and the investment he and his partners made to create a new, proactive solution. In addition to proactive alerts, hear about the marketplace inStream creates to aggregate financial calculators and products that can benefit clients’ financial plans.

(click to view on YouTube)

[PODCAST] Competing Against “Robo Advisors:” Delivering Advice in a New World from T3 2012

Posted on February 23, 2012 by in Podcast, Practice Management, Technology

Yesterday I posted two YouTube videos from the session from T3 2012 titled Competing Against Robo Advisors. I know that many of you prefer to download content like this to your media player of choice (i.e. iPhone) and listen to it on your jog or your commute home.

Using the audio from the Robo Advisor session, I created my first podcast. I’m currently going through the approval process with iTunes, but in the meantime you can listen and download the podcast directly from FPPad.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

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[VIDEO] Competing Against “Robo Advisors:” Delivering Advice in a New World from T3 2012

Posted on February 22, 2012 by in Conferences, Practice Management

Watch the session from T3 2012 titled Competing Against Robo Advisors to understand how your business must change in the face of disruptive, well-funded startups.

On Saturday, February 18 at the Technology Tools for Today (T3) conference in Dallas, TX, I moderated a panel discussion featuring John Prendergast, Co-founder and CEO of Blueleaf, and Alex Murguia, Co-founder of inStream. The session was titled Competing Against Robo Advisors: Delivering Advice in a New World, which addressed the rising trend of online startups who are launching low-cost financial advice platforms.

Companies like Personal Capital, Wealthfront, and LearnVest are encroaching on the independent financial adviser’s value proposition, and are leveraging their internal talent and well-funded venture capital to disrupt this industry.

I feel that the topic deserves attention from advisers, particularly for those who actively seek to attract wealth accumulators in their 30s and 40s. John sent me a text an hour before our session asking if I could film it to share with you. I did, and uploaded the session in two parts to YouTube so you can watch it.

Here is Part 1:

And here is Part 2:

Robo advisers are here: What you need to do to adapt

Posted on January 31, 2012 by in Conferences, Practice Management

Robo Advisor

January 2015: Note that this was the first instance of “robo adviser” I used on FPPad to refer to the automated advice investment providers emerging in 2011 and early 2012, but it’s not the first utterance of the term according to this Business Insider article.

If you don’t know already, your business is being targeted by online, low-cost financial advice and investment platforms.

Witness the advent of startups and applications like Personal Capital, Wealthfront, LearnVest, and more last year. Some advisers may have dismissed these platforms as “robo advisers,” which will never match the personal attention and relationship a human being can deliver.

While a compelling proposition, I don’t think that dismissing the competition is a wise strategy for advisers. I’m not alone in this line of thinking. Just this week, Alex Murguia, managing principal of McLean Asset Management and CEO and founder of inStream Solutions, said pretty much the same thing.

In an interview for Financial-Planning.com, Murguia had this to say:

While they [online advice platforms] are not currently a direct threat, they are becoming more popular and have significant financial backing. In addition, many advisors are doing themselves a disservice by just providing “set it and forget it” model portfolios. Could you blame consumers for not fully understanding the true value of independent financial advice, in this context?

Competing Against Robo-Advisers

So you want to adapt and separate yourself from the robo adviser competition. Where to begin?

Here is a session from the 2012 Technology Tools for Today conference (T3) held at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, TX. I moderated a panel discussion featuring Murguia as well as John Prendergast, CEO of Blueleaf on this exact issue. The session is titled Competing Against Robo Advisors: Delivering Advice in a New World and it delivered several gut-checks as you think about where your business is headed in the next five years.

Here is Part 1 of the session:

Here is Part 2: