Tag Archives: MoneyGuidePro

T3 2014: MoneyGuidePro to integrate Yodlee for account aggregation

Posted on February 11, 2014 by in Conferences, Technology

Bob Curtis, President and CEO of MoneyGuidePro (right) forecasting the future of financial planning with Harold Evensky (left)

Bob Curtis, President and CEO of MoneyGuidePro (right) forecasting the future of financial planning with Harold Evensky (left)

Popular MoneyGuidePro financial planning software to aggregate held away accounts through a new Yodlee integration

Ask most technology consultants and financial advisers about their account aggregation options, and you’ll likely hear just a few common names.

ByAllAccounts, Fiserv’s CashEdge, and perhaps Intuit.

But Yodlee?

That solution almost never gets mentioned.

Until now.

MoneyGuidePro Integrates Yodlee

In a packed general session at the 2014 Technology Tools for Today (T3) conference, Bob Curtis, President and CEO of MoneyGuidePro announced that the popular financial planning software program will soon integrate account aggregation functionality using services from Yodlee.

One of the reasons I believe Yodlee hasn’t gained traction among financial services technology solutions is price. Yodlee is a rather expensive solution relative to its counterparts in the marketplace.

But MoneyGuidePro is breaking down the potential barrier of cost with very aggressive pricing.

Yodlee For $1 a Day

In his general session, Curtis announced that MoneyGuidePro will offer the Yodlee integration at an introductory cost of $365 annually. That’s right, just $1 per day.

And as to when the Yodlee integration will be available, Curtis told advisers that the account aggregation functionality is anticipated to be rolled out in Q2 of 2014.

For more information on the Yodlee integration with MoneyGuidePro, read the full press release at BusinessWire.

T3 2014: SEI enters the integration arms race through strategic partnerships with Redtail Technology, MoneyGuidePro, and ActiFi

Posted on February 11, 2014 by in Conferences, Technology

left to right: Redtail Technology CEO Brian McLaughlin, ActiFi CEO Spenser Segal, PIETech CIO Tony Leal, SEI Advisor Network Director of Research and Validation Raef Lee

left to right: Redtail Technology CEO Brian McLaughlin, ActiFi CEO Spenser Segal, PIETech CIO Tony Leal, SEI Advisor Network Director of Research and Validation Raef Lee

SEI announces strategic partnerships and enters the integration arms race dominated by four leading custodians

When you think of custodians that make headlines for technology integration initiatives, four institutions likely come to mind.

The “Big Four” Integrated Custodians

In no particular order, Schwab Advisor Services, Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services, TD Ameritrade Institutional, and Pershing LLC are the custodians most advisers observe as each tries to one-up the other in the technology integration arms race.

On a side note, emerging advisers with small but growing businesses are paying attention to developments at TradePMR, Scottrade, and Shareholders Service Group.

SEI Enters The Integration Arms Race

But another custodian looking to enter the arms race of integration is SEI, the Oaks, Penn.-based company providing outsourced services to financial advisers for more than 20 years. SEI serves over 5,700 advisors who collectively manage over $41 billion in assets under management.

Raef Lee, Director of Research and Validation. SEI Advisor Network

Raef Lee, Director of Research and Validation. SEI Advisor Network

In a pre-conference meeting at T3 2014, Raef Lee, Director of Research and Validation for the SEI Advisor Network, revealed that the company is entering into a strategic partnership with leading technology and consulting providers Redtail Technology, MoneyGuidePro, and ActiFi.

In development for the last 18 months, and actively under construction for the last nine, SEI plans to rollout the complete solution to advisers by the end of 2014.

Cross Application Workflow Automation

“The partnership will provide the first true cross application workflow automation platform for end-to-end processing orchestrated across multiple applications,” said Spenser Segal, founder and CEO of ActiFi.

In other words, advisers using SEI’s new integrated solution will be able to initiate workflows in Redtail that then execute actions on the custodial side without ever leaving the Redtail environment. It’s the “without ever leaving Redtail” that makes this solution unique.

From Financial Plans to Proposals

Another key differentiator of SEI’s proposed solution is the ability to generate investor proposals using information previously created in MoneyGuidePro financial plans.

“There’s never been a good integration with a proposal system, so having this new integration to seamlessly pass account and client information is the most exciting thing about this solution,” said Tony Leal, CIO and partner at PieTech, the providers of MoneyGuidePro financial planning software.

No Cost Integration

SEI also announced that the new integrated solution will be offered at no cost to advisers who affiliate with SEI.

Advisers will need to purchase standard subscriptions to Redtail CRM and MoneyGuidePro, which combined cost less than $2,000 per year. However, activating and using the SEI solution is free.

For all the details on the upcoming SEI integrated solution, read the press release at MarketWire.com.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for December 6

Posted on December 6, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

On this week’s broadcast, learn the hits and misses from the year’s most anticipated advisor technology survey, the pending termination of several financial planning software products catches advisors off guard, how the leading independent custodians are stepping up their technology, and more.

So get ready, FPPad Bits and Bytes begins now!

(watch FPPad Bits and Bytes on YouTube)

This week’s episode is brought to you by Angie Herbers Incorporated, a consulting and research company to financial advisory firms, who just released a new white paper called Take Two: The New Direction of Succession that addresses the key elements to create a successful transition to your junior advisors.

ahi 600

Download the Take Two white paper for free, along with other practice management resources, by visiting fppad.com/ahi

Here are this week’s top stories:

Tech Survey 2013: What’s New iIn Advisor Tech? from Financial-Planning.com

[Leading off as the top story is one of the most anticipated technology articles that comes out every year. The first of December marks the release of the annual Financial Planning Magazine Technology Survey, where Joel Bruckenstein digests over 1,100 responses about the various software programs and practice management tools used by financial advisors today.

So who are the winners and losers from this year’s survey?

Redtail Technology, Salesforce, and Tamarac Advisor CRM are the winners among CRM software, as advisors continue to embrace cloud-based technology, with slippage coming from Junxure, ProTracker, ACT, and Goldmine.

In financial planning software, this year’s results are essentially a carbon copy of last year’s survey, with MoneyGuidePro, eMoney, and MoneyTree claiming the top three spots.

And the same is true with portfolio management software, as the top 6 vendors are also a total repeat of last year’s results.

So who missed out on opportunities this year? The survey randomly selected new products from Blueleaf, inStream, and Market76, but found that few advisors had even heard of these relatively new players, which tells me that financial advisors, well, those who don’t watch Bits and Bytes, continue to be a challenging market for new providers to gain exposure.] The move to the cloud is finally taking place. In category after category of this year’s Financial Planning Tech Survey, we found software providers making the shift, and advisors responding.

NaviPlan financial planning desktop products to be discontinued from InvestmentNews

[The next story features news from Advicent Solutions, the company formerly known as Zywave, who provides a suite of financial planning software to advisors under the NaviPro brand.

In an unexpected announcement to some users, the company announced it will sunset six of its NaviPlan products on March 31, 2014, citing an “ever-changing marketplace.”

Going away will be all of the NaviPlan Extended and NaviPlan Standard desktop-based variants, making the cloud-based NaviPlan Premium and NaviPlan Profiles the sole applications that will receive ongoing support and enhancements in 2014 and beyond.

This news reinforces the trend of advisors adopting cloud-based solutions as seen in the Financial Planning Software Survey, so don’t be surprised when other providers announce the discontinuation of their own desktop-based software in favor of cloud-based alternatives.] NaviPlan financial planning products for desktop computers will be discontinued as the owner develops its NaviPro products for online use.

Plowing Ahead from FA-Mag.com

[Software providers aren’t the only ones making big changes in advisor technology, as four of the major custodians are also investing heavily in advisor-facing technology in a very competitive arms race. Once again, Joel Bruckenstein interviewed executives from Fidelity, Pershing, Schwab Advisor Services, and TD Ameritrade Institutional to reveal their strategies to help make advisors more efficient and more profitable through enhanced technology.

There’s a ton of great information in this article, so be sure to read it to see what your custodian is doing to help you grow your business.] Over the last several years, custodians have been investing in advisor-facing technology like never before.

Envestnet | Tamarac’s Advisor Xi(R) Platform Added To Pershing’s NetX360(R) Technology Channel from WSJ.com

[And finally, one company benefiting from custodian technology enhancements is Envestnet|Tamarac. This week, the company announced that its Advisor Xi suite will soon integrate directly with Pershing’s NetX360 custodial platform, giving advisors straight-through processing capabilities for trades in accounts held at Pershing, as well as access to real-time custodial account data.

The real-time data feeds will compliment existing integrations with Schwab and TD Ameritrade supported today, and expand straight-through processing trading capabilities announced at Schwab IMPACT several weeks ago.

Tamarac anticipates that the new integrations will roll out to its 660 firms during the first quarter of 2014.] Envestnet | Tamarac, a division of Envestnet, Inc., a leading provider of integrated, web-based portfolio and client management software for independent advisors and wealth managers, announced today that it has formally begun the integration of its Advisor Xi(R) platform into Pershing’s NetX360(R) custodial channel for investment professionals and Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs). Advisors will have access to this integration in the first half of 2014.

 

20131206 episode thumbnail 600

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for December 6, 2013

 

 

 

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

Posted on November 12, 2013 by in Conferences, Technology

Bernie Clark, executive vice president of Schwab Advisor Services, kicks off IMPACT 2013 in Washington, D.C.

Bernie Clark, executive vice president of Schwab Advisor Services, kicks off IMPACT 2013 in Washington, D.C.

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.

Project PM2 Coming

Likely the most intriguing announcement from Neesha Hathi, SVP of Advisor Technology Solutions is the preview of a new portfolio management software platform called Project PM2 (“PM Squared”).

Neesha Hathi, senior vice president of Advisor Technology Solutions, shares the latest on Schwab’s technology offerings at IMPACT 2013.

Neesha Hathi, senior vice president of Advisor Technology Solutions, shares the latest on Schwab’s technology offerings at IMPACT 2013.

From a video shown at Schwab IMPACT, the preview of PM2 featured a tile-like interface reminiscent of Windows 8. Project PM2 will offer proactive alerts for events like new account funding, trading reports, and revenue metrics.

PM2 will be a cloud-based solution offering direct integration to Schwab data feeds. Reports and presentations offer dynamic capabilities and will support one-step publishing to a variety of client delivery mechanisms.

PM2 to be Multi-Custodial

In a later interview with Brian Shenson, vice president of Advisor Technology solutions, he said the roadmap for PM2 includes multi-custodial data support as well as the potential integration of account aggregation software.

Shenson added that Schwab Advisor Services already has long-standing relationships with providers like ByAllAccounts and CashEdge from FiServ.

Details on pricing and availability for PM2 were not announced at IMPACT.

Schwab OpenView Mobile

Hathi also announced a current pilot program underway to provide affiliated advisors with a branded mobile app that clients can use to interface with their advisor.

Schwab OpenView Mobile is the official program, and Hathi explained that clients can use the branded app to view real-time account data and review their advisor’s contact information.

Schwab OpenView Mobile will be available for a nominal fee which was not disclosed during the Schwab IMPACT breakout session.

Reinvented Wire Requests; DocuSign Integration in Schwab Alliance

Naureen Hassan, senior vice president, Client Experience, shares the latest on Schwab’s technology offerings at IMPACT 2013.

Naureen Hassan, senior vice president, Client Experience, shares the latest on Schwab’s technology offerings at IMPACT 2013.

Naureen Hassan, SVP of Client Experience revealed that in an average quarter, Schwab manually verifies over 240,000 signatures across a variety of forms. Clearly Schwab recognizes the ability to increase operational efficiency here with the adoption of electronic signature support.

Hassan announced two pending initiatives. First, wire requests will be “completely reinvented,” as advisors can initiate wire requests via Schwab Advisor Center. Upon submission, clients will actually receive alerts on their mobile phone, and then they can log in to a Schwab app and approve the wire request on the spot.

This overhauled wire request process is aimed to combat fraud and theft in the industry due to a significant rise in client spoofing (see: Client spoofing strikes again, RIA loses $290,000 of client funds)

Second, Hassan announced that DocuSign is currently in a pilot program and will soon be completely integrated in the Schwab Alliance system. Details on when DocuSign will be formally introduced for all Schwab advisors were not disclosed.

MoneyGuidePro Now Part of Integrated Office

Brian Shenson, vice president, Advisor Technology Solutions, shares the latest on Schwab’s technology offerings at IMPACT 2013.

Brian Shenson, vice president, Advisor Technology Solutions, shares the latest on Schwab’s technology offerings at IMPACT 2013.

Brian Shenson, VP of Advisor Technology Solutions was the next to take the stage and provide updates on the suite of Schwab OpenView solutions: Gateway, Integrated Office, Workflow Library, and MarketSquare.

Of most relevance is the addition of financial planning software integrations to Schwab OpenView Integrated Office™ platform. The first integration is with PIEtech to integrate MoneyGuide Pro financial planning software. NaviPlan from Zywave was also mentioned as an integration coming soon to Integrated Office.

MarketSquare Update

If you recall last year, Schwab announced the introduction of Schwab OpenView MarketSqaure, a review website consisting of advisor-submitted feedback on technology vendors and providers.

At this year’s IMPACT conference, Hathi said that over 70 providers have the potential to be listed in OpenView MarketSquare, but only 34 of them have a sufficient number of reviews to be publicly listed in the resource.

Hathi urged advisors in the audience to continue to submit their reviews of tools and services they use so MarketSquare can increase the number of providers present in the website.
34 have reviews.

All photos by Billy Cole/Orange Photography for Charles Schwab. Used with permission.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for October 18

Posted on October 18, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

On this week’s broadcast, a popular financial planning software suite gets a complete overhaul, find out which investment policy statement provider just got acquired, learn how avoiding social media can actually be a risk to your business, and more.

(Watch 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

Designed by well-known CPA Sheryl Rowling, TRX features tax-efficient rebalancing, an easy to use interface, and more, all at an affordable price. To learn how you can gain a half a million dollar return on your technology investment, download the latest white paper by visiting fppad.com/trx

Here are this week’s top stories:

Money Tree Software Announces New TOTAL ONLINE Financial Planning Solution from MoneyTree.com

[This week’s lead story comes from Money Tree Software, providers of one of the leading financial planning software applications used by advisors. Money Tree’s flagship product, Silver Financial Planner, originally started as a desktop program over 30 years ago, and the company introduced cloud-based versions of its software over the last decade.

But with competitors like MoneyGuidePro from PIETech, eMoney Advisor, and NaviPlan from Zywave all performing major redesigns in recent years, Money Tree’s programs began to show their age. But all that is about to change.

This week, Money Tree unveiled TOTAL Online, a significant redesign of Money Tree’s original software which dramatically simplifies data entry and overall usability. Advisors should find the new layout intuitive to use, but still offers the powerful features advisors have some to expect from their planning software.

And you’ll be glad to know that the complete overhaul did not come with a dramatic cost increase. First year pricing for TOTAL Online is $1,342, which includes both the Easy Money Power Planner and Golden Years Cash Flow modules. This is a 25% savings off the regular price when purchased individually, and in subsequent years, a continuing subscription of both modules is just $999.] We know cloud-based software is important in today’s financial industry because advisors want to create, collaborate, and deliver financial plans anytime and anywhere. But that software needs to be flexible and easy-to-use. That’s why we created TOTAL Online.

fi360 Acquires IPS AdvisorPro from PRNewswire.com

[Now when you use any financial planning software, you’re most likely going to define some kind of investment allocation in-line with your client’s goals and risk tolerance. So how exactly do you define the objectives of your clients’ portfolio? With an investment policy statement, of course.

IPS Advisor Pro, founded in 2006 by advisors Norm Boone and Linda Lubitz Boone, has been the go-to solution for advisors seeking ways to streamline the investment policy statement creation process.

But in news this week, IPS Advisor Pro announced it was acquired by fi360, the leading advocate for fiduciary behavior in the investment advisory world.

Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed, but in a letter to IPS Advisor Pro users, the company assured that functionality and support of the software would continue as it is today for the foreseeable future. Norm Boone and Linda Lubiz Boone will remain on board as consultants to fi360, but no doubt the acquisition will allow them to devote a little more time to running their own advisory firms as well as other activities and interests.] fi360, the premier organization for fiduciary education, investment analytics, support services and industry insights for financial professionals, today announced it has acquired IPS AdvisorPro®, a cloud-based technology that helps financial advisors develop customized investment policy statements (IPS), which are used to document client investment goals and the subsequent procedures to achieve those goals.

Defend your online reputation before it’s too late from InvestmentNews.com

Kristen Luke, founder of Wealth Management Marketing, gives advisers five ways to combat negative online search results.

Kristen Luke, founder of Wealth Management Marketing, gives advisers five ways to combat negative online search results.

[In other news, you’re probably watching this broadcast because you saw a link on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Google+, so chances are you have some type of presence on social media. But did you know that NOT having a social media presence can actually be a risk to your business?

In her debut column for InvestmentNews, Wealth Management Marketing founder Kristen Luke provided two examples of how an advisory firm’s reputation was tarnished because of unflattering information that showed up on the first page of search results for each company.

So what can you do if your firm’s reputation is affected by online search results?

Luke offer five actions you can take right now to combat negative online publicity and reduce the impact of unfavorable press.] You are at risk for a negative online reputation whether or not you engage on the Internet. Two examples come to mind.

Envestnet | Tamarac builds Tamarac University Online, a massive online training program for the Advisor Xi software suite from FPPad

[And finally, you know how important comprehensive training is when you roll out any new technology in your business. Training is critical to the adoption and success of any tool you introduce in your firm.

The folks at Envestnet|Tamarac understand that, and have rolled out a new massive online training resource called Tamarac University Online.

I got a preview of Tamarac University Online, which features training modules on their entire suite of tools, including Advisor CRM, Advisor Rebalancing, and the Advisor View online portal. Each module features hours of how-to videos and instruction, which you can watch on demand anytime, and since it’s mobile friendly, using any device.] Envestnet | Tamarac builds an online university to help advisers master the company’s total office software

 

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for October 18, 2013

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for October 18, 2013

FPPad Bits and Bytes for September 6

Posted on September 6, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

On this week’s broadcast, a peek at Junxure’s new cloud CRM for advisers, a custom built workflow system is coming to MoneyGuide Pro, why it’s time you should stop asking clients for referrals, and more. So get ready, Bits and Bytes begins now.

(Watch on YouTube) This week’s episode is brought to you by Shareholders Service Group, offering custodial services, advanced technology, and superior client service to nearly 1,100 independent RIAs nationwide.

Shareholders Service Group

Access leading technology from Black Diamond, MoneyGuide Pro, Redtail, TRX and Envestnet through the SSG open architecture platform. You personally handle your clients’ financial needs, so let SSG be the custodian that personally serves you. For more information, visit fppad.com/ssg

Here are the links to this week’s stories of interest:

Tech Review: Junxure Cloud Reaches for the Sky from Financial-Planning.com

[Leading off is an update on Junxure CRM, as their long-awaited transition to the cloud is just about ready for prime time. Financial Planning magazine technology editor Joel Bruckenstein recently reviewed Junxure Cloud, but hesitated to issue a resounding endorsement of the product. Bruckenstein praised Junxure Cloud’s modern design, reminiscent of tiles found in Windows 8, but cited a lack of functional widgets and live integrations as reasons to wait before fully embracing Junxure Cloud. Those issues, combined with minimum retail pricing of $2,700/year for 3 users, will likely put advisers in a wait-and-see mode to determine if Junxure Cloud eventually lives up to its potential.] Over the years, Junxure has added a few additional products, including ClientView, a client portal service, and Junxure Mobile. But the one component it’s been lacking is a cloud-based CRM product, which it’s been working on for about two years. Those efforts are about to bear fruit.

Financial Planning Software Experts at Money Guide Pro Select Fox Financial Planning Network To Develop Integrated Workflow System from eReleases.com

[Next up is news from MoneyGuide Pro, the most popular web-based financial planning software program used by advisers today. This week, MoneyGuide Pro announced that it selected the Fox Financial Planning Network to develop a custom workflow system to streamline the financial plan creation process. The Fox Financial Planning Network already provides pre-built workflow templates for popular CRMs like Redtail and Grendel, but this development marks the first time a workflow system addresses the steps unique to financial planning software. With over 300 adviser members to date, the Fox Financial Planning Network has clearly positioned itself as one of the go-to providers as advisers seek comprehensive workflow systems for their business.] PIEtech, maker of Money Guide Pro (MGP), the leading financial planning software for financial advisors, officially announced today the selection of Fox Financial Planning Network (FFPN) to develop a custom workflow system to enable MGP subscribers to create financial plans more efficiently as well as to drive adoption of recently added valuable features.

This tiny Irvine company built a pro video-conf product for millions — on top of Google Hangouts from VentureBeat.com

[Now Fox Financial Planning Network is a great example of a company that uses video conferencing and webinars to share information and build their profile. So you’ve probably considered using video conferencing yourself for similar activity with clients and prospects, but have yet to find the right platform. Webex and GoToMeeting might be too cumbersome for some clients use, and Google+ Hangouts might just be a little too informal for your tastes.

One new service attempting to bridge the gap is called Business Hangouts, which claims to be the enterprise-friendly app for Google+ Hangouts. Users get all the useful features of Google+ Hangouts video chats, but also a number of add-ons like event registration, email reminders, virtual 3D rooms, and more that are attractive to enterprise users. Paid versions start at just $9 a month for up to 50 attendees, which is a very steep discount from many of the other online video conference services.] Video-conferencing is a massively turbulent space right now. Large incumbents like WebEx and GoToMeeting are fighting smaller, nimbler, and cheaper options like Blue Jeans Network and the company that actually powers Google Hangouts, Vidyo. But an tiny upstart company in Irvine, California just might unseat them all.

Stop asking for referrals and use technology to drive growth from FPPad.com

[Finally, you are well aware how important referrals are in the organic growth of your business. But one industry consultant insists that it’s time advisers stop asking their clients for referrals. Stephen Wershing, president of The Client Driven Practice and author of book Stop Asking For Referrals, recently sat down with me to talk about the things advisers *should* do to create an effective referral strategy, which includes a few technology tips as well.] Asking clients for referrals can be damaging says one expert; use technology instead to drive your business growth.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for January 18

Posted on January 18, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

Ethan Eden, founder and CEO of Market76

Ethan Eden, founder and CEO of Market76

This week’s FPPad On Air guest is Ethan Eden, founder and CEO of Market76, and we’ll cover what’s new in CRM software and how his company’s product is different from the traditional systems with which advisers are familiar.

You can view the broadcast on the FPPad On Air page beginning at 4:15pm ET or get the link through my Twitter feed.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

RegEd Expands Social Media Archiving and Surveillance Solution with a Content Library and Multiple Lexicons Continuing its Leadership in Compliance Technology from Arkovi.com

[Here are two solutions to the age-old question on social media: what should you post, and how do you keep posts compliant? First, RegEd now offers a library of pre-approved content suitable for social media (for those of you who constantly have a broker-dealer staring over your social media shoulder) and a broader range of words and phrases the program uses to scan social medial posts for potential compliance issues. What’s not to like?] RegEd, the leader of compliance technology in the financial services industry, announced today two major features, the social media content library and multiple-lexicons, as part of their Social Media Archiving and Surveillance solution, powered by Arkovi.

12 key events of 2012 that rocked the RIA technology landscape, Part 1 from RIABiz.com

[In what essentially represents a top 12 list (Part 1 has 6 items) of tech related RIABiz stories of 2012, contributor Lisa Shidler recaps some of the major and minor trends that will no doubt play a growing role in how advisers manage and grow their business.]  Our identification of big technology events that happened in the past year starts with Salesforce, Junxure, Techfi, NetX360, IAS and MoneyGuidePro. As we move toward number one in our second installment, the names in many cases become less familiar, not more so, which indicates just how fast RIA technology is moving.

Tamarac announces Advisor® Xi, new integration partners, facilitates document management for advisers

Posted on November 1, 2011 by in Portfolio Management Software

Tamarac’s integrated platform expands connections to popular document management software applications. 

In a press release today, Seattle-based Tamarac Inc. announced the first wave of integration partners for the latest iteration of its platform for advisers, Advisor® Xi.

Click here to read the full release on PRNewswire.

Three popular document management software applications headline the integration, with support announced for Laserfiche® from Cities Digital, Worldox® from Trumpet, and NetDocuments®. In addition to the document management integrations, Advisor Xi will also include integrations with Laser App for online form submissions, MoneyGuidePro™ for financial planning, ByAllAccounts® for account aggregation, and Rackspace for hosted Microsoft Exchange®.

Matt Stroh, VP of Marketing at Tamarac said in the press release, “Partnering with these first-class vendors represents Tamarac’s commitment to taking integration to the next level. Together, we will offer a complete best-of-breed platform that will give financial advisors greater opportunities to replace manual processes with fully automated workflows that span across multiple, integrated products.”

FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 12

Posted on August 12, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

Enjoyed the wild ride this week? The market must be captivating everyone’s attention, as there’s been a distinct lull this week of tech-related news worth sharing. And I’m in New Orleans to round out this week strategizing on where FPPad is headed over the next few years. So stay tuned.

Now on to this week’s stories of interest:

Did you send a blast e-mail (or several?) to clients this week? Then you should read my column this month at Morningstar Advisor, Tools to Manage Your E-Mail Newsletter.

Automate & Integrate Arkovi Reports with Evernote, Box.net & more from Arkovi.com

[Arkovi continues to expands its capabilities, a very good sign that they’re proactive in support of new social media platforms.] We are pleased to announce today that Arkovi customers can easily automate the distribution, via email, of their Arkovi archives to any email destination. Most compelling, this includes integration with Evernote, Box.net and Zoho Docs along with any cloud storage platform or digital storage destination that provides an email address for adding files.

Bulletproof Your Practice Using Mobile Dictation from Mobile Assistant

[Corey Westphal, President of Mobile Assistant and a good friend, talks about two important features advisers should seek in their dictation solution.] Increased client documentation combined with time savings is hard for most advisors to imagine, but mobile dictation accomplishes both.

Legal analysis: The chances that Wealthcare beats UBS or upends the financial planning community at RIABiz.com

[You use financial planning software. Say MoneyGuidePro. Well then you need to read Ron Rhoades’ contribution regarding Wealthcare vs. UBS at RIABiz] Wealthcare Capital Management (i.e. Financeware, Inc.) alleges that UBS, by providing “financial advice and reports” to clients “utilizing computerized financial advising software and systems, including, for example, MoneyGuidePro” has infringed two patents.