Tag Archives: Justin Unton

FPPad Bits and Bytes for June 28

Posted on June 28, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

2013 is half over. How much have you accomplished towards your technology goals?

2013 is half over. How much have you accomplished towards your technology goals?

And just like that, the first half of 2013 is over.

Remember the technology objectives you had when you entered the year? How have you fared on increasing efficiency and enhancing the service you deliver to clients?

If you’re not as far along as you had hoped, you still have 26 weeks to move ahead!

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

What I Learned from Getting Robbed: Part 2 from Advisortechbuzz.com

[This is the second update from Justin Unton from Commonwealth about the theft of his laptop and mobile devices. As an Apple user, he has several preexisting options for device recovery including updating his Apple ID with stolen device information and attempting to locate devices with the Find My iPhone app. Prey is also a clever app to install on your laptop which will try to contact the owner and send webcam photos of whoever is trying to access the laptop.] As I mentioned in the previous post, after getting robbed I was thankful I’d taken steps to protect the information stored on my electronic devices. Today, I’ll discuss a few specific security measures that served me well (and one that I wish I’d had in place).

RIA technology updates from Schwab Advisor Services’ Tech Talk series from FPPad

[Yes, I’m shamelessly promoting my own coverage of technology updates from Schwab Advisor Services. But let’s face it; you could read the PR-heavy press release, or read my review of the technology updates that matter to your business.] In a move to be more visible and transparent, Schwab Advisor Services launched a periodic series of conference calls called Tech Talk, featuring the latest updates on Schwab’s technology and related services for independent investment advisors.

Erado Announces Addition of Google Plus to Social Media Capturing Suite from Erado.com

[Erado continues to grow under the radar of most advisers, and that’s partly due to their success in cultivating new broker-dealer relationships. Now Erado becomes more attractive after recently adding Google Plus archiving (or Google+ which isn’t so press-release friendly) to their compliance suite.] Erado, the nation’s leading compliance and archiving firm in electronic communication, officially announces the newest addition to their Social Media Capturing suite, Google Plus.

Convenience or security: You can’t have both when it comes to Wi-Fi from TechRepublic.com

[Frequent Bits & Bytes readers might be tired of hearing about the risks of using public WiFi networks. For a refresher specific to you as a financial adviser, go read Why advisers can’t trust their clients anymore and How to secure mobile devices against “WiFi honeypots” here at FPPad. In this TechRepublic.com article, author Michael Kassner interviews an information security professional about how the risks of using public WiFi and what tools and programs to have in place to protect against hacking. But again, everything in the TechRepublic article has been covered for you in the two posts I provided as a refresher.] Open Wi-Fi networks can be a godsend when you need them. Michael P. Kassner interviews a network-security expert who explains why bad guys like them even more.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for June 21

Posted on June 21, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

integration

For financial advisers, integration, no matter how simple or complex, leads to higher revenue, profitability, and income says one survey.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

What I Learned from Getting Robbed: Part 1 from Advisortechbuzz.com

[This is a last-minute addition to this week’s Bits and Bytes. Here’s a personal story from Commonwealth’s Justin Unton about a robbery at his house and the theft of a bunch of his electronics. Unton strongly advocates the use of two-factor authentication (see: How to enable two-step verification on your LinkedIn account) which renders these devices and online logins useless without access Unton’s mobile phone. Let this be a lesson to us all: turn on two factor authentication wherever you can to give yourself an additional layer of protection in the event something like this happens to you.] At first, we thought it was our cat, Oscar, who had caused the mass destruction in our living room. We even laughed it off, thinking that he must have seen a fly and done his best puma impression to track it down and pounce on it. That all changed as we went down the hallway to our bedroom and saw the contents of our drawers strewn about the floor.

Envestnet | Tamarac White Paper: Technology Integration Leads To 20% More Annual Income For Advisors from Marketwatch.com

[I think it’s generally common sense to equate the use of integrated software tools with increased profitability. But just in case you have your doubts, here’s a white paper compiled from an Aite Group survey that demonstrates this fact. So what is “some degree” of technology integration? The white paper says it’s single sign-on, manual data sharing, automatic data sharing, and cross-product functionality. Want a copy of the white paper? Visit http://tamaracinc.com/White-Paper-Download.aspx and offer your contact information.] Envestnet | Tamarac, part of Envestnet, Inc., a leading provider of integrated web-based portfolio and client management software for independent advisors and wealth managers, has released a white paper showing that financial advisors at independent RIA practices with some degree of technology integration earn approximately 20 percent more in annual income than their counterparts at independent RIA practices with no technology integration.

AssetBook rolls out mobile portfolio management application from InvestmentNews.com

[AssetBook joins other portfolio management software providers including Black Diamond and Orion Advisor Services (see: Eric Clarke, President of Orion Advisor Services, on additional integrations and mobile apps) in offering a native mobile app advisers can use to view portfolios.] AssetBook LLC announced Friday the release of AssetBook Mobile: a native application for devices running both iOS and the Android operating system.

Smarsh, an archivist for the information age from OregonLive.com

[Smarsh routinely appears on FPPad for email and social media compliance. Clearly they’re a popular service provider among their regulated financial service customers, and that popularity has resulted in dramatic growth of what was once a small start up in the Pacific Northwest.] Companies used to wish away their old correspondence. Old letters were a legal liability, the thinking went, and ought to be destroyed. Smarsh has built one of Portland’s fastest-growing tech businesses by taking the opposite approach, contending that in the information age nothing is ever really gone.

Dell owns 60 percent of Smarsh, with an option to buy more from OregonLive.com

[This is a sidebar to the Smarsh article above, but I felt it important enough to break it out separately. Did you know Dell, yes, that Dell, now owns 60 percent of Smarsh? I didn’t either. That news managed to fly under my radar.] Companies that produce the kind of growth that Smarsh has inevitably attract suitors. But don’t look for a buyout at Smarsh: It’s already happened.

Tweet this: Finra spot-checking firms for social media compliance from InvestmentNews.com

[Surprise, surprise, FINRA is checking broker-dealer rep’s use of social media! It’s not breaking news, FINRA is doing what they’re supposed to be doing; their job! Still, if these spot-checks scare you, here’s what you need to have: 1) A compliance manual that includes your social media policy, 2) documentation that reps are periodically trained, and 3) a monitoring and archiving system that contains the history of social media posts. Is there anything I left out?] The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. is doing social-media compliance spot checks on some of its member firms. In a notice posted Monday on Finra’s website, the regulator said it wants broker-dealers to identify the sites used by a firm, as well as all individuals who post or update the firm’s content on social-media sites.