Tag Archives: Erado

FPPad Bits and Bytes for January 13

Posted on January 13, 2012 by in Bits & Bytes

Atlanta, Omaha, Las Vegas, Los Angeles…

That describes my homes away from home for the week leading up to and following today. While I didn’t have time to address some of the news that’s come across my wires, I still put together my Bits and Bytes list so you can quickly scan what’s going on in financial planning technology.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

Erado Shatters 2011 Growth Projection from MarketWatch.com

[I’d like to say I played a part in Erado’s success, what with all the mentions here on FPPad and in my social media compliance presentations delivered across the country. Even so, all the marketing and buzz does nothing if the product fails to deliver on a fundamental need: automated, no-thought capture and archiving of social media messages posted by registered investment advisers and broker-dealer representatives.] Erado, the nation’s leading compliance and archiving firm in electronic communication, formally announces their record-shattering growth in 2011. Amongst many other key milestones, Erado added over 30 new broker-dealer clients and partners, provided social media compliance services to over 40,000 advisors, and will be hiring more employees from the area.

Keeping Files In The Cloud from the Wall Street Journal

[This is a preview of a larger story to which I contributed several ideas on best practices advisers should follow when deciding to use cloud services for file storage. You can view the full article with a free trial to Dow Jones NewsPlus.] Advisers are increasingly turning to Web-based services to hold business-related information, for the convenience of accessing it from anywhere. Some use simpler storage sites, while others are contracting a comprehensive document-management system based in the cloud, which may actually make it easier for advisers to meet some regulatory obligations.

Mercer Advisors Due Diligence Team Selects Orion Advisor Services as Portfolio Accounting Service Partner from MarketWatch.com

[With just one client, Orion effectively boosted its assets under administration by almost 6%. The competition is getting serious between the industry’s top service providers!] Orion Advisor Services, LLC was selected as the outsourced portfolio accounting partner by Mercer Advisors, a total wealth management firm with $3.5 billion in assets under management as of September 2011. The Mercer Advisors due diligence team includes 10 individuals that made on-site visits to a number of portfolio accounting service bureaus, including Orion.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for November 4

Posted on November 4, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

Wow, what a packed week at Schwab IMPACT! Still, I took time out of my schedule to assemble this week’s top articles in financial adviser technology (and there are plenty!).

First, if you continue to seek guidance regarding online document storage solutions (like Dropbox, SugarSync, et. al.), read my column in November’s Journal of Financial Planning, Evaluating Online Document Storage.

Then, catch my coverage of IMPACT in these two posts:

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

Evolution of Orion from FA-mag.com

[Orion made a series of waves in the technology ocean back in August, which I covered in a series of posts. Here Joel Bruckenstien summarizes how Orion has put some serious pressure on technology providers in the independent adviser market.] Orion Advisor Services LLC is a firm that seemingly flies under the radar of many financial advisors. Orion’s journey from a service bureau start-up to technology innovator has been anything but typical.

Integration Key to Tech Advantage from AdvisorOne.

[You hear this over and over: integrated solutions can offer big time and cost savings. But at least Eric Clarke, president of Orion Advisor Solutions, provides good rules of thumb for advisers seeking new solutions.] Technology is a pervasive part of any industry and one that is constantly changing. One of the keys for advisors to maintain a comprehensive, efficient technology solution is integration.

New Raymond James Social Media Platform Lets Advisors Use LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter from AdvisorOne.com

[Erado and Socialware have been the beneficiaries of several broker-dealer engagements as of late, but here comes Actiance making news with its deal with Raymond James.] Raymond James has just implemented a new social media platform from Actiance that will allow the broker-dealer to use social media sites including LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter while complying with Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) regulations.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 26

Posted on August 26, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

Again, I found myself fully engaged in content creation and research this week. I completed my Morningstar Advisor column for September and added new content to my Transformative Technology slide deck for a presentation in September. Next week I’ll be attending the Gemini + Orion Advisor Forum in Denver, CO, immediately followed by a week of vacation to escape this brutal heat in Dallas.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

There are multiple stories on Schwab Advisor Service’s Intelligent Integration initiative to kick off this week.

My take: Schwab’s Intelligent Integration is finally producing results. But will Schwab’s approach on limiting its integrations prove to be a prudent move or a platform-limiting one? Think about Apple’s success with app developers: Would the iPhone and iPad be so successful today if Apple were the only developer of applications for the devices?

ByAllAccounts and Redtail Technology Offer Centralized Access to Clients’ Comprehensive Account Data from GlobeNewswire.com

ByAllAccounts, Inc., the financial advisor’s choice for account aggregation, and Redtail Technology, a leading provider of Client Relationship Management software, today announced a partnership that provides financial advisors easy access to a more comprehensive client snapshot.

Special Report: The technology products advisers use most from InvestmentNews.com

My take: There are a few articles here about adviser use of technology plus two updates of survey results listing the most popular technologies overall and by category. I’ll likely compare the InvestmentNews survey results with those of the 2010 Financial Planning Magazine Technology Survey.

A Look Inside LPL Financial’s Social Media Strategy from Financial-Planning.com

[If you’re the nation’s largest independent broker-dealer by assets, just how do you implement social media across thousands of reps?] At focus11, LPL Financial’s national conference held earlier this month, it was clear that social media was clearly more than just a casual “focus” for the 5,000-plus attendees.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for July 29

Posted on July 29, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

It’s been another busy week this week with phone calls squeezed in on Monday and Tuesday, a presentation to the FPA of San Antonio and South Texas on Wednesday, an all-day client visit on Thursday, followed by a day off with my son on Friday.

In the meantime, I’ve gathered the best stories on adviser technology from around the web:

Getting a handle on adviser technology from InvestmentNews.com

A link to InvestmentNews’ adviser technology survey is in this column, the results of which will be featured in the Aug. 22 issue of InvestmentNews.

Review: EISI is producing a simpler NaviPlan in an effort to keep its towering market share from RIABiz.com

According to a 2010 Aite Group report, EISI’s 250,000 users account for 25% of the financial advisors that are candidates for using financial planning software. This is more than the next three competitors combined.

NPH Contracts with Erado to Monitor Advisor Social Media Use from Financial-Planning.com

National Planning Holdings, Inc., one of the nation’s larger independent broker-dealer networks, announced this week it has contracted with business technology firm Erado to supply its more than 3,500 affiliated representatives with compliance services for social media applications.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for June 24

Posted on June 24, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

I’ve been in 100% focus mode this week, working on new products and services for FPPad’s consulting business. eBooks are a part of that development, too, so if there’s a hot topic in which you’re interested (e.g. iPad for advisers, social media compliance, etc.), please let me know.

Here are this week’s stories of interest.

Advisers: How do you know when it’s time for an upgrade from InvesetmentNews.com

Financial advisers, whether solo practitioners or members of a multiperson firm, need to think regularly about whether their technology is keeping pace with their business needs. Experienced advisers and technology experts have plenty of advice and experiences to share.

Portfolio management, reporting spawning new players, products from InvestmentNews.com

[Davis Janowski had a busy week this week!] Advisers seeking portfolio management software have choices beyond venerable offerings such as Advent Axys and Schwab PortfolioCenter. Take, for example, the demonstrations of two portfolio management and reporting systems that I received last week: PowerAdvisor and Atom Align Cloud Service.

Review: How Redtail got hot fast among RIAs and how it plans to leapfrog itself from RIABiz.com

[I reviewed Redtail’s upcoming Project Leapfrog release in May’s Morningstar Advisor column, A Popular CRM Gets an Upgrade] Fondly named after CEO Brian McLaughlin’s red-tailed golden retriever (not the hawk or the beer), Redtail is a Sacramento-based company living the American dream.

LPL Financial Provides Advisor Access to Social Media from FA-Mag.com

[If you read this month’s Morningstar Advisor column, How to Make Social Media Compliance Automatic, then you already knew Erado was on LPL’s preferred vendor list. Now the deal is official.] LPL Financial becomes the latest independent broker-dealer to allow its advisors to use social media, signing a multiyear deal with Erado Message Control Solutions that will provide monitoring that meets Financial Industry Regulatory Authority requirements for review of online marketing, officials said Wednesday.

 

FPPad Bits and Bytes for May 20

Posted on May 20, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

Bill is attending NAPFA National 2011’s final day today after appearing as a panelist for Thursday’s session on adviser technology. As always, look for the live tweets from this conference which can be found under the #NAPFA11 hashtag.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

Behind the scenes in social media at InvestmentNews.com

As regulators take their own sweet time coming up with guidelines for social media, the marketplace is coming up with its own solutions for financial advisers.

A blessing from Charles Goldman helped seal the Advent-Black Diamond deal from RIABiz.com

It was a big deal for the RIA business. Yet the planned combination of Advent Software and Black Diamond was not so large that investment bankers got called in to finance or advise on the transaction. What sufficed in place of Goldman Sachs, it turns out, was Charles Goldman.

Tweets That Mean Business from Financial Advisor Magazine

Advisors are finding that social media is more helpful than just sharing silly things like what you ate for dinner last night.

 

 

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).

FPPad Bits and Bytes for April 8

Posted on April 8, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

Last week we were finalizing preparation for FPA Retreat 2011. This week’s focus has been preparations for FPA NorCal 2011. As such, the pace of new posts to FPPad has slowed somewhat, but expect them to pick up in the weeks to come.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

Keep Calm and Carry On from Financial-Planning.com

Coral Gables, Fla.-based Evensky & Katz Wealth Management survived a three-week long audit from the SEC. Here’s what the Chief Compliance Officer would tell other advisory firms that are preparing for when the auditors come knocking.

Social-media archiving, compliance solutions in focus from InvestmentNews.com

Financial advisers and broker-dealers apparently aren’t sitting on the sidelines waiting for Finra and the SEC to figure out how the financial advisory industry should use social networking.

Choosing Software That Works for Your Advisory Firm-Part 3: Envision from AdvisorOne.com

The third 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.

Where’s the Beef? from Financial-Planning.com

Inside Information’s Bob Veres solicits advisers on their most and least valuable activities when it comes to the use of portfolio management software.

And part two of an interview AdvisorWebsites.com conducted with Bill on financial adviser technology: Bill Winterberg Talks Technology: Part 2