Journal of financial Planning Archives

FPPad Bits and Bytes for January 16

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Bill Winterberg in Bits & Bytes

On today’s broadcast, learn about new updates from eMoney Advisor and Redtail CRM, plus, learn what four technology experts are saying about trends you need to watch in 2015.

So get ready, FPPad Bits and Bytes begins now.

(Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes on YouTube)

Today’s episode is brought to you by Building Trust Online, a new business I founded with my executive producer Steve Biermann. You probably already know that videos like this can help you build relationships and trust with clients and prospects who are looking for you online, but you’re not sure how to get started and you’ve never been trained to be confident in front of the camera.

Learn more about our coaching and media skills training by visiting buildingtrustonline.com, and sign up for the free newsletter while you’re there.

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

Tech Review: eMoney’s Next Generation from Financial Planning, and

Work smarter with Redtail CRM from Redtail Technology

[Now this week’s news you need to know comes from two popular software providers in the advisor technology marketplace. First up is eMoney Advisor which announced the release of emX back in mid-December.

emX is a radical and refreshing redesign of the original 360 and 360 Pro products from eMoney, and includes new features like mobile-friendly access for advisors, co-browsing and presentation modes, and deep integrations with many of the industry’s other leading technology providers.

One of those integrations is with Redtail Technology, which is the source of the second update you need to know. This week, Redtail officially rolled out the third iteration of its CRM software dubbed Project Tailwag. Just like eMoney emX, Redtail’s Project Tailwag modernizes the look and feel of the CRM, adds mobile-responsive design, and includes feature enhancements to notes, activities, and contact information in response to advisor feedback.]

Advisers + Technology: Better than Either Alone? from the Journal of Financial Planning

[Rounding out news you need to know this week is a panel discussion moderated by Michael Kitces for the January edition of the Journal of Financial Planning. Industry authorities Joel Bruckenstein, Steve Lockshin, Hardeep Walia, and yours truly tackled tough questions from Michael on the technology trends you need to put on your radar right now.] Leading tech experts Joel Bruckenstein and Bill Winterberg, along with the heads of two prominent platforms, Hardeep Walia of Motif Investing, and Steve Lockshin of Betterment Institutional, discuss how technology can create better advisers.

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for January 16, 2015

FPPad Bits and Bytes for July 3

Posted on July 3, 2014 by Bill Winterberg in Bits & Bytes

On today’s broadcast, a group of NexGen financial planners reveal their top technology apps. Are you using any of these popular tools in your business? A startup named Quovo aims to streamline account aggregation. Will they be able to solve frustrations with managing held-away accounts? And, this month’s Journal of Financial Planning is packed with great content. Find out which contributions can help you boost your firm’s 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 the 2014 T3 Enterprise Conference, exclusively designed for the technology needs of broker-dealers and financial enterprises.

If you’re looking for the best place to monitor trends in broker-dealer technology, you need to come to Atlanta November 11th through 13th. Reserve your spot today by visiting t3enterpriseconference.com

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

What an Elite Group of Younger Advisors Has to Say from Advisor Perspectives

[This week’s top story comes from Bob Veres, the savant of the financial planning profession, who provided an introspection of the FPA NexGen gathering he recently attended in Moline, IL. FPA NexGen is a community of over 2,000 FPA members age 36 and under, representing the future of the industry as they succeed today’s advisors who are entering retirement.

While Veres presents several thought-provoking discussions from the event, you’ll find his recap of technology tools and apps mentioned at the NexGen gathering to be of particular interest. Some of the top apps include ScheduleOnce, and online calendar clients can use to automatically book meetings, Evernote, an omnipresent note-taking app, Pay Simple, an online billing and payment service, and many more.] I recently served as a facilitator for the annual NexGen conference, this year held on the campus of Augustana University in Moline, IL., … [where] I was able to gain insight into the very different way that the financial planning landscape looks through the eyes of younger advisors just starting their careers — and in many cases, from the bottom end of a planning firm’s organizational chart.

Suggested apps/tools/technology for advisors coming out of #FPANexGen – Cc @BillWinterberg pic.twitter.com/RGZgHm1RW9

— MichaelKitces (@MichaelKitces) June 22, 2014

Advisor Aggravation from Financial Advisor Magazine

[Next up is a column from technology consultant Joel Bruckenstein. In his latest update for Financial Advisor magazine, Bruckenstein highlights a start up in the account aggregation space called Quovo.

For the longest time, reconciliation-ready account aggregation was available from just a handful of providers. First is ByAllAccounts, which was just purchased by Morningstar back in April for $28 million, then CashEdge, which was acquired by Fiserv for $465 million in 2011, and Aqumulate, formerly known as Advisor Exchange.

New to the scene is Quovo, which claims to aggregate data from over 18,000 financial institutions to provide detailed performance reports, asset allocation reviews, and even simulated market stress testing. Bruckenstein wrote that “Quovo has great potential in the advisory space,” so it’s worth adding the company to your technology radar, especially if you’re looking to improve your ability to work with clients’ held-away accounts.] In the wake of Morningstar’s recent purchase of ByAllAccounts, this seems like a particularly good time to take a look at a firm called Quovo.

Journal of Financial Planning July Issue from OneFPA.org

[And finally, the July 2014 edition of the Journal of Financial Planning is now available, and it’s a very good one with respect to technology. You’ll definitely want to check out the cover story that features two case studies on how to effectively market a financial planning business, then read a column from past FPA President Dan Moisand on why robo-advisors are a problem for the profession, and also read my own contribution on the seven most important tips you need to follow to enhance the videos you upload online.

You need to be an FPA member to access the digital edition of the magazine, but I think it’s worth it given the value you’ll receive from the Journal as well as the other member benefits offered by the FPA.] Marketing experts Kristen Luke and Kristin Harad, CFP®, offer specific marketing tactics for two very different advisory firms—one new, eager to start marketing, but not sure how; and one established, wishing to better attract high net worth clients.

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

MoneyGuidePro® Announces Enhanced Integration with Morningstar Office from BusinessWire

MoneyGuidePro®, a leader in goal-focused financial planning, and Morningstar, Inc., a leading provider of independent investment research, today announced greatly enhanced integration between MoneyGuidePro and Morningstar OfficeSM, the practice and portfolio management system for independent financial advisors.

Rebalancing Made Easy from Financial Advisor Magazine

Portfolio rebalancing can be a time consuming and largely inefficient task if attempted manually. That is why portfolio management software and rebalancing solutions have become so popular.

Morgan Stanley lets advisers write what they tweet from InvestmentNews

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management has given financial advisers the go-ahead to write their own Twitter content.

ProTracker pulls cloud-based CRM back into beta from InvestmentNews

Eight months after announcing the launch of a cloud-based customer relationship management product for advisers, ProTracker Software Inc. has stopped selling its ProTracker Cloud CRM while the company fixes some kinks in the product.

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for July 3, 2014

The 5 Best Podcasts of 2013 for Financial Advisers

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Bill Winterberg in Podcast, Social Media, Technology

Subscribe and listen to the five best podcasts for financial advisers

Note for September 2014: Like technology, podcasts change and get updated. Look for a new article covering the Best Podcasts of 2014 for Financial Advisers!

Here are the five best podcasts of 2013 featuring content specific for financial advisers

Few will argue that the amount of content online for financial advisers is exploding.

There are dozens of websites from traditional print publications that run digital editions of their magazines as well as online-only content.

Then there are several dozen more blogs and niche sites covering a wide range of topics relevant to financial advisers (with the top site being Michael Kitces’ Nerd’s Eye View blog*)

Podcasts for Financial Advisers are Rare

But one media format with just a handful of “publishers” is the podcast.

Sure, there are many podcasts with consumer-oriented content, featuring personal finance advice on how to pay down debt, reduce fees on investments, diversify a portfolio, and more. Many of these podcasts are excellent, but they don’t include content that addresses the issues concerning financial advisers and operating an advisory business.

The number of podcasts being created with content exclusive for the financial adviser audience is extremely small. Like less than ten.

Five Best Podcasts for Financial Advisers

With so few podcasts being created for financial advisers, how will you discover those with content applicable to your needs?

The answer is in my list of the five best podcasts for financial advisers!

But wait, why just five? Because that is exactly the number of active podcasts (with activity over the past year) to which I subscribe that I know produce content specifically for the financial adviser audience.

So here is my personally curated list of the five best podcasts for financial advisers, free and clear of irritating pageview-increasing slideshow gimmicks! (You can thank me by sharing this list with your friends.)

Pre-List Bonus: FPPad Technology Podcast

First, let me first start off with a pre-list bonus, because I have a horse in this race, too. If you don’t already know, audio and video content from FPPad is available as a podcast on iTunes.

So if you’re not yet subscribed, subscribe now!

But why subscribe on iTunes if you can get the content on FPPad.com?

Because in the Podcasts app on your iOS device, you can download content for listening or viewing when you’re offline or away from a strong broadband connection. Also, the Podcasts app lets you increase the playback speed of content, so you can get your five-minute weekly technology update finished in just over three-and-a-half minutes! Now that’s an instant productivity boost of 33%!

1. Social Media Minute Podcast by RegEd

The Social Media Minute Podcast by RegEd is the best podcast for advisers seeking information on all things related to social media. Blane Warrene is host and producer of the Social Media Minute Podcast and does an excellent job addressing the timely issues surrounding the social media landscape.

As Senior Vice President of Customer Communications at RegEd, Warrene knows his stuff on social media. Sure, the content helps build awareness of RegEd’s social media compliance and content products, and that’s partly the point. But know that this podcast is all about deepening the conversation around financial advisers and social media and is NOT a blatant product promotion.

2. AdvisorToday.com’s Building a More Successful Practice by NAIFA

NAIFA, the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, publishes a new podcast once every two months with a variety of content centered around practice management and business building ideas.

Occasionally the content addresses issues in the insurance marketplace, such as disability income policy sales and long-term-care insurance updates, but many of the podcasts feature interviews with advisers and insurance agents discussing strategies they have implemented to grow their business and enhance client service.

Subscribe to the AdvisorToday.com podcast now as six episodes per year will not fill up your “to-be-listened-to” playlist, and your odds of learning a good business-building idea are pretty good.

3. Journal of Financial Planning Podcasts

The award-winning Journal of Financial Planning has been in print for over 30 years, and just over three years ago the publication started creating podcast content around many of its featured articles and authors.

The Journal of Financial Planning Podcast Page is somewhat of a best-kept-secret, since there is one simple icon on the navigation menu of the website home page, but each print article featuring additional podcast content directs readers to the website to listen to more information.

Journal of Financial Planning Podcasts are centered around the “10 Questions” interview features, giving readers a chance to hear from authors, financial planners, and thought leaders in the industry (self-promotion warning: I was interviewed in February 2013).

While not directly available as an iTunes podcast, you can still manually download and then drag and drop audio files to your media player of choice to listen offline, at the gym, or during your commute.

4. AdvisorPod Practice Builders by Securities America, Inc.

Securities America, Inc. is a broker-dealer that walks-the-walk on practice management advice. Not only does the company urge its reps to be more active with client outreach and marketing initiatives, Securities America publishes these podcasts for advisers to back up what they say.

Led by Kirk Hulett, Executive Vice President of Strategy and Practice Management, AdvisorPod releases monthly updates on a wide range of practice management tips, including outreach to CPAs and other COI individuals, retaining relationships through family transitions, mobile app reviews and more.

5. Build Online Influence with Stephanie Sammons

Build Online Influence is a podcast from Stephanie Sammons, founder and CEO of Wired Advisor. Wired Advisor is a professional blogging platform for financial advisers and business professionals.

In Build Online Influence, Sammons reviews techniques financial advisers can use to increase their profile and brand recognition through the use of social media. Several of her podcasts include interviews with financial advisers who have created a large audience of people interested in financial planning (i.e. prospective clients) through their social media activity. Build Online Influence attempts to reveal what strategies work (and those that don’t) to help advisers compete in a social marketplace that is getting more crowded each day.

While Build Online Influence hasn’t been updated since January 2013, I know that Sammons is still active in her work with advisers, so I trust that a listing here in my top five podcasts for financial advisers will be enough motivation for her to pick up where she left off! Perhaps a tweet or two to Sammons wouldn’t hurt, either!

Who Would You Include?

There you have it! My top five podcasts of content created just for you, the successful financial adviser.

Inevitably, I likely missed a handful of other podcasts out there publishing outstanding content for the financial adviser audience. Tell me which ones I missed in the comments below, and hopefully with enough submissions, I can double the list to include the ten best podcasts for financial advisers.

But first, I want podcasts with business building ideas, technology coverage, practice management ideas and so on. Podcasts with economic commentary, stock picking ideas, or investment-centric content can be curated by someone else!

So tell me what podcasts I missed in the comments below, send me a tweet, or email me offline.

Audience Additions

Here are some of the podcasts recommended by readers since this article was posted on November 25, 2013.

The 401K Study Group Radio by Chuck Hammond

*2013 top blogs according to the Zywave 2013 Top News and Blog Sites for Advisors Survey.

Office 365 versus Google Apps: Which one is right for financial advisers?

Posted on July 11, 2013 by Bill Winterberg in Software, Technology

Office 365 and Google Apps deliver your office software through the cloud. But which one is right for financial advisers?

Office 365 and Google Apps give financial advisers the flexibility to use office software on any Internet-connected computer.

But there are substantial differences in the way these applications work compared to their desktop counterparts (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on Windows, Pages, Numbers, and Keynote on Mac).

Still, if the thought of switching to device-agnostic office software that is available anywhere you have Internet access is appealing, read my contribution to the July issue of the Journal of Financial Planning.

Read Your Office Apps in the Cloud at OneFPA.org today (FPA member login required).

FPPad Bits and Bytes for April 5

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Bill Winterberg in Bits & Bytes

This week, a registered rep’s YouTube video on annuities lands him in hot water.

My lesson learned from this week: Completely block out a few days each month in my calendar for rescheduling events. Things don’t always go according to “plan,” so it’s a lot easier when I have a few unscheduled days available in the future rather than try and compress existing commitments to squeeze in a rescheduled event.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

YouTube Annuities Videos Lead To Fine And Suspension from Forbes.com

[So a registered rep for First Heartland Capital, Inc., Ralph William Hicks Jr., created and posted videos to YouTube about equity index annuity (“EIAs”) seminars. FINRA alleged that Hicks’ marketing materials, including the YouTube videos, “presented oversimplified claims which omitted material information, or failed to provide a sound basis for evaluating the facts.” So what’s your lesson in all of this? If you’re going to market on YouTube (or any online site), you’d be better off avoiding specific details about products, including annuity guarantees and risks, and rather address general financial planning principles or opportunities NOT linked with particular products. But if you do mention products, you probably ought to provide a conspicuous link to disclosure material at a minimum.] While registered with First Heartland during approximately 2009 through 2011, the AWC alleges that Hicks disseminated to some 200 to 1,000 members of the public: advertising and sales literature to the public in YouTube videos; invitations to seminars and workshops; and letters concerning, among other things, bonus incentives.

Book Review: Technology Tools for Today’s High-Margin Practice from the Journal of Financial Planning

[Bruce Colin, CFP® provides an honest, unbiased review of the new edition of Technology Tools for Today’s High-Margin Practice, updated by Joel Bruckenstein and David Drucker featuring multiple contributions from a variety of authors (of which I am one). Read Colin’s review for the best chapters of the book and why this edition is “required reading” for advisers. You can buy a copy using this affiliate link or just search for it on Amazon.] Required Reading for Tech-Savvy Planners: Latest Drucker-Bruckenstein book disappoints in some areas, but still worth the investment.

Technology blueprint for a typical RIA firm from InvestmentNews.com

[Nexus Strategy founder Tim Welsh makes a (first?) guest appearance at InvestmentNews to cover the programs and applications most used by financial advisers. Data for this article was obtained from the 2013 InvestmentNews Technology Study. But one opportunity for improvement: avoid burying the lead.] The overwhelming success of the independent-adviser segment is transforming the financial services industry. With over $2 trillion in assets, independent registered investment advisers continue to be the fastest-growing segment and as a result are attracting investments by technology firms to penetrate this growing marketplace.

Biggest Tech Trends Now from Financial-Planning.com

[In this recap of February’s Technology Tools for Today conference, Joel Bruckenstein covers the biggest trends observed: data security for financial advisers, protecting mobile devices, ramped-up custodian technology, touchscreen interfaces, and Windows 8.] The interest in security among independent advisors seemed to have ratcheted up. Perhaps it’s because major custodians have acted to heighten advisor awareness of attacks, or it could be increased media coverage of Chinese hackers targeting U.S. websites – but either way, it was one of the key questions for attendees at February’s Technology Tools for Today conference.

Salentica Releases Laser App Integration to Enable Advisors to Reduce Time Spent On Form Filling from PRWeb.com

[Streamlined form filling is almost a required technology for the progressive advisory firm. Laser App is the 800-pound gorilla in form-filling software, so it’s imperative that other technology vendors integrate with them in some way. Here’s the latest CRM integration from Salentica, the Microsoft Dynamics CRM overlay provider for financial services. They’re still tiny with respect to their user base among advisers, but supporting integrations such as this will help boost its adoption in the marketplace.] Salentica Inc., a market leader in providing innovative Client Relationship Management (CRM) and Client Reporting technology solutions for the wealth management industry, announced today the general availability of its integration with Laser App within its CRM software.

My 10 Questions interview with the Journal of Financial Planning

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Bill Winterberg in Technology

Bill Winterberg 10 Questions

Ten questions highlights Dropbox, Google+ Hangouts, Windows 8 and more

Each month the Journal of Financial Planning interviews “noteworthy people” for its 10 Questions feature.

I had the honor and privilege of being the featured guest in February’s issue.

Carly Schulaka, Managing Editor for the Journal of Financial Planning, lined up a great list of questions, including conversations around file sharing services like Dropbox, whether financial planners should upgrade to Windows 8, broadcasting content over the Internet, and how inStream Solutions is poised to change the way financial plans are created.

Be sure to head on over to the Journal of Financial Planning and read 10 Questions with Bill Winterberg (PDF).

Also, I supplemented the 10 Questions feature with a video interview covering Pinterest and QR codes. See that video at How financial advisers can use Pinterest and QR codes

How financial advisers can use Pinterest and QR codes

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Bill Winterberg in Technology

Here are two easy ways financial advisers can use Pinterest and QR codes to connect with clients and prospects

Last week, I connected with Lance Ritchlin, Publications Director for the Financial Planning Association, to highlight some quick takeaways on emerging technology for financial planners.

Specifically, Ritchlin wanted to know, is there any value in financial planners’ use of Pinterest (the “pinboard-style photo sharing website”), and what is one useful way financial planners can use QR codes?

Here are my best ideas all in under three minutes!

(click to watch on YouTube)

Financial adviser marketing tools for the Digital Age

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Bill Winterberg in Practice Management, Software

inbound marketing

Get onboard with these top tools for marketing in the Digital Age

As a financial adviser, you have the potential to benefit tremendously from the proliferation of new online marketing tools.

Now that we’re fully enveloped in the Digital Age, you have many new techniques and resources at your disposal to market your business and services to those who can benefit the most.

What’s so different about marketing in the Digital Age?

Digital Age marketing is characterized by “inbound marketing,” as opposed to “outbound marketing.”

Inbound marketing is the free, value-add content you create and post online for others to find, based on their needs (and, more importantly, search engine queries). It’s what the person on the left in the image above is doing.

Outbound marketing is more traditional, where you advertise using billboards, email blasts, and prospect seminars in the hopes of exposing your company/brand/profile to as many people as possible. It’s what the bullhorn guy on the right of the image is doing.

So which Digital Age marketing tools should you start using?

I wrote a succinct guide to marketing in the Digital Age for the January 2013 issue of the Journal of Financial Planning.

Click here to read Tools for Digital Age Marketing from the Journal of Financial Planning.

Journal of Financial Planning: Efficiently Monitor Client Cash Flow

Posted on November 2, 2010 by Bill Winterberg in General

The November issue of the Journal of Financial Planning is now available online.

The theme of this month’s issue is tax planning for uncertain times as well as year-end strategies. The issue also features my second column for the Journal discussing strategies advisers are employing to monitor cash flow, not only at year-end, but throughout the year.

Check out my Practices column, Efficiently Monitor Client Cash Flow.

As always, I welcome your comments and feedback. Your thoughts inspire new topics and discussion points that can be covered in more detail in future columns.

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