Tag Archives: LaserApp

FPPad Bits and Bytes for April 1, 2016

Posted on April 1, 2016 by in Bits & Bytes

On today’s broadcast, Betterment raises $100 million in fresh capital, Fidelity tests FidelityGo, Schwab pulls the plug on OpenView Integrated Office, and more.

So get ready, FPPad Bits and Bytes begins now!

(Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes on YouTube)

First, a heads up, Steve and I will be on the road later this month covering the massive NAB 2016 event, scouring the exhibit halls for technology you can use to make great videos and podcasts, followed by the 2016 Shareholders Service Group conference in San Diego. Visit fppad.com/subscribe and sign up today so you don’t miss any of our coverage from the events.

Betterment Raises $100 Million from Betterment.com

[Now on to this week’s top story which comes from Betterment, as the automated investment service raised another $100 million dollars in venture capital, bringing the total amount they’ve raised to $205 million. Betterment is pulling away from a crowded field of robo competitors, now servicing over 150,000 customers, managing $3.9 billion in assets, and valued at a reported $700 million.

Betterment says they will use the funding to grow the Betterment for Business 401(k) platform and the Betterment Institutional offering for you, the financial advisor.

But despite all the money raised and what they say about being their customer’s central financial relationship, Betterment’s questionnaire still doesn’t tell customers that they should pay off high interest credit card debt or build up an emergency fund first before investing. Oh, that’s right, customers can find that advice somewhere on the blog.

So I’ll reiterate what I posted on Twitter this week: Betterment, I hope you use the money to make unbiased fiduciary advice accessible & affordable to everyone.

If you want to read more about the latest round of Betterment’s funding, head over to fppad.com/183 for the links to this week’s top stories.] Today marks an important milestone for Betterment and our more than 150,000 customers who have invested over $3.9 billion with us. We’re excited to announce that Betterment has closed a $100 million investment, led by a new partner, Kinnevik.

Fidelity Starts Testing Robo-Adviser Service on Existing Clients from Bloomberg.com

[Next up is news from Fidelity, as the company announced plans to begin testing Fidelity Go, its own automated investing service for retail investors, with roughly 500 customers this week, with an official rollout sometime in the second half of this year.

If you remember back to November of 2015, Fidelity broke off its relationship to promote Betterment Institutional to advisors, and then coincidentally announced the Fidelity Go retail product that competes more or less with Betterment. Fidelity Go will feature investment portfolios managed by Geode Capital Management, all in fees at 39 basis points or lower, automatic rebalancing, but no tax loss harvesting.

With Fidelity Go as a retail offering, you should know that Fidelity told me that a B2B version is under development, and while they couldn’t give me a solid release date, they did say the offering will be customized to your needs as an advisor.

Nevertheless, Fidelity joins Charles Schwab as an institutional custodian with an automated investment solution in the retail space, but at no platform fee in exchange for a little extra cash allocation, Schwab Intelligent Portfolios, in my opinion, is going to be tough to beat.] Fidelity Investments, the second-largest U.S. mutual fund company, will test an automated-investment service starting Wednesday on a small group of existing customers. Fidelity plans to offer the service to the public in the second half of this year.

Schwab Unplugs Its Customized Version of Salesforce from WealthManagement.com

[And speaking of Schwab, this week’s final story is news that Schwab Advisor Services is discontinuing the Schwab OpenView Integrated Office solution effective July 31. Roughly 150 firms are using the solution, so they’re going to have to find some other technology to replace Integrated Office, specifically the custom version of Salesforce that came with it.

The link to the story at fppad.com/183 has the details on options for affected advisors, including using Salesforce with Schwab OpenView Gateway or migrating to a completely new CRM, but here’s the angle I want to focus address.

This is absolutely an example of what can happen when you choose a custodian’s proprietary solution for a part of your technology. How committed is that custodian going to be to offer that technology over the lung run? In this case, Schwab, for whatever reason, is shutting down Integrated Office, leaving 150 advisors with just three months to figure out what to do.

So I don’t blame you one bit for getting a little uneasy when custodians offer proprietary technology solutions to you that they own and control. But with more custodian acquisitions of technology on the horizon, I’m afraid this is a risk you’re going to have to assume more frequently as time moves on.

One more thing: if you want a firm with Salesforce experience in financial services, get your pencils out, because you should consider contacting LiquidHub, Concenter Services, Navatar, Salentica, or AppCrown.] One hundred fifty Charles Schwab advisors must find a new client relationship manager (CRM) by July 31.

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

Envestnet | Tamarac Rolls Out New Household Structure and Service Team Functionality in Advisor View™ Client Portal from PRNewswire.com

Envestnet | Tamarac has launched four major software updates designed to strengthen RIAs’ online engagement with clients. The roll-out is part of the firm’s March 2016 technology release.

Advyzon Integrates Laser App Software to Enhance Client Advisor Relationship from LaserApp.com

Laser App Software, the premier provider of forms automation and management software for the securities and insurance industries, has announced that Advyzon, an all in one cloud-based platform combining portfolio management, performance reporting, CRM, client portal and planning, integrated with Laser App Software to enhance its client dashboard.

Marketware International is pleased to announce that it has become a new member of the IBM Watson Ecosystem Partner Program.

Our team has been hard at work creating the AdvisorQA mobile product experience for Financial Services. It provides a new mobile Content Management and Social Collaboration tool that utilizes the cognitive computing and research capabilities of IBM Watson.

 

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for April 1, 2016

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for April 1, 2016

FPPad Bits and Bytes for October 16

Posted on October 16, 2015 by in Bits & Bytes

On today’s broadcast, Morningstar says it will acquire Total Rebalance Expert, LogMeIn acquires LastPass, and Laser App doubles down on technology training for advisors.

So get ready, FPPad Bits and Bytes begins now.

(WatchFPPad Bits and Bytes on YouTube)

Morningstar, Inc. to Acquire tRx Investment Portfolio Rebalancing Platform for Advisors from Morningstar

[Let’s get right to this week’s top story which comes from Morningstar, as the investment research company just announced that it will acquire Total Rebalance Expert, the portfolio rebalancing solution created by Sheryl Rowling back in 2008. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, but my take on this news is that it’s a big positive for both companies, and here’s why.

First, Morningstar has provided back-office technology to thousands of advisors in the form of Morningstar Advisor Workstation and Morningstar Office, but for years advisors have complained that the internal portfolio rebalancing tool lacked some of the more sophisticated features found in competing solutions. So acquiring TRX closes this gap in Morningstar’s technology platform.

And for TRX, what began as a personal project for Sheryl Rowling’s own RIA has grown into a legitimate player in the portfolio rebalancing marketplace with over 175 firms already on board. But in order to take TRX to the next level, it’s going to require additional investments in development, marketing, and customer service, and that’s where Morningstar has the potential to add tremendous value.

This news is the latest in a string of fintech acquisitions this year that includes eMoney, Advent, LearnVest, Finance Logix, Upside Advisor, Guide Financial, and Yodlee. So, I think it’s time we have a chat. Come on, bring it in.

The independent technology providers you use today are in play. Fintech is hot right now, and there’s a lot of cash available, so don’t be surprised if one of the core solutions you use announces it’s going to be acquired.

Now I’m not saying you need to make an exit plan for each piece of technology you use, but I’m going do my best to keep you up to date on what’s happening, and offer suggestions where I feel appropriate if you need to make a move to an alternate solution. Ok? Ok.] Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Total Rebalance Expert (tRx), an automated, tax-efficient investment portfolio rebalancing platform for financial advisors, from FNA, LLC. Morningstar expects to complete the transaction in November 2015.

LastPass Joins the LogMeIn Family from LastPass, and

Joining forces with LastPass from Meldium, and

LogMeIn now owns LastPass – here’s how to migrate to 1Password from TroyHunt.com

[Next up is more acquisition news as LogMeIn, the remote access software provider, announced that it will acquire LastPass, the popular password manager solution, for $110 million. This follows the company’s September 2014 acquisition of Meldium, another password management tool, with a price tag of $15 million.

Now LastPass is the solution I use to manage passwords to hundreds of online accounts, so I am paying very close attention to what’s going to happen to the product in the near future. One thing LogMeIn did say on their website is that users of Meldium will be encouraged to transition to a comparable version of LastPass in early 2016.

But much of the online chatter I’ve read about LogMeIn mentions terrible customer service experiences and frustrating billing issues, so I admit that I’m considering competing solutions like 1Password or Dashlane, but I’m not making any moves just yet. Nevertheless, I’ve saved a great article that walks through the steps of extracting all my password data from LastPass to migrate to another service in case I might need it in the future, and you’ll find that link along with this episode’s top stories.] It’s a big day here at LastPass. We’re thrilled to announce that we’re joining LogMeIn.

Laser App doubles down on technology training at its first Advisor Con event in Las Vegas from FPPad

[And finally, a few days ago I attended the first-ever Advisor Con event hosted by Laser App Software in Las Vegas. The agenda at Advisor Con was filled with training sessions, and not just on Laser App software, but training for all of the technology providers who where in attendance.]

 

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for October 16, 2015

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for October 16, 2015

Laser App doubles down on technology training at its first Advisor Con event in Las Vegas

Posted on October 15, 2015 by in Conferences

In its first Advisor Con event, Laser App gathered advisors in Las Vegas and doubled down on providing technology training resources.

As technology adoption continues to be a challenge for many financial advisors, Laser App met the issue head on with a new event dedicated to technology training.

In this three video series from the first-ever Laser App Advisor Con event, you’ll see how the company kicked off its inaugural conference by putting technology vendors front and center to highlight the value they bring to advisory firms.

Advisor Con Day One Kickoff

What you’ll learn in this video: My top three takeaways from the morning sessions, including MoneyGuidePro, Riskalzye, and Silanis.

Advisor Con Day One Provider Presentations

What you’ll learn in this video: Hear the tips technology providers want Advisor Con attendees to take back to their office.

Advisor Con Day Two Training

What you’ll learn in this video: Find out why Laser App dedicated an entire day of the Advisor Con agenda to technology training sessions.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for November 22

Posted on November 22, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

On this week’s broadcast, learn about new technology offerings from two of the top institutional custodians, a bold new workflow platform launches with the potential to revolutionize the way you use technology, and a new app is introduced to fill your prospecting funnel with qualified leads.

So get ready, FPPad Bits and Bytes begins now!

(Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes on YouTube)

This week’s episode of Bits and Bytes is brought to you by Total Rebalance Expert, the industry’s largest, privately owned portfolio rebalancing software provider.

Total Rebalance Expert

Fresh off its acquisition of PowerAdvisor, TRX offers advisors tax-efficient rebalancing, an easy to use interface, and more, all at an affordable price. Learn how you can gain a half a million dollar return on your technology investment by downloading their latest white paper at fppad.com/trx

Here are this week’s top stories:

Schwab IMPACT 2013 Report: All the technology trends advisors can’t miss from FPPad

[This week’s top story comes from Schwab Advisor Services, who unveiled several technology initiatives at their annual Schwab IMPACT conference last week. Capitalizing on four technology trends of Big Data, Mobile, Cloud and Integration, Schwab’s Neesha Hathi announced the company is working on Project PM2, a completely new, cloud-based portfolio management software solution.

Hathi also said Schwab is piloting mobile app development for advisors called OpenView Mobile, giving advisors a white-labeled app in the popular app stores that clients can use to view their account information.

Project PM2 and OpenView Mobile just scratch the surface of all of the announcements made at IMPACT, so be sure to read the main story for all the details.] Schwab IMPACT 2013 kicked off its pinnacle event in Washington, D.C. this year with a big focus on the technology trends sure to change the financial services industry in the foreseeable future. Here are the most important technology announcements provided by various members of the executive team inside Schwab Advisor Services.

Pershing Enhances NetX360® Platform with Additional Third-Party Technology Integrations from PRNewswire

[Another custodian that just introduced new technology integrations is Pershing, who announced that its NetX360 platform now connects with portfolio rebalancing software from Blaze Portfolio and portfolio management software from Portfolio Pathway.

These new integrations will streamline the data import and export process between NetX360, which should increase the popularity of these programs among advisors who custody assets through Pershing.

In addition, Pershing’s account opening process should get a little bit smoother through the addition of Laser App form filling software, and advisors using SmartOffice CRM from Ebix will enjoy single sign-on access from their NetX360 dashboard.] Pershing LLC, a BNY Mellon company, today announced several enhancements to NetX360®, its technology platform for advisors. NetX360 now offers additional integrations with two popular portfolio management and rebalancing solutions – Blaze Portfolio and Portfolio Pathway. Also, as part of its client onboarding solution, NetX360 now provides Laser App® forms management and configuration tools. In addition to these integrations, users of the NetX360 can now directly access Ebix Smart Office customer relationship management (CRM) software via a single sign-on process.

Fox Financial Planning Network Unveils Industry-Disruptive Technology for Financial Services Sector with Intelligent Automation and Integration™ Software from PRNewswire

[Next up comes a development in workflow systems for financial advisors. For years I’ve struggled to answer the question of where an advisor’s workflow system should ultimately live. Should it be a part of CRM software, or perhaps a sophisticated document management program? Well the folks at the Fox Financial Planning Network believe the answer is neither.

Instead, they recently announced the introduction of a new middleware application called Genesis Smartware, a workflow solution that operates in the background of the key programs advisors use every day. Genesis Smartware does not replace CRM or document management workflow, but rather it complements the capabilities of existing systems by leveraging APIs and integrations to step through a series of complex workflow steps.

I believe the potential for this approach to workflow is huge, but look for Fox Financial Planning Network to take a measured approach to rolling out this platform to advisors because until now, you’ve never seen anything like it.] Fox Financial Planning Network (FFPN) announced today the availability of a revolutionary new middleware software application, Genesis Smartware™, which will facilitate sophisticated integrations between industry technology providers, streamline and automate many of the daily tasks involved in providing financial advisory services, and serve as an integration translator between older legacy and newer platforms for financial institutions.

Orion Advisor Services, LLC Releases New Discover App For Creating Customizable Online Client Questionnaires from PRNewswire

[And finally, in an effort to boost advisors’ online lead generation capabilities, Orion Advisor Services just released a new interactive app called Discover. The portfolio accounting service bureau and past sponsor of Bits and Bytes is branching out to help advisors cultivate leads and capture prospect information online. Discover is an online questionnaire that can be completely customized by advisors, and prospects who complete the questionnaire can receive insightful portfolio reports and scorecards through an integration with AdvisoryWorld.

Prospect contact information is routed automatically to Salesforce, with other CRM integrations coming soon, giving advisors better control and visibility into lead generation and management of their prospecting funnel. The Discover app is free for Orion’s existing customers, and pricing for all other advisors is still to be determined.] Orion Advisor Services, LLC, a premier portfolio accounting service provider, announced the release of Discover, an interactive app that allows RIAs to design their own unique online client questionnaires to capture and connect with prospects prior to their initial meetings.

 

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for November 22, 2013

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for November 22, 2013

FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 30

Posted on August 30, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

On this week’s broadcast, Laser App unveils new integrations to speed up your form processing, LPL Financial rolls out new technology to its representatives, how one-page websites might be your answer to stand out in today’s crowded marketplace, and more. So get ready, Bits and Bytes begins now.

(Watch on YouTube) This week’s edition of Bits and Bytes is brought to you by Redtail Technology, providers of cloud-based CRM for financial professionals since 2003.

Redtail Technology

Check out their popular advisor solutions and sign up for a 30-day free trial. Visit fppad.com/redtail for more information.

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

Filling Out Forms No Longer a Pain in the App for Busy Advisors from Laser App and TDAmeritrade

[Leading off is an update on Laser App, the form-filling software provider, who held its annual broker-dealer conference last week in San Diego.At last year’s conference, Laser App unveiled Laser App Anywhere, a cloud-based version of its software that can create account forms in the cloud and on a variety of mobile devices. But Laser App Anywhere was only made available to broker-dealers and their affiliated representatives. That is, until now.

At the conference last week, Laser App announced that TD Ameritrade Institutional will be the first custodian to offer Laser App Anywhere to advisors through the Veo advisor platform. This means that independent advisors who custody with TD Ameritrade Institutional will be able to leverage Laser App Anywhere to simplify their form creation and account opening processes.

In addition, TD Ameritrade Institutional also announced it will integrate Laser App Anywhere with electronic signature capabilities from DocuSign, giving independent advisers one of the first officially-supported straight-through-processing solutions for account-related forms.] TD Ameritrade Institutional Announces Integration of Laser App® Anywhere: a New Cloud-Based Tool to Help Advisors Complete Forms Faster and on Mobile Devices

LPL Financial Unveils Enhancements to Technology Platform at Annual Financial Advisor Conference from MarketWatch.com

[Now Laser App wasn’t the only company holding a conference in San Diego last week. LPL Financial hosted the LPL Financial Focus Conference and announced a number of technology initiatives and updates for its representatives. LPL is the largest independent broker-dealer in the country in terms of both total representatives and assets, so whatever they do, expect the industry to follow suit.

Notable announcements include a new Enhanced Trading and Rebalancing platform being rolled out to representatives over the next 12 months. LPL is offering the rebalancing platform for free through June of 2014, then for $150/month thereafter. Couple that with TD Ameritrade Institutional’s announcement earlier this year that iRebal will be offered for free through the Veo platform, and you can bet this will put considerable pricing pressure on third-party rebalancing software providers.

LPL also released the LPL Financial Mobile app for iOS and Android, giving advisers the ability to monitor client portfolios and send secure messages to clients, all from inside the app.

And finally, LPL continues to expand its support of electronic signatures with none other than DocuSign, as over 80% of LPL’s documents and forms are eligible for electronic signature processing.] LPL Financial LLC, the nation’s largest independent broker-dealer, a leading RIA custodian and a wholly owned subsidiary of LPL Financial Holdings Inc., today announced a set of enhanced technology offerings and new mobile capabilities for financial advisors and their clients, designed to simplify account management; improve practice efficiency and scalability; and enhance the client experience.

Envestnet Completes Integration Of HiddenLevers Application Into Envestnet’s Next Generation Platform from PRNewswire.com

[In other integration news, Envestnet, the unified wealth management technology provider, announced that it completed the integration of Hidden Levers into its platform. The integration was originally announced back in May at the company’s Advisor Summit and was anticipated to be in production by June. Despite the delay, this is another big win for Hidden Levers, the New York-based startup that continues to attract significant attention with its scenario-based portfolio stress testing capabilities.] Envestnet, a leading provider of unified wealth management technology and services to investment advisors, announced today the integration of the HiddenLevers application into its unified wealth management platform.

Quickview: Strikingly Simple Advisor Websites from Morningstar.com

[And finally, if you’re looking for new ways to stand out among a crowded field of financial advisors, consider how your website might be able to differentiate your business from all the rest. Tons of advisor websites use similar templates with navigation menus, photos, and a few columns of text. But a trend in website design gaining momentum is the sinle-page layout.

In my Morningstar Advisor Quickview update this month, I wrote about one service called Strikingly that you can use to quickly set up your own single page website and use it to differentiate yourself from everyone else.] A single-page website might just set your business apart in a sea of advisor website monotony.

TD Ameritrade Institutional integrates Laser App Anywhere with the Veo® advisor platform

Posted on August 21, 2013 by in Efficiency, Software

Independent advisers will shuffle less paper with TD Ameritrade Institutional’s latest Laser App integration

In a press release issued today, TD Ameritrade Institutional announced that it integrated Laser App Anywhere, the online document form filling application, to the Veo® advisor platform.

Laser App Anywhere for Independent Advisers

Laser App Anywhere was introduced last year at Laser App’s industry conference, but the solution was targeted to the document processing needs of broker-dealers. Independent advisers who custody with the leading financial institutions still had to use Laser App’s desktop application to streamline form filling.

TD Ameritrade Institutional’s Laser App Anywhere integration changes all that, and now brings Laser App Anywhere to independent advisers.

“Using the valuable integrations TD Ameritrade Institutional has built with Laser App Anywhere and Veo, advisers can spend less time processing paperwork manually and realize cost savings and increased productivity,” said Robert Powell, vice president of sales and marketing at Laser App, in the press release.

End-to-End Paperless Process

TD Ameritrade Institutional’s Veo platform has also supported DocuSign integration for some time, but that offering didn’t solve advisers’ need for true end-to-end paperless processing. Now with the addition of Laser App Anywhere, forms can first be prepopulated online using client data stored in the Veo platform, then routed to clients for electronic signature directly through DocuSign.

“The integration of Laser App Anywhere’s web-based technology with DocuSign further enhances the account opening process and supports TD Ameritrade Institutional’s larger effort to streamline workflows and provide better integrations between the technologies advisors use every day,” said  Jon Patullo, managing director of technology product management, TD Ameritrade Institutional.

For all the details of the integration announcement, read the official press release.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for April 5

Posted on April 5, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

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

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.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 31

Posted on August 31, 2012 by in Bits & Bytes

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

After a year under wraps, Laser App unveils a new “anywhere” product at its sixth annual conference in San Diego from RIABiz.com

[So how many electronic forms to you fill out each year? Hundreds? Thousands? And how many of those do you fill in manually by hand? Laser App, known for its form-filling capabilities, now has a SaaS solution advisers can use to process forms using any Internet-connected device, smartphones and iPads included.] Laser App Software Inc. capped off a year of development with the debut of its new web-based technology platform at its sixth annual conference last week.

BlazePortfolio Continues to Build Partnerships from BlazePortfolio.com

[BlazePortfolio is the creator of ATOM ALIGN, a portfolio rebalancing and trade order management solution for financial advisers. President Bryson Pouw gives a summary of new partnerships and integrations the software company has released this summer.] At BlazePortfolio our goal is to streamline the rebalancing and trading process from end-to-end.  We’ve recently added new integration partners on both ends including three portfolio accounting systems (AssetBook, Morningstar Office, and SunGard Charlotte), a back office outsource provider (Empaxis), and Pershing as an electronic trading partner.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for February 10

Posted on February 10, 2012 by in Bits & Bytes

Relatively speaking, it’s been a quiet week. It’s my first full week home in Dallas with no traveling or conference appearances, but I’ve had a big backlog of work and writing waiting for me. Much of what I did this week was edit video interviews recorded at last week’s TD Ameritrade Institutional conference. Be sure to check those out using the link below.

First up in this week’s Bits and Bytes is my February column for Morningstar Advisor, Embracing the Cloud. Think you can’t ditch the servers that run all your in-house software? Think again.

Next is coverage from last weeks’ TD Ameritrade Institutional 2012 National Conference:

View my three-part Video Spotlight series, filmed on location at the conference, then review my thoughts on electronic signature options being rolled out to advisers.

TD Ameritrade brings some Florida heat to the RIA winter from RIABiz.com

[Guest columnist Tim Welsh does a good job capturing the major themes at the custodian’s annual conference.] Building on the growing momentum of its RIA custody business, TD impressed the crowd with high-profile keynote speakers, a technology showcase, practice management gurus, elegant parties and a legendary 1970’s-era disco band.

Tech Execs Look to the Future: TD Ameritrade Conference from AdvisorOne.com

[Some of the big players in technology participated in a good panel discussion on how today’s innovations are laying the framework for exciting functionality in the future. A quick read with great quotes from the panelists.] A gathering of executives from up-and-coming, as well as established, technology companies sat with AdvisorOne at the TD Ameritrade conference in Orlando Friday morning for a discussion of the state of advisor technology, integration and where the innovation is likely headed next.

Finally, this week’s stories of interest:

Data Standards Elusive from InvestmentNews.com

[Those seeking background on common data standards and integration need only look to the mobile phone industry to witness a scrambled approach to common standards. There’s iOS, Android, WebOS, Symbian, Windows Mobile, and on and on. So really, why should the financial services industry be at all interested in developing a common standard? My take: the winner will be the one with the first mover advantage. Today, that nod goes to TD Ameritrade Institutional’s Veo Open Access initiative.] Getting a fragmented industry to agree on a common framework may be impossible.

New version of Laser App hits industry from InvestmentNews.com

[Generating paperwork is one of those seemingly unavoidable consequences of running a financial advisory business. But with more electronic form automation and e-signature acceptance by custodians, paperwork might soon go the way of the dinosaur.] One of the great quests in the advisory industry is the desire for straight through processing of forms, preferably digital forms that make printed paperwork a thing of the past.