Tag Archives: Davis janowski

FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 2

It’s here! Bits and Bytes has gone video.

I’m now delivering the week’s best technology bits for financial advisers in a video broadcast you can bite into anytime you like (oh yes, I just did that).

This week’s edition of Bits and Bytes is brought to you by Redtail Technology, providers of cloud-based CRM for financial professionals since 2003.

Redtail Technology

Check out their popular advisor solutions and sign up for a 30-day free trial. Visit fppad.com/redtail for more information.

(Watch on YouTube). But still, those with short attention spans or aficionados of the written word can get this week’s stories of interest in their full-text glory below.

Like it? Hate it? Let me know!

Like the new format? Hate it? Don’t care for it? Be honest, and let me know by contacting me.

Tech reporter Davis Janowski leaving InvestmentNews to become editor for WealthFront, via Davis’ Twitter feed

[In this week’s lead story, venerable technology reporter Davis Janowski announced this week that he will be leaving his position as tech reporter at InvestmentNews to assume the editor role over at WealthFront. Most of you should recognize WealthFront from a number of past articles about online financial advice platforms and so called “robo-adviser” platforms. For as long as I can remember, Davis has been a solid journalist covering technology for financial advisers and inspired me to launch FPPad back in the day. So Davis, thanks for all your work and passion, and I look forward to what you have in store for advisers with your new role at WealthFront.]

 

USB flash drives masquerading as keyboards mean more BYOD security headaches from ZDNet.com

[In my Defending Against Phishing, Hacking, and Spoofing Attacks presentation, this is one of the attacks I talk about under social engineering. See, hackers drop these little USB flash drives in business parking lots, labeled with enticing messages like “personal and confidential” or “2012 tax returns.” They hope than an unsuspecting employee will pick it up and plug it in to their corporate computer, which unbeknownst to the employee unleashes all kinds of malware and spyware inside the corporate firewall. The best defense against this tactic: train everyone in your organization not to use USB drives from unknown sources. The risk of stumbling on a rogue device is just too great.] You should be already aware of the data theft risks that USB flash drives pose to your company – even a seemingly lowly 2GB drive can hold a lot of precious data – but a new threat has emerged which makes them even more dangerous.

inStream Hires Professor Dr. Wade Pfau to lead Financial Planning Research from inStreamWealth.com

[inStream, the provider of free web-based financial planning, strike that, practice management software, just beefed up its chops in the retirement planning area by hiring Dr. Wade Pfau to lead its Financial Planning Research division. Pfau is the Professor of Retirement Income for the American College and has authored a number of influential papers on retirement research. Clearly, advisers looking to serve the needs of their retiring clients want access to the leading research on retirement planning, and Pfau’s connection with inStream will likely raise the company’s profile on most advisers’ radar. A final note: inStream is an advertiser on FPPad and helps support content production just like this.] inStream Solutions (“inStream”) announced today that American College Professor of Retirement Income Dr. Wade Pfau has joined the firm to lead Financial Planning Research.

Orion Advisor Services Enhances Integrated Performance Reporting Capabilities from MarketWatch.com

[Orion Advisor Services is well-known for its hosted portfolio management software and reconciliation service bureau. One issue with many of these services is that the reports themselves might not be exactly what advisers are looking for and want to present to their clients. Some advisers turn to third-party providers like MorningStar or AdvisoryWorld for more attractive reports that better convey information advisers want to put in front of clients. Well this week, Orion announced that its Report Builder solution now integrates with AdvisoryWorld, so advisers can pull in components like risk analytics, Modern Portfolio Theory statistics, and diversification and overlap analysis directly from AdvisoryWorld, but be able to match the font size and look and feel of standard Orion reports. If you’re one of the hundreds of Orion users, check out the updated Report Builder and see how you can enhance your reports with the latest AdvisoryWorld integration.] Orion Advisor Services, LLC, a premier portfolio accounting service provider, is delivering more robust performance reporting capabilities to its advisor clients through expanded integrations with AdvisoryWorld, a leading provider of customizable portfolio analytics and investment planning applications to the financial services market and PIEtech’s MoneyGuidePro, the leading goal-based financial planning software for financial advisors.

BlazePortfolio Completes Integration with Black Diamond from BlazePortfolio.com

[For rebalancing software, advisers are pretty familiar with Envestnet|Tamarac, TD Ameritrade Institutional’s iRebal, and Total Rebalance Expert. One of the programs not on most advisers’ radar is Atom Align from Blaze Portfolio. This week, the folks at Blaze Portfolio announced that their solution, Atom Align, is now integrated with Advent’s Black Diamond portfolio management software. So if you’re a Black Diamond user and don’t have rebalancing software, you have one more option to consider to increase your efficiency when rebalancing client accounts.] BlazePortfolio is excited to complete its integration with Black Diamond.  The BlazePortfolio and Black Diamond integrated solution offers Investment Advisors the opportunity to utilize both platforms for their back office systems.

LinkedIn Company Pages Add Analytics from Mashable.com

[If you’re like me, you work hard to build your brand and build your profile through a number of social media websites. So a big part of measuring your success for the time you spend on social media is the ability to get metrics and real data behind your social media activity. Mashable reported on Wednesday that LinkedIn is now offering analytics for Company Pages set up on the site, so if your firm has a Company Page, go sign in and look for the new analytics tab in your menu.] LinkedIn added analytic support to Company Pages Wednesday, giving businesses the opportunity to track how content shared on LinkedIn performs.

And if you want to read the best material in financial planning knowledge and information over the weekend, click or tap the button below to head over to Michael Kitces’ Nerd’s Eye View blog and see the latest in Weekend Reading.

Click to view Weekend Reading at Kitces.com

The adviser’s mobile world: Register for this free videocast

By the end of 2014, mobile devices will outnumber people on planet Earth.

What is your mobile strategy?

Watch The Adviser’s Increasingly Mobile World, a FREE videocast hosted by InvestmentNews, live on July 17 at 4:30 p.m. ET.

Just visit the link above right before 4:30 p.m. ET, and barring any technical difficulties, watch the broadcast live at InvestmentNews.com

I will join panelists Blair duQuesnay, Sunit Bhalla, and Davis Janowski in this live discussion on all things mobile for financial advisers.

(view the promo on YouTube)

Ask the Tech Experts: Register for this free InvestmentNews webinar

06/12/2013 UPDATE: A replay of the webinar is available. Register for free to view the archive using the link below. NOTE: The replay is not compatible with mobile devices.

I have the privilege of presenting alongside Joel Bruckenstein, co-founder of Technology Tools for Today, and Davis Janowski, technology reporter for InvestmentNews in an upcoming free webinar. Watch the promo video above.

Ask the Tech Experts: Trends in Advisory Technology will be hosted Tuesday, June 11 at 4:00 p.m. Eastern.

View the archive for free at InvestmentNews.com.

Click the image to view the free archive.

Click the image to view the free archive.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for March 29

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

Wealthfront and the rise of the machines from InvestmentNews.com

[There’s some deep reporting by Davis Janowski in this update on Wealthfront, one of the “robo adviser” platforms that aims to democratize the delivery of investment advice. But after you read it, press the button to load the comments, which are just as enlightening as Janowski’s sleuthing. The summary: it’s one thing to design an algorithm to recommend model investment portfolios, it’s an entirely different beast to try and disintermediate a financial planner.] Direct channel technology firms are improving at a rapid pace — what about your tools, Mr. Adviser?

John Norwood Consulting announces the release of CompositeBuilder from Norwood-Consulting.com

[Need GIPS-compliant composite reporting for your Schwab Performance Technologies® PortfolioCenter database? John Norwood just released a new product called CompositeBuilder that does just that, so if you’re a die-hard PortfolioCenter user, go check it out.] CompositeBuilder is a fully integrated add-on application to PortfolioCenter that provides the ability to create and report composite returns. The application is designed to facilitate compliance with the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS). All calculations are done in a manner that satisfies the portfolio and composite calculation requirements of the GIPS standards.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for March 1

I’m in New York today presenting once again on technology that can transform an adviser’s business. Hopefully I’ll get through sequester-furloughed TSA screening to make my flight home!

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

Tales from T3: What jumped out from InvestmentNews.com

[Davis Janowski covered last month’s T3 conference on the spot, and fills this report a few weeks later about things that still stand out. Among the items are a 3D-printed “decoder ring” from Fidelity’s mad-scientist-in-chief Al Lee, TradePMR’s new Fusion platform, cloudRIA, and Orion Mail from Orion Advisor Services.]  Now that I’ve had a little time to mull things over, I thought I would share some of the highlights. While the sessions were useful and popular, I often find it most informative to visit the vendor booths — and there were more than 80 companies on hand at T3.

The Necessity of CRM at FPA Business Solutions 2010

Today I put the finishing touches on a CRM presentation prepared for next week’s FPA Business Solutions 2010 conference. I’m appearing along with Laurie Gripshover, a professional coach and consultant to financial services professionals, in a session titled CRM: No Longer a Luxury: A Necessity on Monday morning. Davis Janowski, the technology reporter for InvestmentNews, will be the moderator.

Click here to view the entire conference agenda.

I’ll be attending most of the sessions on Monday and Tuesday, so if you see me, stop me and say hello.