Tag Archives: inStream

[PODCAST] Competing Against “Robo Advisors:” Delivering Advice in a New World from T3 2012

Posted on February 23, 2012 by in Podcast, Practice Management, Technology

Yesterday I posted two YouTube videos from the session from T3 2012 titled Competing Against Robo Advisors. I know that many of you prefer to download content like this to your media player of choice (i.e. iPhone) and listen to it on your jog or your commute home.

Using the audio from the Robo Advisor session, I created my first podcast. I’m currently going through the approval process with iTunes, but in the meantime you can listen and download the podcast directly from FPPad.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

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[VIDEO] Competing Against “Robo Advisors:” Delivering Advice in a New World from T3 2012

Posted on February 22, 2012 by in Conferences, Practice Management

Watch the session from T3 2012 titled Competing Against Robo Advisors to understand how your business must change in the face of disruptive, well-funded startups.

On Saturday, February 18 at the Technology Tools for Today (T3) conference in Dallas, TX, I moderated a panel discussion featuring John Prendergast, Co-founder and CEO of Blueleaf, and Alex Murguia, Co-founder of inStream. The session was titled Competing Against Robo Advisors: Delivering Advice in a New World, which addressed the rising trend of online startups who are launching low-cost financial advice platforms.

Companies like Personal Capital, Wealthfront, and LearnVest are encroaching on the independent financial adviser’s value proposition, and are leveraging their internal talent and well-funded venture capital to disrupt this industry.

I feel that the topic deserves attention from advisers, particularly for those who actively seek to attract wealth accumulators in their 30s and 40s. John sent me a text an hour before our session asking if I could film it to share with you. I did, and uploaded the session in two parts to YouTube so you can watch it.

Here is Part 1:

And here is Part 2:

FPPad Bits and Bytes for February 3

Posted on February 3, 2012 by in Bits & Bytes

Today is the final day of the TD Ameritrade Institutional 2012 National Conference. I’m appearing on an all-star technology panel along with Davis Janowski of InvestmentNews, Joel Bruckenstein, Publisher of Technology Tools for Today, and Andy Gluck, President & Editor of Advisors4Advisors.

Follow the #TDAI2012 hashtag on Twitter for real-time conference updates. Will there be some fireworks emanating from this event? We’ll see.

But in the meantime, enjoy this week’s best technology stories from around the financial planning industry:

Laserfiche user conference draws a big crowd that wants to toss filing cabinets from RIABiz.com

[You saw my updates from the conference last week, so add this review from Nexus Strategy’s Tim Welsh to round out the perspective of Laserfiche’s annual user conference.] Showing off the user-base muscle of the firm’s 30,000 customers, the Laserfiche Empower 2012 conference convened at the Anaheim (Calif.) Marriott over three days, Jan. 25 to Jan. 27.

inStream, in the Moment from Financial-Planning.com

[The secret’s out on one new tool that has the potential to change most financial planners’ value proposition. Instead of reacting to the planning needs and questions of clients, startup inStream Solutions offers ways planners can be proactive with clients.] While it’s early in the game, inStream Solutions might be next in this line of financial planning software innovators. It’s a free, goal- and cloud-based planning solution for financial professionals. That’s right, free.

Robo advisers are here: What you need to do to adapt

Posted on January 31, 2012 by in Conferences, Practice Management

Robo Advisor

January 2015: Note that this was the first instance of “robo adviser” I used on FPPad to refer to the automated advice investment providers emerging in 2011 and early 2012, but it’s not the first utterance of the term according to this Business Insider article.

If you don’t know already, your business is being targeted by online, low-cost financial advice and investment platforms.

Witness the advent of startups and applications like Personal Capital, Wealthfront, LearnVest, and more last year. Some advisers may have dismissed these platforms as “robo advisers,” which will never match the personal attention and relationship a human being can deliver.

While a compelling proposition, I don’t think that dismissing the competition is a wise strategy for advisers. I’m not alone in this line of thinking. Just this week, Alex Murguia, managing principal of McLean Asset Management and CEO and founder of inStream Solutions, said pretty much the same thing.

In an interview for Financial-Planning.com, Murguia had this to say:

While they [online advice platforms] are not currently a direct threat, they are becoming more popular and have significant financial backing. In addition, many advisors are doing themselves a disservice by just providing “set it and forget it” model portfolios. Could you blame consumers for not fully understanding the true value of independent financial advice, in this context?

Competing Against Robo-Advisers

So you want to adapt and separate yourself from the robo adviser competition. Where to begin?

Here is a session from the 2012 Technology Tools for Today conference (T3) held at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, TX. I moderated a panel discussion featuring Murguia as well as John Prendergast, CEO of Blueleaf on this exact issue. The session is titled Competing Against Robo Advisors: Delivering Advice in a New World and it delivered several gut-checks as you think about where your business is headed in the next five years.

Here is Part 1 of the session:

Here is Part 2:

 

FPPad Bits and Bytes for October 28

Posted on October 28, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

I just came back from Brooklyn where the NAPFA Practice Management and Investments conference was held. While away, I kept an eye on new tech stories for advisers and wrapped them in one nice convenient package for you here:

TD Ameritrade Institutional Veo® Integration with Salesforce CRM Helps Financial Advisors Manage Important Client Relationships from amtd.com

[My Bits and Bytes post for September 9 listed TD Ameritrade’s announcement of an impending release of Salesforce CRM for its advisers. Yesterday, TD formally announced its release, which includes pre-defined workflow sequences advisers can use to get up and running quickly.] TD Ameritrade Institutional today introduced a Veo advisor platform integration with Salesforce CRM and other third party systems. The customized CRM app offers advisors flexibility, automated workflows and easier access to client data to help improve efficiency and client service.

Pershing Expands Anytime, Anywhere Account Access for Investment Professionals and Advisors With the Launch of Web-based NetX360.com from PRNewswire.com

[You knew lots of announcements were coming now, just days before Schwab IMPACT next week. Here’s an update from Pershing, which is in the final testing phase of rolling out a 100% web-based solution for its NetX360 platform. Notably, the platform supports multiple browsers, including Chrome and Safari, which I feel is a very wise decision.] Pershing LLC, a BNY Mellon company, announced today that it has expanded its leadership of anytime, anywhere account access with the introduction of a browser-based version of its innovative, open-architecture NetX360® technology platform.

Turning planning on its head from InvestmentNews.com

[Davis Janowski covers a new entrant into the financial planning software space. Free, web-based inStream from inStream Solutions, headed up by McLean Asset Management’s Alex Murguia, looks to be a streamlined challenger to the established, high-maintenance software applications traditionally used by advisers.] Planning tools that predict a client’s future needs, advanced financial calculators and an integrated contact management system make inStream a robust, cloud-based product.

EISI strikes a deal to cash out its shareholders from RIABiz.com

[A property and casualty insurance software provider bought the maker of NaviPlan. Add this to the Financeware patent-infringement issues from a few months back, and you have some “what’s next?” thoughts with respect to the future of financial planning software.] Faced with an innovation challenge and increased competition, Emerging Information Systems Inc., North America’s biggest financial planning software company, responsible for NaviPlan and Profiles financial planning software, announced yesterday that its shareholders have reached a deal to sell EISI.