Tag Archives: FutureAdvisor

FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 26, 2016

Posted on August 26, 2016 by in Bits & Bytes

On today’s broadcast, get an update on LPL Financial’s technology roadmap, FutureAdvisor signs up the fifth largest bank in the US, Betterment forms a partnership with Uber, and more.

So get ready, FPPad Bits and Bytes begins now!

(Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes on YouTube)

Today’s episode is brought to you by Nest Egg Guru, a stress testing app for your clients’ retirement planning.

Designed as an alternative to Monte Carlo simulations and calculating probabilities of success, Nest Egg Guru helps you tangibly quantify how client portfolios may hold up if future investment returns don’t pan out as expected.

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Sign up for a no obligation free trial at fppad.com/nesteggguru to see how this low-cost solution can complement the planning software you already use today.

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

LPL placing heavy focus on technology improvements from InvestmentNews, and

U.S. Bank Wealth Management Announces Partnership with FutureAdvisor to Offer Automated Investing Capabilities to Clients from BusinessWire

 

[Now on to this week’s top story that comes from LPL Financial, as this week the nation’s largest broker-dealer held its annual LPL Focus conference in San Diego.

I wasn’t able to attend the conference, but LPL CIO Victor Fetter kindly connected with me by phone to cover several of the key technology announcements made at the event.

First, ClientWorks, the replacement for the existing BranchNet platform, is now available to roughly 11,000 advisors, up significantly from the 500 beta testers this time last year. Next, an updated account opening solution is anticipated soon which will streamline the creation of LPL account forms, pre-populate forms for clients with existing LPL accounts, and automatically fire off an electronic signature workflow.

Fetter also highlighted a new Adoption Index score that advisors can use to gauge their own adoption of particular technologies and then identify areas where efficiency can be improved.

And finally, lots of attention was given to Guided Wealth Portfolios, LPL’s automated investment solution powered by BlackRock’s FutureAdvisor platform expected to be available in early 2017. Fetter told me that advisors can choose to add their brand to Guided Wealth Portfolios as an extension of their existing business, or they can create a new brand as a separate, but complementary, platform for certain clients.

Guided Wealth Portfolios will consist of ETF allocations managed by LPL Research and they will be visible in the ClientWorks dashboard. Clients can view their information using a mobile responsive website, but Fetter said a native app for iPhone or Android is not anticipated at this time. Oh, and I think fees for the service are still up in the air, so we’ll have to check back as the service gets closer to its official rollout.

And speaking of FutureAdvisor, this week, US Bank, the fifth largest commercial bank in the United States, announced that it, too, will be using FutureAdvisor to power an automated solution for its clients with portfolios designed by, you guessed it, US Bancorp Investments. Like LPL’s Guided Wealth Portfolios, US Bank said the service is expected to be available in 2017, and fees for the service were not yet disclosed.] To stay up to date with technological innovations, the independent broker-dealer LPL Financial is developing more tools for its new adviser dashboard and implementing smarter automation.

Uber Lets Drivers Hail an IRA with Betterment from the Wall Street Journal

[Next up is news on Betterment, as this week the company announced a partnership with Uber, the multi-billion dollar global ride-sharing network, which allows drivers to open and fund a Betterment IRA account directly within the Uber app. Drivers get special fees, too, with their first year of Betterment completely free, and after that it’s 25 basis points per year on accounts below $100,000.

So guess what? The stakes for client acquisition just went up, in fact, way up. Millions of people recognize Uber, and when they see a partnership like this, they have to be thinking, “Hey, if Betterment’s good enough for a huge company like Uber, it’s gotta be good enough for me.”

And for Uber, they could have chosen anybody for this partnership. They could have teamed up with Vanguard, Schwab Intelligent Portfolios, or even *cough* FutureAdvisor, but no, they chose Betterment.

So the way I see it, this is about distribution and decreasing client acquisition costs. Look, for years, industry commentators, myself included, have beat the drum about the high acquisition costs of automated investment services and how tough it is for robo advisors to actually make a profit.

Well, if an automated service can immediately get exposure to hundreds of thousands of potential customers by getting embedded in another app, what’s to stop Betterment from getting embedded in the eBay app to invest your extra cash, or even into SnapChat right along side the SnapCash feature? That’s a pretty inexpensive, yet clever way, to acquire new customers.

So welcome to the new front line in the battle for asset management, I hope your marketing team is up for the challenge.] Uber Technologies Inc. is partnering with robo advice provider Betterment Inc. to offer thousands of its drivers access to retirement accounts.

 

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

In a world of software overabundance, Siftery offers clarity from Medium

Siftery helps you discover the right software product for your business. Great software is a force multiplier for your job. And picking the right solution for your company will make you look like a rockstar.

Guide Financial set to close operations on October 11 from FPPad

Guide Financial, the financial planning startup acquired by John Hancock in June 2015, told its users via email this week that the company plans to discontinue operations on October 11.

Integration Update: RiXtrema + Black Diamond Now Available from Advent

SS&C Advent’s Black Diamond wealth platform is now integrated with Portfolio Crash Testing by RiXtrema, one of the advisory industry’s leading Portfolio Analytics/Risk Management solutions.

 

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 26, 2016

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 26, 2016

FPPad Bits and Bytes for April 15, 2016

Posted on April 15, 2016 by in Bits & Bytes

On today’s broadcast, LPL Financial hooks up with BlackRock’s FutureAdvisor, Riskalyze and Advizr integrate their platforms, and bots might be the future of financial technology.

So get ready, FPPad Bits and Bytes begins now!

(Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes on YouTube)

Today’s episode is brought to you by Twenty Over Ten, providers of beautiful, tailored, mobile responsive websites specifically for Financial Advisors.

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Easily manage your brand while automatically archiving your website changes for compliance. Sign up for a 45 day free trial today by visiting twentyoverten.com/fppad. Oh, and be sure to watch the YouTube channel for videos from next week’s NAB Show, which are also brought to you by Twenty Over Ten.

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

LPL Financial to Leverage BlackRock Solutions’ FutureAdvisor to Offer Robo Solution to Advisors and Their Clients from LPL Financial

[Now on to this week’s top story which comes from LPL Financial, as the nation’s largest independent broker-dealer announced it will use BlackRock’s recently-acquired FutureAdvisor platform to power an online automated investment offering. LPL first hinted at its plans for a “robo advisor” back in the summer of 2015 at its annual Focus conference, which was roughly one month before BlackRock made its FutureAdvisor acquisition.

While the announcement sure generated some buzz, no details on specific pricing or availability were provided. What the press release did say is that the model portfolios will be provided by LPL’s research department, so at least initially, advisors and reps will not be able to create their own custom allocations.

The press release also said the automated solution will be integrated with LPL’s custodial platform, but it didn’t say if that was the existing BranchNet platform or the much-anticipated ClientWorks, which as far as I know, has still not been officially released.

So at least we now know what LPL’s robo strategy will be, but with so many forward-looking statements, we don’t know when that strategy will be ready for use by LPL’s financial advisors.] Leading retail investment advisory firm and independent broker/dealer LPL Financial LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA), today announced it will use BlackRock Solutions’ (BRS) FutureAdvisor platform to support a digital advice platform for use by LPL’s financial advisors and institutions and their clients.

A Match Made in Heaven: Advizr and Riskalyze Integrate from Businesswire

[Next up is news from Riskalyze and Advizr, as the two companies announced a new integration to streamline financial advisor workflows. The new integration will import Riskalyze model portfolio sets into the Advizr financial planning software, allowing advisors to recommend the most appropriate asset allocation according to their client’s personal Risk Number.

Not only that, both companies offer effective lead generation tools for advisors, with Riskalyze offering prospects the opportunity to determine their own Risk Number, and Advizr offering a quick financial plan illustration with Advizr Express.

The combination of the two will help advisors gain more information about prospects’ risk tolerance and the building blocks of a complete financial plan.

The companies called the integration “a match made in heaven” because both of them are winners of the Best Client Facing Technology award announced right here on FPPad.

So as a result, and I am now officially accepting endorsements for matchmaking on my LinkedIn profile.] Advizr, the financial planning software recognized as the Best Client Facing Technology of 2015 by Bill Winterberg’s FPPad, and Riskalyze, the world’s first Risk Alignment Platform recognized for the same award in 2014, are integrating their award-winning products to provide an elegant, intuitive and seamless solution to financial advisers.

Messenger Platform at F8 from Facebook.com

[And finally, this week’s top story comes from the future, oh wait, “THE FUTURE!” as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the stage at this week at F8 conference and detailed the company’s roadmap for the next 10 years.

My best takeaway for you is the launch of the Messenger Platform that includes automated messaging powered by bots, no, not that bot, these are automated messenger bots.

With bots in messenger, you can make online clothing purchases, receive weather forecasts, view top headlines and more.

I can totally see bots making their way into your technology. Imagine if you could ask your Redtail bot when you next client meeting is scheduled, or your Orion bot how your AUM has grown over the past year, or even allow clients to ask the MoneyGuide Pro bot for their updated retirement confidence meter. How cool is that?!?

And if vendors eventually integrate bot into existing services, I bet that they’ll also include message archiving and retention so you can confidently use bots without violating your compliance requirements.

Oh, did I just give those vendors a little more work to do? I’m sorry!

Unfortunately there’s no word yet from FINRA or the SEC whether your bot has to be fingerprinted and subject to a background check. Thank you, I do two shows a night!] We’re excited to introduce bots for the Messenger Platform. Bots can provide anything from automated subscription content like weather and traffic updates, to customized communications like receipts, shipping notifications, and live automated messages all by interacting directly with the people who want to get them.

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

Former Top Schwab Executive Joins Betterment Board from New York Times

Less than one month after an investment round that doubled its private valuation to around $700 million, the robo-adviser Betterment is adding a former top executive from Charles Schwab, John S. Clendening, to its board.

Find time for your goals with Google Calendar from Google

That’s why starting today, we’re introducing Goals in Google Calendar. Just add a personal goal—like “run 3 times a week”—and Calendar will help you find the time and stick to it.

Orion’s Integration of FactSet’s Robust Research and Analytics Allows Advisors to Better Serve Their HNW and Institutional Clients from Marketwired

Orion Advisor Services, LLC (“Orion”), a premier portfolio accounting service provider for financial advisors, has announced it is now integrated with FactSet, a leading provider of financial data, analytics, and service, to offer its advisor clients easy access to portfolio research and analytics.

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for April 15, 2016

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for April 15, 2016

FPPad Bits and Bytes for January 15

Posted on January 15, 2016 by in Bits & Bytes

On today’s broadcast, Jemstep gets acquired by Invesco, rumors fly about a Snapchat robo advisor, FutureAdvisor links up with its first bank, and more.

So get ready, FPPad Bits and Bytes begins now!

(WatchFPPad Bits and Bytes on YouTube)

Invesco acquires Jemstep, a market-leading provider of advisor-focused digital solutions from PRNewswire

[This week’s top story comes from Jemstep, as the B2B online investment platform was acquired by Invesco, the $800 billion dollar asset manager based a stone’s throw away from my studio right here in Atlanta.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, Jemstep’s leadership will stay onboard to run the Invesco subsidiary, and for now, the company says there won’t be any changes to existing partnerships, custodians, or asset availability in model portfolios.

Ignoring B2C acquisitions of FutureAdvisor and LearnVest, the last twelve months have seen John Hancock acquire Guide Financial and Envestnet acquire Upside.

So who are the independent B2B providers left? I see Autopilot, Trizic, Oranj, Vanare, Betterment Institutional, Motif Investing, and to some extent, the roll-your-own open source platform from Wealthbot.] Invesco Ltd. has acquired Jemstep, a market-leading provider of advisor-focused digital solutions.

Social media firms make ETF push from Reuters

[But hold on! Sending shockwaves in the retail robo space is Snapchat, as rumors were flying this week that the ephemeral chat app might introduce it’s own investment service to its 100 million active daily users.

Uh, let me explain my thoughts in a brief demonstration… Get it, jump the shark?] Snapchat is understood to be at the front of a queue of tech firms developing Robo-Advisory technology – which uses algorithms to help users develop and implement customized investment strategies for retirement planning.

BBVA Compass Teams Up With Robo FutureAdvisor from Forbes

[But wait, there’s more! In its first move after being acquired by BlackRock, FutureAdvisor announced it is partnering with BBVA Compass to roll out the automated investment tools to the bank’s nearly 700 branches in the US.

Bank customers will get access to FutureAdvisors’ digital investment management for the standard fee of 50 basis points, and you can probably bet that new accounts opened up with be held with BBVA’s broker-dealer affiliate, which is how the bank capitalizes on the partnership.] BBVA Compass, the Sunbelt subsidiary of the Spanish banking giant, has announced it will partner with FutureAdvisor to offer its customers digital investment management, popularly known as Robo Advisors. It is the first major bank to sign on with FutureAdvisor since the advisory firm combined forces with BlackRock, the giant asset management company, last year.

Robo Adviser Wealthfront Begins to Offer Free Portfolio Reviews from WSJ.com

[And if you’re not sick of robos by now, let me add news from Wealthfront who this week released a free Portfolio Review service to show investors how bad their current portfolios are and urge them to save a boat load of money by switching to Wealthfront. Whoops, did I say that out loud?

This concept is nothing new, as Personal Capital has offered a similar portfolio analyzer since 2011, and FeeX has been doing it since 2012, but here’s the deal. These VC-backed companies are spending tons of money to target your clients and prospects to get them to try out this tool, and of course, they’re going to tell clients they have suboptimal allocations and are paying high fees to their advisor.

So, expect clients to bring up fees, allocations, and performance in your next meeting, and you need to have a strong answer in the form of your value proposition, which is all the added advice, guidance, and behavior management you deliver that the automated services are incapable of providing.] In a bid to attract more assets, Wealthfront Inc. is joining other robo advisers in providing free advice to investors about their accounts at other financial institutions.

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

New Laserfiche Release Aims to Improve ECM from CMSWire

Laserfiche just released version 10 of its enterprise content management system (ECM). Speaking at the Laserfiche Empower 2016 Conference in Long Beach, Calif., Laserfiche President Karl Chan said the new version is designed to supercharge content-driven business processes, enabling enterprises to redesign the flow of information throughout the enterprise.

LastPass Revamps Its Interface, Adds Emergency Access and Better Sharing from Lifehacker

LastPass is one of the best password managers around. Today it gets a bit better with an improved interface and a handful of new features.

Dashlane 4 Makes Changing Passwords on Hacked Sites Easier, Adds a New Interface, and More from Lifehacker

Dashlane is one of our favorite password managers, and today the service updated with a new, consistent interface across all devices, an updated “password changer” that lets you change passwords on a site without even visiting it, new languages, and more.

 

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for January 15, 2016

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for January 15, 2016

Will 2016 bring a “run on the robos?”

Posted on January 6, 2016 by in General

How well are the online investment services prepared for a run on the bank type scenario?

How well are the online investment services prepared for a run on the bank type scenario?

Edit January 6, 2016: Added details that Personal Capital Advisors uses the custody services of Pershing Advisor Solutions LLC. Removed this tweet from a user of Personal Capital’s free dashboard, replaced with the Wealthfront tweet seen below.

I’m posting this today, as I’m genuinely concerned about what will happen when online investment services get flooded with redemption/account close requests.

“You STINK”

For example, take this tweet (note to readers in the future: if the embedded tweets below get deleted, I captured screenshots that I can post for posterity):

I stumbled across this tweet, as this person is upset about their portfolio performance.

So this got me thinking:

What happens when online investment services get flooded with redemption requests and account closures?

Run on the Robos

If an online investment service isn’t responsive to requests and complaints in a public forum (Twitter), how well will they respond once they are deluged with irate customers who are fed up and want out quickly?

“Sorry, we have a big backlog right now, but no worries, your money is still safe?”

¯_(ツ)_/¯

I don’t ever want to see businesses fail. I don’t ever want to see investors get into difficult situations regarding their investments.

But I fear that if a trickle of dissatisfaction with online investment services quickly becomes a flood, online services will get crushed.

Not picking on Personal Capital

Before you go, don’t assume that I’m picking on Personal Capital.

Yes, tweets above that are related to their company trigged my question of what happens when account closure rates skyrocket, but Personal Capital uses the custody services of Pershing Advisor Solutions LLC (it’s on page 5 of their Form ADV Part 2A Appendix 1).

Look, Pershing is a very large financial institution with nearly $1.5 trillion in global assets under administration and 75 years of experience.

200 account closures a day probably doesn’t make them sweat. 1,000 a week? That might be an average week. ACH, DTC, ACAT, they don’t bat an eye.

But for the startups that manage their own proprietary systems on top of Apex Clearing? Have they been tested?

I suppose I can contact them and ask, but what answer do you think I’m going to receive?

“Oh, Bill, thank you for bringing this to our attention, and as a result we found bottlenecks in our processes and have improved our ability to efficiently and accurately process account redemptions and closures.”

I don’t think so.

I’ve heard this before: “Once you go robo, you don’t go back.”

That, and I wanted the first Internet timestamp for “run on the robos.”

FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 28

Posted on August 28, 2015 by in Bits & Bytes

On today’s broadcast, BlackRock plans to acquire FutureAdvisor, Salesforce previews it’s Financial Services Cloud platform, and a new white paper from Kaleido will tell you how you’re going to overhaul your business model.

So get ready, FPPad Bits and Bytes begins now.

(Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes on YouTube)

Today’s episode is brought to you by Laser App Software, host of the brand-new Laser App Advisor Con event coming this October in Las Vegas.

Laser App

This event will be led by top advisors, offering their own case studies and best practices on adopting industry-leading technology. Space is limited, so secure your registration today by visiting fppad.com/laserapp2015.

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

BlackRock Press Releases from BlackRock, and

Blackrock Acquires FutureAdvisor For $150M As Yet Another Robo-Advisor Pivots To Become An Advisor #FinTech Solution from Kitces.com

[Well, if you haven’t heard by now, the big news this week comes from BlackRock, as the world’s largest asset manager with around $4.7 trillion under management, agreed to acquire FutureAdvisor, the online automated investment service based in San Francisco. Let’s run the numbers: FutureAdvisor reportedly manages $600 million dollars, at 50 basis points, they earn, at best, $3 million in gross revenue, BlackRock reportedly paid something like $150 million for FutureAdvisor, so they paid 50, that’s right, 50 times gross revenue for the company. Wow. If it’s true, that’s like, way beyond Facebook and Twitter valuation territory! For an automated investment service!

So let me cut to the chase for your business. In a Wall Street Journal interview, BlackRock COO Robert Goldstein said that as BlackRock looks to “grow the company, our focus is going to be on working with our partners.”

In other words, financial institutions. Does that include you, the RIA? I don’t know. But it could be just institutions that compete with you day after day for client assets. Great.

So if this doesn’t light a fire under you to enhance your technology, improve your client experience, and clearly identify that your services go WAY beyond automated investing, I don’t know what will.

Look. I believe in you, I believe in the value you add for your clients, and I trust that what you is so much better than a five-question risk survey followed by an asset allocation recommendation.

But if you just sit there on your hands and do nothing, I just don’t see how your business stands a chance over the next five years.] BlackRock, Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire FutureAdvisor, a leader in digital wealth management.

Salesforce Introduces Salesforce Financial Services Cloud: Transforming the Client-Advisor Relationship from Salesforce

[Next up is news from Salesforce, another industry behemoth, that this week announced it will release the Salesforce Financial Services Cloud in February 2016.

Claiming it’s the company’s “first industry-specific product,” (I guess they want to forget about Salesforce for Wealth Management?), the platform will offer a much more modern interface, secure private messaging with clients, and even integrations like Advisor Software for portfolio rebalancing and Yodlee for account aggregation.

But after closer inspection, Salesforce Financial Services Cloud seems positioned mainly for broker-dealers and large enterprise RIAs like United Capital, one of the firms who offered design feedback. Just look at some of the terminology they use: Book of business? Tear sheet? That should give you a clue.

So as an independent advisor, I don’t quite yet see you using something like this directly from Salesforce, but rather it will likely be an option offered by an institutional custodian or one of the many Salesforce overlay providers like Concenter Services, Navatar, Salentica, and more.] Salesforce, the Customer Success Platform and world’s #1 CRM company, today introduced Salesforce Financial Services Cloud, transforming the client-advisor relationship for the digital age.

Kaleido Identifies Rapidly Declining Profitability, Failure to Prepare for Downturn as #1 Independent Financial Advisory Firm Threat in New Whitepaper from MarketWatch, and

Download the X-Cell white paper

[And finally, if you’re not already depressed by today’s broadcast, the researchers over at Kaleido, led by co-founders Angie Herbers and Kristen Luke, have noticed a disturbing trend among advisory firms. That trend is the rapid decline of profit margins.

Great. Just what you wanted to hear. But, I produce this broadcast to give you solutions to grow your business, so along with Kaleido’s research, the company issued a white paper describing what it calls the X-Cell Process™.

In a nutshell, the four-step X-Cell Process outlined should help you overhaul your service models so you can successfully incorporate automated investment technology into your business.]

This is not a paid endorsement, I just think it’s a useful resource for you to have, and all it will cost you is your email address.] Kaleido Inc., a practice growth agency serving independent financial advisory firms, has released a white paper entitled “X-Cell: The New Frontier of Advisory Client Service,” identifying growth inhibitors and other trends affecting the independent advisory community, as well as focused, tangible solutions.

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 28, 2015

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 28, 2015

BlackRock to acquire FutureAdvisor

Posted on August 26, 2015 by in Technology

BlackRock to acquire FutureAdvisor

BlackRock to acquire FutureAdvisor

In a press release this morning, BlackRock, Inc., the world’s largest asset management firm by AUM (source: relbanks.com) announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire FutureAdvisor. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Let’s hit some fast facts again, shall we:

  • FutureAdvisor was founded in 2010 and had raised $21.5 million in four rounds (source)
  • FutureAdvisor had a reported AUM of $600 million in June 2015 (source), though their most recent SEC Form ADV from September 2014 reflected $232 million. This lagged online automated investment leaders Wealthfront and Betterment by approximately $2 billion as of August 2015
  • FutureAdvisor charged a Subscription Fee for the Premium Service of 50 basis points, making it more expensive than competitors Wealthfront and Betterment
  • Assuming a 50 bps fee on all $600 million results in gross revenue run rate, at best, of $3 million (remember AUM of $232 benchmarked in September 2014)

What does this mean for advisers?

Not much. Really. Return to your business.

But here’s the thing. BlackRock is an asset manager. BlackRock does well when its asset base grows. How can the company continue to grow its assets?

One way is to offer a new, simple, and attractive way for investors to automatically add their assets to low-cost, broadly diversified portfolios of funds and ETFs.

Enter FutureAdvisor.

A bonus for BlackRock is if the company can find a way to invest those assets into BlackRock-managed products.

Say, iShares ETFs.

What to do now

You come to FPPad for ideas on what to do with the technology in your business. So here’s what I think you should do.

Number one: Offer your own online, user-friendly interface

If the world’s largest asset manager sees the need to add a low-cost user-friendly online asset allocation tool to its arsenal, isn’t it time you have one for your business?

Prospects are comparing your capabilities to the services they see from Wealthfront, Betterment, FutureAdvisor, et. al., and if you come up short and don’t have an answer to their slick platforms, you’re probably viewed as a laggard.

Number two: Tell clients what you really do

Automated investment management is a commodity.

Anyone can get it from Schwab, Wealthfront, Betterment, FutureAdvisor. You could argue that the first mutual funds were the earliest automated investment management solution!

Sure, tax loss harvesting, daily rebalancing, and instant deposits are bells and whistles for automated investment solutions, and the results of whether or not those features actually result in any additional money in customers’ pockets is highly dependent on each customers’ personal situation.

But for you, as an advisor, investment management is just ONE of the things you do. It’s not the ONLY thing you do.

You do SO MUCH MORE.

So let clients know.

Even better, let your prospects know how much more you do.

You’re not justifying the fees you charge, you are reinforcing the value you provide by giving clients the service they need in ALL areas of their financial life.

You go WAY BEYOND investment management.

So do that. Tell clients what you really do, and why what you do goes way beyond automated investment management.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for October 10

Posted on October 10, 2014 by in Bits & Bytes

On today’s broadcast, Schwab and Google drop hints about their online investment services. See how this crowded market is about to become a little bit more cozy. Digital estate planning for your clients is becoming more important than ever. Find out which new solution will help your clients plan for their digital assets. And, Bob Veres gets me fired up about the use of social media in your business. You’ve been warned, prepare for a storm off!

So get ready, FPPad Bits and Bytes begins now.

(Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes on YouTube)

Today’s episode is brought to you by Envestnet | Tamarac, the provider of Tamarac Advisor Xi, a web-based portfolio and client management platform that uniquely integrates portfolio management, reporting, monitoring, rebalancing, and trading with a client portal and enterprise level CRM.

Tamarac620

Find out more about Advisor Xi and download their latest white paper on best practices for technology evaluation and implementation by visiting fppad.com/tamarac

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

Exclusive: Schwab ready to unveil free ‘robo-broker’ service from Reuters, and

Google study heightens fund industry peers from Financial Times (subscription required) or Google Looks to Enter Financial Industry from NBC Bay Area, or Google will likely re-invent the industry rather than play in the existing sandbox from Valuewalk

[This week’s top story covers *two more* announcements in the online investment algorithm space. You did watch last week’s episode, didn’t you? So first up is Charles Schwab who, according to a Reuters article, is developing its own automated investing service for use by you, the financial advisor, to attract emerging clients with a low-cost solution. How low cost you ask? Rumors indicate the service will be free, not including the four to 19 basis points charged by Schwab’s ETFs used in the platform.

And on the heels of Schwab’s news, Google hinted that the company is exploring its own entry into the investment management business. Financial Times first reported that Google commissioned a research report back in September on entering the asset management industry, which trigged a wave of industry speculation that gained a lot of momentum this week.

So let’s take a step back for a moment. Schwab has over 7 million investor accounts with over $1trillion in assets under management and Google has over one billion users across their various online services and mobile devices.

Collectively, the online investment providers have somewhere around $3 billion in assets under management (that’s 3 tenths of a percent of Schwab!) and less than 100,000 users (that’s one one-hundredth of a percent of Google!). Are the disruptors about to be disrupted? I don’t know, you tell me, and it all depends on whom you ask.] Charles Schwab Corp. is weeks away from introducing an automated investing service aimed at winning business from novice investors it does not currently serve, company officials told Reuters.

Estate Assist Wants To Provide Estate Planning For The Social Media Age from TechCrunch

[Next up is an announcement of a new service called Estate Assist, an online safe deposit box, if you will, that stores information about digital assets and shares that information with trusted recipients after a user passes away.

Identifying and managing your clients’ digital assets is probably not a part of your current service model, partly because there really haven’t been any decent solutions out there you can use that are better than using plain old spreadsheets. But with the introduction of Estate Assist, I think it’s time you consider including digital asset management services. Look at my YouTube channel or my email newsletter as an example: if I got hit by a bus <pause>, how will my spouse and beneficiaries access these assets?

In addition to Estate Assist, I think you should look into similar services from PrincipledHeart.com, created by CFP® practitioner William Bisset, as well the data inheritance feature from SecureSafe.] Estate Assist, launches out of beta today. Its aim is to help you store all your online passwords, social media accounts, digital health records, bank info and other paperwork.

The Five Biggest Ways Your Practice Needs to Change from Advisor Perspectives

[And finally, this week’s episode wraps up with industry commentary from Bob Veres, as he identifies the biggest ways your business needs to change in a recent Advisor Perspectives column. Now Veres says “pundits and journalists” say you need to make radical transformations, but they don’t give you any specifics. I hope he’s not talking about me, because I try to load these broadcasts you’re watching with tons of resources you should have on your radar. But I digress.

Veres mentions a number of what he calls “genuine evolutionary trends” which are all enlightening in their own way, but buried down at the bottom of his column, he says he suspects that “social media is going to be the least productive in terms of generating business for your firm.”

Really? Now to his credit, Veres says you should play to your strengths, and if social media isn’t one of them, it’s ok.

Well, I think that attitude was valid 20 years ago before it was possible to find out just about anything about anyone online using a quick Google search.

Just look at this broadcast. Complete strangers are watching it, they’re getting consistent value from it, and if they meet me in person at a conference, they say they feel like they already know me. So to say it’s the “least productive” way to generate business.. that’s it, I’m done.] Pundits and journalists make their living telling you that our profession is in a period of rapid evolutionary transition, and exhort you to be open to radical transformation. What you don’t hear in these messages are the specifics.

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

Watch all of the videos from Finovate Fall 2014 presentations

Mobile Dossier Startup Refresh Finds A Revenue Model With Its Salesforce App from TechCrunch

Refresh, the mobile tool for making you smarter at meetings, is now positioning itself to help sales teams be smarter about their clients and potential clients. To do that, the company has created a new product for Salesforce’s AppExchange that will allow users to access detailed information about the people in their professional network.

 

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for October 10, 2014

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for October 10, 2014

 

FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 8

Posted on August 8, 2014 by in Bits & Bytes

On today’s broadcast, online investment advisors are coming to an RIA new you. Find out who the latest company is to enter this growing market. JemStep is another provider that’s white-labeling its technology to RIAs. Learn how one RIA is using the platform to serve its emerging clients. And Joel Bruckenstein is concerned about the future of advisor technology. Find out what issues keep this technology expert up at night.

So get ready, FPPad Bits and Bytes begins now.

(Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes on YouTube)

Today’s episode is brought to you by ITEGRIA, providers of complete outsourced technology support, security, infrastructure and IT solutions exclusively for RIAs.

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To learn how you can keep your data safe from attackers, download a free copy of their latest white paper on social engineering attacks by visiting fppad.com/itegria.

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

Upside Raises $1.1M To Help Investment Advisers Compete Against Wealthfront, Betterment And Co. from TechCrunch

[This week’s top story comes from Upside Advisor, the latest startup to join the class of online investment advice providers. But unlike the direct-to-consumer startups like Wealthfront and FutureAdvisor, Upside Advisor is specifically targeting financial advisors who can white label Upside Advisor’s platform to provide a low-cost managed account solution to their emerging clients.

Upside’s platform offers paperless account opening using a DocuSign integration, automated trading and rebalancing, a client portal, and more, and just raised $1.1 million in new funding to continue to enhance its features for advisors. Upside comes on the heels of the introduction of Guide Financial, a similar advisor-focused solution I highlighted back in March in episode 124, giving you one more solution to offer a low-cost, high-tech automated solution to compete with the algorithm-based competition.] Upside, which today announced that it has raised a $1.1 million funding round led by Cultivation Capital, gives financial advisers a white label solution that’s very similar to what other robo-advisers offer.

Upside Advisor video

Traditional advisory firm hammers out deal with robo-adviser from InvestmentNews

[Now another online investment provider also dipping its toe into the RIA waters is JemStep, which just recently announced a partnership with Redhawk Wealth Advisors based in Minneapolis. Under the agreement, the RIA is able to white label the JemStep platform as Redhawk Online Advisor, where investors can sign up online, connect their financial accounts, and receive investment recommendations for a fee ranging from $17 to $69 dollars a month based on the amount of assets under advisement.

It’s important note that while JemStep offers investment recommendations, it does not automatically execute trades on behalf of its users. Actually following through on JemStep’s recommendations is the responsibility of either the advisor or the end-user, which could pose an implementation challenge as the platform gains momentum with RIAs.] Redhawk Wealth Advisors, a registered investment adviser with a wealth management practice, and Jemstep Inc., also an RIA but with an algorithm-driven account aggregation and investment advice platform, have become partners, bringing online advice to help Redhawk’s retail clients manage their investments, including funds held in their 401(k) accounts.

Things That Keep Me Up At Night from Financial Advisor Magazine

[And finally, all this news about competition from online investment advice providers might give you cause for concern, and it’s also one of the topics that keeps technology consultant Joel Bruckenstein up at night, too. In his latest column for Financial Advisor Magazine, Bruckenstein expresses his anxiety over the state of affairs in financial advisor technology.

He highlights complacency, insufficient integrations, and competition from automated online advisors as significant threats to the growth and success of the independent advisory industry. Fortunately, Bruckenstein cites vendors like Envestnet|Tamarac, Orion Advisor Services, Ornaj, Advyzon, and more who can equip independent advisors with technology solutions that not only rival those of the competition, but can also live up to the increased expectations from today’s tech-savvy clients and prospects.] Over the last several months, I’ve traveled thousands of miles, met hundreds of advisors and spoken with numerous representatives of custodians, broker-dealers and software vendors. Although I’m generally rather upbeat about the future of this industry, there are some things that concern me about current affairs.

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

Advent’s Black Diamond Platform Surpasses 500-Client Milestone from Advent

Advent Software, Inc., a leading provider of software and services for the global investment management industry, today announced that Black Diamond, an independent business group of Advent, has surpassed 540 clients and exceeded $245 billion in assets on its portfolio management, reporting, and rebalancing platform.

Wealth Managers Enlist Spy Tools to Map Portfolios from the New York Times

Some of the engineers who used to help the Central Intelligence Agency solve problems have moved on to another challenge: determining the value of every conceivable investment in the world.

Vestorly Partners With Advisor Websites to Enhance Client Engagement and Lead Generation from PRWeb

Vestorly, a leading client engagement and lead generation platform, and Advisor Websites, a leading provider of websites to advisors, announced today a joint venture to develop highly engaging websites that build advisors’ brands with investors, as well as generate qualified leads for marketing purposes.

Announcing our new release from Guide Financial

At Guide Financial, our core mission is to help America’s next generation achieve a secure financial future. We are excited to roll out a new release that underscores our commitment to advisors serving the next generation. The new release is now available to currently subscribed advisors and will become more broadly available in the coming weeks.

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 8, 2014

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 8, 2014

FPPad Bits and Bytes for September 14

Posted on September 14, 2012 by in Bits & Bytes

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

New Apps for the Mobile Financial Adviser from The Wall Street Journal

[Clearly, mobile devices and their software apps are changing the way you do business. Expect even more functionality and enhanced security, such as facial recognition or biometrics, for mobile devices in the coming years.] Smart gadgets packed with apps are changing the way financial advisers do business and relate to their clients. As more advisers snap up mobile devices like iPads, the investment firms they work with are offering up apps that let them do their jobs from a small screen.

Money management, Silicon Valley-style from Forbes

[Forbes managed to extract info from start-up Addepar that both RIABiz and I failed to get. Now we know Addepar charges 5 basis points on AUM, generates about $25 million in revenue, has 75 “lean” employees, and a sales force with connections to the ultra high net worth segment of the wealth management market.] Having made a small fortune in his twenties, Joe Lonsdale has set his sights on a new challenge: designing software for the ultrawealthy.

Personal Capital Unveils its Professionally Managed 401(k) from Finovate.com

[So who out there has 401(k) fee evaluator tools? Brightscope and FutureAdvisor do, and they’ve been mentioned here before. Now start-up RIA Personal Capital has one, too. Add this to their free mobile app, free peer-to-peer payment support, and free stock option analyzer, and you’ve got a robust offering of pipeline-filling marketing tools. Oh, and they now are selling “America’s BEST 401k” plan at http://www.personalcapital401k.com/ with management fees around 50 basis points.] Personal Capital will be demoing its free 401(k) fee calculator, which enables users to determine how much their 401(k) costs and what long-term fees they can expect to pay over time. The calculator has the potential to save investors hundreds of thousands of dollars over a lifetime.

Advent Adds Alternative Investments Solution to Black Diamond Platform from MarketWatch.com

[Alternative investments are gaining adoption among financial advisers. The challenge with them, though, is getting updated data populated in a portfolio management system like PortfolioCenter, AssetBook, and in this case, Advent. From the press release, it sounds like advisers have a way to perform bulk updates to alternative assets in Advent’s Black Diamond platform. If there were 30 hours in a day, I’d have specifics for you on how that actually takes place.] Advent Software, Inc., a leading provider of software and services for the global investment management industry, today announced the launch of an alternative investments solution within the Black Diamond platform. The new functionality enables advisors and wealth managers to manage and report the details of their alternative investment holdings down to the transaction level allowing them to provide a more complete financial picture to their clients.

MarketCounsel Sells MailBanc Messaging Unit to Global Relay from AdvisorOne

[MarketCounsel’s MailBanc email archiving service was one I covered last year in a review of archiving providers for Morningstar (see Avoid E-mail Audit Headaches). Thursday MarketCounsel said it sold MailBanc to archive provider Global Relay, who by no coincidence, was also featured in the same Morningstar column. When MailBanc was launched, advisers had few choices for email archiving. Today, there are many more options. As founder Brian Hamburger said, “The industry has now matured to a point where we can step aside and continue our focus on RIAs.”] “We have sold our MailBanc messaging compliance service to Global Relay,” Hamburger said, offering no details of the deal.

Junxure Achieves Company Milestone, Surpasses 10,000 Active Users from eReleases.com

[The number-two CRM (according to most financial advisor surveys, and excluding Microsoft Outlook!), now has over 10,000 users on its platform. This is a good milestone for a niche product, but the company faces an uphill battle to close the gap with leading CRM provider Redtail Technologies, which at last report had over 43,000 users.] Junxure, an industry-leading CRM practice improvement firm that integrates technology, consulting, and training, today announced that it surpassed 10,000 active users on its Junxure CRM as of July 2012.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 24

Posted on August 24, 2012 by in Bits & Bytes

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

Advent and RedBlack Join Forces to Offer Rebalancing Solution to Investment Management Professionals from MarketWire.com

[Not one to avoid integrations, Advent is starting to respond to the competitive landscape by supporting connections to third party providers, too. Here’s the latest partnership with portfolio rebalancer RedBlack, solidifying Advent as an end-to-end portfolio management solution when coupled with previously-acquired Black Diamond (see Advent Purchases Black Diamond Performance Reporting for Approximately $73 Million).] Advent Software, Inc., a leading provider of software and services for the global investment management industry, and RedBlack Software, LLC, the largest independent provider of portfolio rebalancing software for the investment management industry, today announce that the two companies have entered into an alliance agreement to improve client use of best of breed solutions and have completed full integration between Advent Portfolio Exchange(R) (APX) and Axys(R) platforms, and RedBlack’s portfolio rebalancing solutions.

Mikogo Releases HTML5 Screen Sharing for Faster Online Meetings from PRWeb.com

[I’m very critical of online meeting software these days, particularly of certain tools that casual Internet users find too cumbersome to use. Mikogo’s been highlighted on FPPad before (see BeamYourScreen Releases Mikogo 4.0 Beta, Adds New Features), and now the company has simplified its application for end users, as they no longer need to download and install a helper application prior to joining a meeting.] A leader in online meeting technology, Mikogo has today announced the release of a major update to its award-winning HTML Viewer with the incorporation of the new HTML5 standard for Internet browsers into the software. The HTML Viewer is a 100% browser-based way for participants to join online meetings and this new release built on HTML5 technology provides users with faster screen sharing,several new features and is multilingual.

With $4 Billion In Assets Under Wraps, FutureAdvisor Raises Another $5 Million From Sequoia Capital from TechCrunch.com

[FPPad readers know of FutureAdvisor and its free 401(k) aggregation tools for consumers (see: FutureAdvisor co-founder Bo Lu at FinovateSpring 2012). Just four months after releasing its tools to the public, the company completed a $5 million Series A round. The stakes continue to raise in this direct-to-investor advice trend.] FutureAdvisor has raised a $5 million Series A round from Sequoia Capital to accelerate its growth, and it’s also rolling out a new tool to help users save on fees in their 401(k) portfolio.

LPL Helps Advisors Use Social Media Compliantly from Financial-Planning.com

[If you’re still on the fence about whether to use social media, broker-dealer LPL has useful guidance in this article from Financial Planning. However, I find the ‘Yes’/’No’ format a little strange. Note that much of the social media compliance for LPL is handled by Erado (see: Six More Designate Erado as Their Social Media Compliance Provider).] Run by a firm called Erado, LPL’s social media compliance service costs $180 a year for its advisors to use Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter (that’s $60 for each platform). It archives all social media communication for potential review by regulators.