Tag Archives: Joel Bruckenstein

FPPad Bits and Bytes for February 8

Posted on February 8, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

The 2013 T3 ConferenceToday I’m headed out early to the T3 conference in Miami, FL. Stop by and say hi if you’re attending; I’m speaking on Tuesday at 1:15pm (Defending Your Business from Hackers) and 2:40pm (Current Technology Trends) and again on Wednesday at 8am (File Sharing and Collaboration Software).

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

Ten Tips That Could Prevent Cyber Criminals from Hijacking Client Data from WealthManagement.com

[Remember the Phishing, Hacking, and Spoofing article I wrote here last year? See: Why advisers can’t trust their clients anymore. Now a bunch of the major financial trade publications are picking up the story on ways advisers need to protect their business and their clients’ personal information, because hackers are exploiting holes in security and are stealing money.] As tablet ownership continues to grow—doubling since 2011—and more than half of U.S. consumers owning a smartphone, according to a 2013 Forrester Research report, advisors need to be more vigilant about data security now more than ever. Below are 10 easily implemented safeguards that could prevent advisors becoming an easy target for cyber thieves.

Windows 8 Review: 5 Things to Know from Financial-Planning.com

[Joel Bruckenstein wrote this good review of Windows 8 and the pros and cons the new operating system offers to financial advisers (See: Windows 8 for financial advisers: Pros and cons from FinFolio CEO Matt Abar). I admit, I couldn’t convince myself to personally buy a copy of Windows 8 to try it on my own. I know, I know, I’m a technology consultant, and I should have experience with ALL software systems available, but still… it’s a Microsoft product, and I stopped using their OS in 2011. Nevertheless, you will likely need to replace an aging Windows machine, and Windows 8 is about your only reasonable option for the OS.] Whenever Microsoft releases a new operating system, it is a significant event. And the latest edition of its operating system, Windows 8 – designed to work on desktop computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones – is much more than a PC operating system.

Download Technology Tools for Today’s High-Margin Practice for your Kindle today

Posted on January 15, 2013 by in Technology

All-new edition of the financial adviser’s practice management book now available for Kindle delivery

Ten years ago, two practice management consultants to financial advisers teamed up to write the book on tools to run a high-margin practice, Virtual Office Tools for a High Margin Practice.

Drucker Bruckenstein

David J. Drucker and Joel P. Bruckenstein partnered to deliver timeless practice management recommendations to financial advisers

Today, David Drucker and Joel Bruckenstein are household names among advisers.

What started as a side hobby has grown into a robust suite of practice management newsletters and technology conferences, now branded under the Technology Tools for Today moniker.

So in early 2012, Drucker and Bruckenstein approached me to contribute to an all-new edition of the aging Virtual Office Tools book and update it with information and resources on current technology and tools.

Now the new edition is available for download to your Kindle device and app. It’s titled Technology Tools for Today’s High-Margin Practice: How Client-Centered Financial Advisors Can Cut Paperwork, Overhead, and Wasted Hours (Bloomberg Financial), and my contribution appears in Chapter 8, Client Portals and Collaboration.

Order the book below. I hope you enjoy it (especially Chapter 8!), and I welcome your comments and feedback that you can leave below (or contact me privately).

(Note: Amazon.com affiliate links, I earn a small commission if you decide to buy after clicking)

FPPad Bits and Bytes for December 7

Posted on December 7, 2012 by in Bits & Bytes

Remember to watch today’s FPPad On Air broadcast at 4:15 pm ET with Blane Warrene.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

Meet the wealth management firm of the future from Reuters.com

[Technology Tools for Today’s High-Margin Practice is being released in early 2013 as the 10th anniversary of their original book, Virtual Office Tools for a High Margin Practice, nears. It was a privilege to be asked to contribute to the new edition, as I submitted a chapter on collaboration tools financial advisers can use in their business. Pre-order the book on Amazon to lock in the pre-order price.] When David Drucker and Joel Bruckenstein wrote a book about technology innovations for advisers in 2002, many readers were skeptical of their recommendations to use email and create a website.

Junxure Cloud – The Clear Choice for Advisors from Junxure.com

[I will be honest: I think Junxure faces an uphill climb when it releases Junxure Cloud next year. The desktop version has so much in its interface, between notes, tasks, assets, documents, action sequences, etc. that I can’t help but be skeptical how it will translate to a web-based user interface. Junxure provided a sneak preview earlier this year (see: A sneak peek of Junxure Cloud), so take a look and decide for yourself. But give credit to Greg Friedman, the points in this article are valid; there are no overlays like there are in Salesforce, and support is handled internally and not farmed out to a third party. Will those benefits be enough to overcome the daunting interface?] Junxure attended Charles Schwab’s IMPACT® 2012 event, where we announced the spring 2013 release target for Junxure Cloud, our new web-based CRM solution. Attendees were treated to a preview demo, including how Junxure Cloud could help manage workflow, track a firm’s efficiency, and capture client documents and financial data through a wide range of integrations.

Why You Should Consider Online Meetings With Clients from RIACentral.com

[Again and again I counsel advisers that they need to be comfortable using online meeting tools like Skype, FaceTime from Apple, and Google+ Hangouts. Giving your clients options to meet with you remotely, when it is convenient for them, goes a long way in solidifying your working relationship. Here’s a good summary article from RIACentral about four key benefits of meeting online.] Meeting clients online may seem like technological overkill. After all, it’s much easier to just pick up the phone and chat, right? But, in reality, online meetings solve a myriad of practical everyday problems for you.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for November 16

Posted on November 16, 2012 by in Bits & Bytes

Remember, today at 4:15pm Eastern, 1:15pm Pacific I’ll be hosting FPPad On Air with Steven Ryder of True North Networks to discuss disaster recovery and business continuity in the wake of superstorm Sandy. Check Twitter or Google+ for the link this afternoon.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

David Drucker and Joel Bruckenstein Announce Preliminary Agenda for “T3” 2013 Conference in Miami from PRNewswire.com

[One of the industry’s top conferences on technology is approaching quickly. Save the dates of February 11-13 and soak up the Miami sunshine while you absorb technology and practice management ideas. Note that the book Technology Tools for a High-Margin Practice will be published with all new information, including a chapter I wrote on the top collaboration technologies. Do not miss this conference!] David Drucker and Joel Bruckenstein, producers of the 8th Annual “T3” Technology Tools for Today™ Conference to be held at the Hilton Miami Downtown from February 11-13, 2013, today announced the preliminary T3 2013 conference agenda and initial details of their new book, Technology Tools for a High-Margin Practice, due out February 6, 2013.

H.D. Vest Chooses Advent’s Black Diamond Platform from Marketwire.com

[H.D. Vest, once part of Wells Fargo & Company and now owned by Parthenon Capital Partners, is equipping its 4,800 affiliates with access to on-demand custom performance reporting via Black Diamond. Clearly this is how wealth management and financial planning services will be delivered in the future; online, mobile, and customized. AND if you were a private equity company looking to increase the value of the H.D. Vest purchase, don’t you think streamline portfolio reporting and management is a decent way to do it?]  Advent Software, Inc., a leading provider of software and services for the global investment management industry, recently announced that H.D. Vest Financial Services® (H.D. Vest) has transitioned its performance reporting to Advent’s Black Diamond platform to enhance their Advisors’ ability to communicate portfolio performance during client meetings.

Envestnet | Tamarac(TM) Brings Tamarac University Online from MarketWatch.com

[Today you can learn how to cut an onion online. So why not learn how to rebalance client portfolios at the same time? If you’re an Envestnet | Tamarac user, you’re in luck, as much of their training content (a.k.a. Tamarac University) is now online and available on demand.] Envestnet | Tamarac(TM), a division of Envestnet, Inc., a leading provider of integrated web-based portfolio and client management software for independent advisors and wealth managers, has announced an expansion of its popular Tamarac University program to include an online option for RIAs covering its entire curriculum.

Envestnet Announces Integration With Junxure CRM Software via PRNewswire.com

[In the second release this week, Envestnet will combine “portfolio management with client recordkeeping and workflow management” inside the soon-to-be-released Junxure Cloud. What’s odd to me is that Junxure Cloud likely will have some type of workflow or task management component, yet the Envestnet integration adds in workflow management of its own. Which one will should advisers use?] Envestnet, Inc., a leading provider of technology-enabled wealth management solutions for investment advisors, has announced that it has agreed to integrate with Junxure Cloud, the upcoming web-based client-relations management (CRM) program for financial advisors. The integration is expected to be included with the initial release of Junxure Cloud, expected in the first quarter of 2013.

Advisor Software, Inc. Signs Agreement With Redtail Technology To Integrate goalgamiPro Quick Planning Solution With Redtail CRM from MarketWatch.com

[If you’re going to create a quick plan for a client, the last thing you want to do is perform double entry of a client’s name, address, etc. In this announcement, Redtail will soon partner with Advisor Software allowing users to pass client information to Advisor Software’s goalgamiPro (see: Yes, you can create financial plans in eight minutes).] Advisor Software, Inc., a provider of wealth management solutions for the financial advisor market, has finalized an agreement with Redtail Technology, Inc., a provider of client management solutions for financial professionals, to provide access to ASI’s unique quick planning tools. The strategic partnership will integrate ASI’s direct-to-advisor product goalgamiPro with Redtail’s Client Relationship Management (“CRM”) suite.

Read the Financial Planning 2011 Technology Survey

Posted on December 1, 2011 by in Technology

The Financial Planning 2011 Technology Survey is now available to view online. As in past years, I’ll provide my summary of the survey statistics, so look for that update soon. In the meantime…

Click here to view Financial Planning’s 2011 Technology Survey.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for April 1

Posted on April 1, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

We delivered our presentation materials to the FPA Retreat 2011 task force this week and are taking today off to attend the FPA DFW Ballpark event and satisfy the CFP® certification ethics CE requirement.

Without further ado, here are this week’s stories of interest:

T3 Technology Conference Reports Record Attendance at 2011 Event, Announces Dates and Location for T3 2012 from PRNewswire.com

David Drucker and Joel Bruckenstein, producers of the T3 Technology Tools for Today™ newsletter and annual conference, today released additional statistics and comments about the sixth annual T3 conference, held at the Grand Hyatt Weston in Florida February 16–19th, 2011. In addition, the conference organizers have now announced the dates and location for T3 2012.

Technology helps advisers tap insight on global scale from InvestmentNews.com

A new web-based charting platform called HiddenLevers helps investors and advisers understand the potential portfolio impact of macroeconomic changes.

And read a portion of an interview AdvisorWebsites.com conducted with Bill on financial adviser technology: Bill Winterberg Talks Technology: Part 1

Ramping Up for the 2011 T3 Conference

Posted on January 18, 2011 by in Practice Management

My speaking engagements for 2011 are quickly approaching with the first event being the  2011 Technology Tools for Today, or T3 Conference produced by Joel P. Bruckenstein and David J. Drucker. See the other engagements I have confirmed on my Speaking page.

I’m involved in two sessions during the conference and I hope you’ll join me for both. First I’ll be part of a panel discussion addressing how financial advisers are using the Apple iPad in their practices.

iPad Panel

Diane MacPhee, CFP®, Business Coach and owner of DMAC Consulting Services, LLC will moderate the panel. I’ll share in the discussion with Sandra E. Goodstein of Goodstein and Associates, LLC, and Russell Dunkin of McKinley Carter Wealth Services.

If you’re on the fence about buying an iPad to use in your practice, or you want to know if you should wait until “iPad 2” comes out, you need to attend this session.

Transformative Technology

My second presentation is a joint effort with Jo Day of Trumpet, Inc. The two of us plan to deliver a resource-rich session on transformative technologies you can add to your practice and how doing so will make clients and colleagues speak highly of you and your firm.

If you haven’t done so already, register today so you do not miss out on this opportunity to learn how new technology can help you streamline your  business and provide excellent service to your clients.

And one last housekeeping item: The “official” unofficial Twitter hashtag for the 2011 T3 Conference is #T32011. See you on the back channel!

The Financial Planning 2010 Technology Survey

Posted on November 26, 2010 by in Technology

The Financial Planning 2010 Technology Survey (formerly known as the Software Survey) is now available. As in past years, we’re going to provide our summary of the survey statistics. We’re on a break to end the week, so that post will come soon. In the meantime…

Click here to view Financial Planning’s 2010 Technology Survey.

Harsh Reviews for One Popular Paperless Office Solution

Posted on December 7, 2009 by in Software

I try my best to keep up to date on the popular paperless office solutions on the market, particularly on those that are popular in the independent financial services industry. Every once in a while I run across reviews of solutions that are polar opposites of one another.

Here’s one recent example.

December’s Financial Advisor magazine features a write-up of PaperPort Professional v12.0, reviewed by Joel Bruckenstein. In the review he says:

…its ease of use, low cost and robust features make it an attractive option for smaller advisory firms with limited technology and training budgets.

and…

For the price, PaperPort provides a great deal of functionality.

Sounds fairly promising. For $199, advisers can get an entry-level document management and scanning solution that provides some of the basic functionality needed to implement a paperless office. What’s not to like?

Read More…

Get the Financial Planning 2009 Software Survey

Posted on November 24, 2009 by in Technology

It’s that time of year again when Financial Planning magazine publishes its annual survey of technology in use by financial planners and advisers. This is the third year for the survey, and again Joel P. Bruckenstein tallied up the responses (from over 1,500 individuals!) and reviewed the results.

Click here to view Bruckenstein’s review of Financial Planning’s 2009 Software Survey.

Just as I did last year, I’m posting my 30-second summary of the review. I’m listing each comment along side those of 2008 for easy comparison. Read More…