Tag Archives: Commonwealth Financial Network

FPPad Bits and Bytes for October 3

Posted on October 3, 2014 by in Bits & Bytes

On today’s broadcast, Upside Advisor teams up with a high-profile RIA. Will this partnership do anything to slow the growth of the $(!#-advisers? Redtail CRM previews the new version of its popular CRM. Will the design and feature changes be enough to attract advisors that are using aging systems? And, broker-dealers aren’t turning a blind eye to technology. Find out which firms are investing heavily to boost the efficiency of their representatives.

So get ready, FPPad Bits and Bytes begins now!

(Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes on YouTube)

Today’s episode is brought to you by Wealthbox CRM. Version 1.6 is now available featuring automated workflows, templates for routine processes, and progress updates all on one screen!

Wealthbox CRM

Sign up for a free trial of Wealthbox today by visiting fppad.com/wealthbox

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

Upside Powers Ritholtz Wealth Management’s New Digital Offering, Called Liftoff from Upside Advisor

[First up this week is an announcement from Ritholtz Wealth Management, the New York RIA headed by The Big Picture blogger Barry Ritholtz and Josh Brown, aka The Reformed Broker, who released a new web-based offering to emerging clients called Liftoff. Liftoff is a white-labeled version of the $(!#-adviser solution, uh, ok, online investment solution from Upside Advisor, which I introduced to you back in episode 136.

For around 40 basis points, Liftoff provides automated asset allocation recommendations to clients who want to get started with investing, but don’t yet have enough assets to qualify for a one-on-one relationship with Ritholtz’s advisors. Upside Advisor is just the latest $(!#-adviser, oh, right, online investment provider to join this space, as they’re going up against competing solutions like Wealthfront, Personal Capital, Betterment, Learnvest, Guide Financial, JemStep, Orion Discover; I can’t keep them all straight!

So today you’re faced with a choice: will you sit on the sidelines to see how these low-cost automated solutions play out, or will you partner with a low-cost provider to offer an investment solution for your emerging clients?] Upside, a technology company providing a digital advisor platform to investment advisors, today announced a new partnership with Ritholtz Wealth Management (RWM).

Tech Review: Redtail’s New Edition from Financial Planning

[Next up is a review of Redtail CRM and its third major product update to its software called Project Tailwag. In his October column for Financial Planning magazine, Joel Bruckenstein gives a very favorable review of the redesign and feature enhancements to the industry’s most widely used CRM.

Users will soon have access to a clean, flat design that’s easier to use, and it’s also responsive, as it adjusts to screens of any size from desktops to smartphones. Contact records feature a timeline of client interactions, and important details like contact information and activities and workflows are just a single click away.

Whether you use Redtail CRM or an alternative solution such as Junxure, Salesforce, Wealthbox, and others, these are the types of features and functionality you’re going to need if you expect to cultivate meaningful relationships with clients and differentiate yourself from the $(!#-advisers, uh, I mean, online investment providers.] Redtail Technology just released a major upgrade to its popular CRM application. Dubbed Project Tailwag, this version of Redtail — only the third upgrade in the company’s 12-year history — offers a host of new enhancements.

Racing Ahead from Financial Advisor

[And finally, Joel Bruckenstien once again wraps up this week’s top stories with a technology update from the nation’s leading broker-dealers firms. In his column for Financial Advisor magazine, Bruckenstein highlights LPL Financial’s announcement of ClientWorks, the successor to the existing BranchNet platform that I covered in episode 137, an updated portfolio reporting solution and Client Center dashboard from Raymond James, updates to Commonwealth Financial Network’s Client Household 360 Dashboard and Practice360 business dashboard, and the AIG Advisor Group’s pending release of a mobile version of Salesforce and with integrated Salesforce work flows.

Clearly these broker-dealer firms are investing heavily in technology to boost the capabilities of their representatives, especially as they face increasing competition from all of the $(!#-adviser, ugh, online solutions out there.] The pace of technological innovation has never been greater. Independent broker-dealer firms continue to invest to keep up with the competition, offering advisors and end clients a better experience.

Here are the stories that didn’t make this week’s broadcast:

Risk Tool Smackdown: FinaMetrica vs. Riskalyze from Financial Planning

I tested myself using two of the more popular risk tolerance instruments: Riskalyze and FinaMetrica.

Smarsh Introduces Enhanced Archiving Support for Instagram from BusinessWire

Smarsh®, the leading provider of hosted archiving solutions for compliance and e-discovery, today announced the Smarsh Archiving Platform now offers enhanced support for Instagram.

Personal Capital integrates Zillow home estimates from Personal Capital

For those of you with property, Personal Capital has come out with a great new feature that will help you keep track of your real estate investments with Zillow.

 

 

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for October 3, 2014

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for October 3, 2014

FPPad Bits and Bytes for October 11

Posted on October 11, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

On this week’s broadcast, learn which broker-dealers are stepping up their game in technology, the industry’s first native financial planning app for Salesforce is introduced, what to do when someone steals your online videos, and more. So get ready, Bits and Bytes begins now.

(Watch on YouTube)

Today’s episode is brought to you by the 2013 T3 Enterprise Conference, exclusively designed for the technology needs of broker-dealers and financial enterprises.

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You have less than one month before this event kicks off on November 3rd in Chicago, so if you’re looking for the best place to monitor trends in broker-dealer technology, you need register today at t3enterpriseconference.com

Upping the Ante from Financial Advisor Magazine

[Continuing with the theme of broker-dealer technology, this week’s lead story comes from Joel Bruckenstein, whose “Upping the Ante” column for Financial Advisor magazine provides a terrific overview at what broker-dealers are doing to deliver leading technology to their representatives.

Bruckenstein covers updates from leading BDs like Raymond James, LPL Financial, United Planners, Commonwealth, and Wells Fargo Advisors. Even if your firm is not affiliated with a broker-dealer, you need to read this column to find out what technology you should be adding to your business so you don’t fall behind in this continuously evolving marketplace.] With advisors’ business models constantly evolving, the pressure on independent broker-dealers to continually enhance their technology platforms has never been more intense. From portfolio management to client relationships, advisors are demanding that competitive brokerage firms up their tech games. This article looks at how five broker-dealers are trying to satisfy those demands.

Advisor Software, Inc. Launches goalgamiPro On salesforce.com’s AppExchange, The World’s Leading Business Apps Marketplace from PRNewswire.com

[Now notably absent from an article on broker-dealer technology is any update on Salesforce, the 800-pound gorilla of enterprise CRM. But one company expanding its support of Salesforce is Advisor Software, creators of goalgamiPro, a quick financial planning software application that I’ve highlighted in the past on my YouTube channel.

Advisor Software just launched a new app in the Salesforce AppExchange for goalgamiPro, giving advisors who use Salesforce the industry’s first native financial planning app for the CRM platform. You can watch a 7-minute demo video of goalgamiPro for Salesforce in action embedded along side the links to this week’s top stories.] Advisor Software, Inc., a provider of wealth management solutions for the financial advisor market, today announced it has launched its goalgamiPro quick planning solution on salesforce.com’s AppExchange, empowering businesses to connect with customers, partners and employees in entirely new ways.

Video theft: the latest threat to online financial adviser content from FPPad

[Switching gears now, a lot of you have asked me how you can create and post videos online to market your firm and generate organic search traffic to your business. But when you post videos online, you need to know that other people with dubious intentions can steal your videos and use them for their own benefit.

This week I discovered two episodes of Bits and Bytes had been reposted to another channel on YouTube and were being used to generate advertising revenue for that channel owner. So what can you do if you find someone allegedly infringing your copyrighted videos? YouTube makes it very easy to file an infringement claim, and when I filled one out for the two Bits and Bytes videos that were stolen, YouTube removed them in less than 24 hours.

Here is the link to access the YouTube Copyright Infringement Notification form.] Content thieves are stealing popular advisor videos to draw visitors to their questionable channels. Find out how to stop them.

Orion Advisor Services, LLC Achieves ISO 27001 Certification from PRNewswire.com

[Finishing up this week’s broadcast is a security update from Orion Advisor Services, the nation’s largest privately held portfolio accounting service bureau and, full disclosure, past sponsor of Bits and Bytes. Earlier this week, Orion announced that it achieved the ISO 27001 certification for meeting rigorous standards required for internal security controls.

The ISO 27001 certification is not easy to achieve, as the audit process is both time consuming and expensive. Orion becomes just the second company in all of Nebraska to receive the certification and joins industry heavyweights like Salesforce and Broadridge as the few financial services firms that are ISO 27001 certified.

But if you seek the gold standard in security controls from your vendors and providers to keep your information safe, ISO 27001 is the benchmark that distinguishes the top companies from all the rest.] Orion Advisor Services, LLC, a premier portfolio accounting service provider, recently completed an independent audit in accordance with the global security certification standards outlined by the ISO/IEC 27001:2005 report (“ISO 27001”).

 

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FPPad Bits and Bytes for June 28

Posted on June 28, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

2013 is half over. How much have you accomplished towards your technology goals?

2013 is half over. How much have you accomplished towards your technology goals?

And just like that, the first half of 2013 is over.

Remember the technology objectives you had when you entered the year? How have you fared on increasing efficiency and enhancing the service you deliver to clients?

If you’re not as far along as you had hoped, you still have 26 weeks to move ahead!

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

What I Learned from Getting Robbed: Part 2 from Advisortechbuzz.com

[This is the second update from Justin Unton from Commonwealth about the theft of his laptop and mobile devices. As an Apple user, he has several preexisting options for device recovery including updating his Apple ID with stolen device information and attempting to locate devices with the Find My iPhone app. Prey is also a clever app to install on your laptop which will try to contact the owner and send webcam photos of whoever is trying to access the laptop.] As I mentioned in the previous post, after getting robbed I was thankful I’d taken steps to protect the information stored on my electronic devices. Today, I’ll discuss a few specific security measures that served me well (and one that I wish I’d had in place).

RIA technology updates from Schwab Advisor Services’ Tech Talk series from FPPad

[Yes, I’m shamelessly promoting my own coverage of technology updates from Schwab Advisor Services. But let’s face it; you could read the PR-heavy press release, or read my review of the technology updates that matter to your business.] In a move to be more visible and transparent, Schwab Advisor Services launched a periodic series of conference calls called Tech Talk, featuring the latest updates on Schwab’s technology and related services for independent investment advisors.

Erado Announces Addition of Google Plus to Social Media Capturing Suite from Erado.com

[Erado continues to grow under the radar of most advisers, and that’s partly due to their success in cultivating new broker-dealer relationships. Now Erado becomes more attractive after recently adding Google Plus archiving (or Google+ which isn’t so press-release friendly) to their compliance suite.] Erado, the nation’s leading compliance and archiving firm in electronic communication, officially announces the newest addition to their Social Media Capturing suite, Google Plus.

Convenience or security: You can’t have both when it comes to Wi-Fi from TechRepublic.com

[Frequent Bits & Bytes readers might be tired of hearing about the risks of using public WiFi networks. For a refresher specific to you as a financial adviser, go read Why advisers can’t trust their clients anymore and How to secure mobile devices against “WiFi honeypots” here at FPPad. In this TechRepublic.com article, author Michael Kassner interviews an information security professional about how the risks of using public WiFi and what tools and programs to have in place to protect against hacking. But again, everything in the TechRepublic article has been covered for you in the two posts I provided as a refresher.] Open Wi-Fi networks can be a godsend when you need them. Michael P. Kassner interviews a network-security expert who explains why bad guys like them even more.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for June 21

Posted on June 21, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

integration

For financial advisers, integration, no matter how simple or complex, leads to higher revenue, profitability, and income says one survey.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

What I Learned from Getting Robbed: Part 1 from Advisortechbuzz.com

[This is a last-minute addition to this week’s Bits and Bytes. Here’s a personal story from Commonwealth’s Justin Unton about a robbery at his house and the theft of a bunch of his electronics. Unton strongly advocates the use of two-factor authentication (see: How to enable two-step verification on your LinkedIn account) which renders these devices and online logins useless without access Unton’s mobile phone. Let this be a lesson to us all: turn on two factor authentication wherever you can to give yourself an additional layer of protection in the event something like this happens to you.] At first, we thought it was our cat, Oscar, who had caused the mass destruction in our living room. We even laughed it off, thinking that he must have seen a fly and done his best puma impression to track it down and pounce on it. That all changed as we went down the hallway to our bedroom and saw the contents of our drawers strewn about the floor.

Envestnet | Tamarac White Paper: Technology Integration Leads To 20% More Annual Income For Advisors from Marketwatch.com

[I think it’s generally common sense to equate the use of integrated software tools with increased profitability. But just in case you have your doubts, here’s a white paper compiled from an Aite Group survey that demonstrates this fact. So what is “some degree” of technology integration? The white paper says it’s single sign-on, manual data sharing, automatic data sharing, and cross-product functionality. Want a copy of the white paper? Visit http://tamaracinc.com/White-Paper-Download.aspx and offer your contact information.] Envestnet | Tamarac, part of Envestnet, Inc., a leading provider of integrated web-based portfolio and client management software for independent advisors and wealth managers, has released a white paper showing that financial advisors at independent RIA practices with some degree of technology integration earn approximately 20 percent more in annual income than their counterparts at independent RIA practices with no technology integration.

AssetBook rolls out mobile portfolio management application from InvestmentNews.com

[AssetBook joins other portfolio management software providers including Black Diamond and Orion Advisor Services (see: Eric Clarke, President of Orion Advisor Services, on additional integrations and mobile apps) in offering a native mobile app advisers can use to view portfolios.] AssetBook LLC announced Friday the release of AssetBook Mobile: a native application for devices running both iOS and the Android operating system.

Smarsh, an archivist for the information age from OregonLive.com

[Smarsh routinely appears on FPPad for email and social media compliance. Clearly they’re a popular service provider among their regulated financial service customers, and that popularity has resulted in dramatic growth of what was once a small start up in the Pacific Northwest.] Companies used to wish away their old correspondence. Old letters were a legal liability, the thinking went, and ought to be destroyed. Smarsh has built one of Portland’s fastest-growing tech businesses by taking the opposite approach, contending that in the information age nothing is ever really gone.

Dell owns 60 percent of Smarsh, with an option to buy more from OregonLive.com

[This is a sidebar to the Smarsh article above, but I felt it important enough to break it out separately. Did you know Dell, yes, that Dell, now owns 60 percent of Smarsh? I didn’t either. That news managed to fly under my radar.] Companies that produce the kind of growth that Smarsh has inevitably attract suitors. But don’t look for a buyout at Smarsh: It’s already happened.

Tweet this: Finra spot-checking firms for social media compliance from InvestmentNews.com

[Surprise, surprise, FINRA is checking broker-dealer rep’s use of social media! It’s not breaking news, FINRA is doing what they’re supposed to be doing; their job! Still, if these spot-checks scare you, here’s what you need to have: 1) A compliance manual that includes your social media policy, 2) documentation that reps are periodically trained, and 3) a monitoring and archiving system that contains the history of social media posts. Is there anything I left out?] The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. is doing social-media compliance spot checks on some of its member firms. In a notice posted Monday on Finra’s website, the regulator said it wants broker-dealers to identify the sites used by a firm, as well as all individuals who post or update the firm’s content on social-media sites.

 

FPPad Bits and Bytes for June 3

Posted on June 3, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

This week’s FPA NorCal Conference wrapped up a hectic month of May, involving four separate conferences in four cities across the U.S., combined with two short vacations coupled with the travel.

Still, we’ve managed to keep an eye out for relevant technology articles in the financial planning profession. Here are this week’s stories of interest:

AIG’s Advisor Group to roll out revised platform from InvestmentNews.com

See what an investment in the “healthy seven digits” looks like for representatives under the AIG Advisor Group technology platform.

Commonwealth’s revamp of technology includes subtracting Advent from RIABiz.com

Advent first buys Black Diamond, but then Commonwealth Financial Network breaks its ties with Advent Software citing a lack of value for the cost.

One-Click Calling from CRM at MorningstarAdvisor.com

In Bill’s monthly blog at Morningstar Advisor, he discusses how advisers can simplify making phone calls with web browser extensions. Say goodbye to 10-digit dialing!

FPPad Bits and Bytes for May 13

Posted on May 13, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

We’re attending the 2011 FPA DFW Financial Planning Symposium today (our second of four conferences this month!) and will be live tweeting updates using the #FPADFW hashtag.

In the meantime, below are this week’s best stories in financial planning technology.

Read this month’s column for Morningstar Advisor, A Popular CRM Gets an Upgrade

Over the last 12 months, Redtail product developers and engineers have been working hard to prepare a new version of its CRM, code-named Project Leapfrog, scheduled for official release in January 2012. In this month’s column, Bill explores the new features and design of Project Leapfrog and how they improve this already-popular CRM.

Cabinet NG First to Offer Scheduling, Workflow and Document Management in One Package from MarketWire.com

Cabinet NG, provider of document management and workflow management software, today announced the latest version of CNG-SAFE 7.0. The new version aligns document and contact management through its breakthrough scheduling capability making it an industry first with scheduling, workflow and document management in one core package.

Cambridge, Commonwealth vault advisors into social media; the boost is mostly free, for now from RIABiz.com

Sensing the urgency for advisors to have access to social media, Cambridge Investment Research and Commonwealth Financial Network have begun offering their advisors coaching and technology services to help them use social web sites.

Choosing Software That Works for Your Advisory Firm-Part 5: How to Implement New Technology from AdvisorOne.com

The fifth update in a six-part series by Spenser Segal of ActiFi designed to present best practices to advisors on how to choose, implement and monitor new technology for an advisory firm.

Actiance Selected by Smarsh as Social Media Compliance Partner from Reuters.com

Actiance, enablers of the safe and compliant use of unified communications, collaboration and Web 2.0, today announced that Smarsh, the managed service leader in secure and reliable email archiving and compliance solutions, has expanded its agreement with Actiance to include the Socialite platform.

 

 

FPPad Bits and Bytes for April 22

Posted on April 22, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

We spent the week finalizing details on several new speaking engagements and attended Redtail University in Dallas on Tuesday to get a better look at Redtail’s Project Leapfrog CRM (a name we’re fond of as Bill once wrote software for LeapFrog Toys).

See our speaking page to view details on new engagements added for FPA chapters and NAPFA conferences later this year.

Without further ado, here are this week’s stories of interest:

Commonwealth Finds Compliant Solution to Interactive Social Media from FA-Mag.com (additional coverage from AdvisorOne.com)

FPPad readers know about Commonwealth Financial Network’s relationship with Erado from our Bits and Bytes coverage on April 8. In June, Commonwealth will be the first broker-dealer to roll out what it considers to be a FINRA-compliant social media solution to its reps. What remains to be seen, though, is exactly who is responsible for creating and maintaining social media policies and procedures: Commonwealth’s compliance department, individual reps, or both?

Trust Company of America adds inexpensive Black Diamond technology — in its own way from RIABiz.com (and press release coverage from FA-Mag.com)

With an eye toward creating a slick package of integrated, easy-to-use software for breakaway brokers, Trust Company of America reported today that it became the latest asset custodian to make Black Diamond Performance Reporting part of its arsenal.

Make sure all your data are safe from InvestmentNews.com

Keeping client data safe has become even more important in light of all the sensitive information that is now being stored on portable devices.

Read the final part of an interview AdvisorWebsites.com conducted with Bill on financial adviser technology:Bill Winterberg Talks Technology: Part 4 (be sure to read Part 1,Part 2 and Part 3).