Tag Archives: Dynamics

Schwab adds Envestnet | Tamarac to its Schwab Intelligent Integration™ initiative

Posted on May 17, 2012 by in Technology

In a press release today, Schwab announced that it has added Tamarac, a division of Envestnet, Inc., to its Schwab Intelligent Integration™ initiative.

About a year and a half ago, Schwab announced its first CRM partners for the initiative (see Junxure, Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics Are The First Schwab Intelligent Integration Partners).

Back then, I predicted that Tamarac Advisor would be included in that list, saying:

It seems redundant at first to have included Tamarac Advisor CRM, as it is built on top of Microsoft Dynamics, but in my opinion, Tamarac Advisor CRM is substantially different from MS Dynamics as Tamarac has customized Dynamics’ out-of-the-box functionality to include data and fields relevant to wealth managers and financial advisers.

However, Tamarac was excluded from that first list of providers.

Now, it appears Schwab is compelled to work with Envestnet | Tamarac and officially support it under Schwab Intelligent Integration.

What’s interesting to note is that more than a year after selecting Microsoft Dynamics CRM as an integration partner, Schwab has yet to release a production Dynamics CRM solution to its advisor community.

Currently the company plans to roll out a pilot of Salentica CRM this summer. So with the addition of Envestnet | Tamarac, Schwab at least now has a viable Dynamics CRM offering in the form of Tamarac’s customized Advisor Xi platform.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for October 14

Posted on October 14, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

Today I’m giving my latest presentation on using the iPad in business at CabinetNG Collaborate 2011. Another version of this talk also adds ways financial advisers and wealth managers can use the iPad in their practices. I’ll be unveiling that one at NAPFA’s Practice Management & Investments 2011 conference in two weeks. All the details are on my speaking page.

As I wrote in prior weeks, we’ve had the calm before the storm of technology news for financial advisers. Fidelity broke the ice with announcements I highlighted in Bits and Bytes for September 30. This week, RIABiz unloaded two good articles, making up for the recent absence of news.

Now on to this week’s stories of interest:

Once good for a few million, TD Ameritrade’s foot-in-the-door strategy is starting to net billions from RIABiz.com

[Dominant custodians Schwab and Fidelity have a sizable lead in assets over TD Ameritrade, but the RIA-friendly custodian is consistently closing the gap.] Ever upwardly mobile, TD Ameritrade Institutional has courted – and won – some high-octane RIAs this year as well as capturing an increased share of the prized breakaway advisor segment.

Long a tech innard for Schwab, LPL and TD, Advisor Software is looking to push its own brand with new product from RIABiz.com

[Tech innard? How about tech core instead. Goalgami actually started as a consumer product marketed as a personal balance sheet solution. Now the Pro edition by Advisor Software leverages the tool’s unique features for advisers.] After years of offering its rebalancing software under the private labels of big-name firms, Advisor Software is launching a new planning product and selling it directly to advisors.

 Tamarac Named to 2011 Microsoft Dynamics President’s Club at Tamaracinc.com

[It’s one thing to customize a generic CRM like Microsoft Dynamics, but it’s far more important to demonstrate one’s support and commitment to customer service to ensure users’ success on the platform. Tamarac appears to be doing both exceptionally well.] Tamarac, Inc., a leading provider of integrated portfolio and customer management software for financial advisors and wealth managers, has been named to the 2011 Microsoft Dynamics President’s Club for its Advisor CRM solution.

Another Choice Among Microsoft Dynamics CRM Customizations

Posted on September 7, 2010 by in Software

Keeping up with all the flavors and variants of CRM is a daunting task. One iteration that I don’t have much experience with just yet is Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Tamarac Advisor is built on Microsoft Dynamics, but other than that, choices are limited for advisers interested in leveraging the software giant’s CRM application.

Lauren Carlson, a CRM Market Analyst for Software Advice, brought one more Dynamics customization to my attention. Look for it in her article titled Microsoft Dynamics CRM Industry Solutions: Our 15 Favorites at SoftwareAdvice.com.

If you know of or are using other Dynamics customizations, leave a comment and let me know.