Tag Archives: Orion Advisor Services

FPPad Bits and Bytes for March 23

Posted on March 23, 2012 by in Bits & Bytes

Sorry for the late delivery, but you’re not missing much this week. Once again, the feeds have been light in terms of financial planning technology news, so you can get an early start to the first weekend of spring!

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

Why RIAs are shunning mobile apps and why Black Diamond, Orion, Fidelity and others are still placing their chips on an iPad future from RIABiz.com

[I’m holding my new iPad in my hands as we speak (and no, it’s not that hot), as are many advisers. But in terms of building and supporting custom mobile apps, or using those provided by custodians, advisers are just not on board in large numbers.] Despite the worldwide craze for mobile apps, RIAs are proving resistant to their lure.

2012 TechLeaders Conference: Unusual Format a Hit With Attendees, Vendors from AdvisorOne.com

[I attended this event and hope to have my review up next week. In the meantime, advisers generally don’t have much to fear in terms of technology competition from the majority of broker-dealer firms out there.] A rapid-fire slew of presentations opened the 2012 TechLeaders Broker-Dealer Technology Conference in Dallas on Tuesday. The conference featured 30 technology vendors presenting to broker-dealer executives and IT staffers.

RIA and Broker-Dealer Ameritas to Use Socialware for Compliance from Financial-Planning.com

[Two weeks ago it was Principal Financial Group selecting Actiance social archiving, this week it’s Ameritas and Socialware. Social media archiving companies are really taking advantage of this market and publicizing new relationships rapidly.] The more than 1,300 registered representatives and financial advisors at Ameritas Investment will now be able to breathe easy as they tweet — the RIA and broker-dealer just partnered with Socialware, a provider of social media compliance software.

Video Spotlight: Eric Clarke, President of Orion Advisor Services, on additional integrations and mobile apps

Posted on March 20, 2012 by in Portfolio Management Software, Video Spotlight

I last spoke with Eric Clarke, President and CEO of Orion Advisor Services, at the TD Ameritrade Institutional 2012 Conference on his company’s integration with Veo® Open Access.

In my latest conversation with Clarke at the T3 Conference, he provides an overview how Orion delivers value-add services beyond performance reporting, including e-signautre support, rebalancing and trading engines, account billing, web portals, branded mobile apps for iOS and Android.

(click to view on YouTube)

FPPad Bits and Bytes for March 16

Posted on March 16, 2012 by in Bits & Bytes

You’re lucky today, as you get a pass on this week’s Bits and Bytes. While where were a number of alerts that passed my screens this week, none of them truly warranted an update as most articles just briefly touched on actually using technology in your business.

Nevertheless, you might enjoy the RIABiz series of the top ten individuals to watch in the RIA space for 2012, including Eric Clarke of Orion Advisor Services (#8) and Neesha Hathi of Schwab Advisor Services (#2), though make sure you see my comment about the omission of Jon Patullo of TD Ameritrade Institutional.

Oh, and did you know there is a landing page for the T3 Conference held back in February? AdvisorStudios put this together, and make sure you catch the three spotlight interviews I did on site.

Now you must excuse me, I have a new iPad to unpack from a FedEx box…

FPPad Bits and Bytes for March 2

Posted on March 2, 2012 by in Bits & Bytes

I spent several days in Washington D.C. this week presenting to advisors on new technology that can enhance personal and professional productivity. If you’re interested in booking me for any of my presentations, see my Speaking page for details.

First up this week is my column for the FPA NorCal Planner March newsletter titled When FPA NorCal and Twitter Collide highlighting the “back channel” discussions going on at advisor conferences.

Now on to this week’s stories of interest:

How AppCrown got a big RIA footprint overnight by handling Salesforce implementations from RIABiz.com

[This is an interesting development. Vendors and custodians are gravitating towards AppCrown, a Salesforce overlay and customization provider. Is it because they excel in supporting advisers, or are they simply the only reasonable option among weak competition? I’m not ready to make a decision one way or the other.] AppCrown LLC has come bursting out of the bulrushes to make itself a go-to technology company for hundreds of RIAs who want to use Salesforce customer relationship management software but who also know that they need help — big-time assistance — in making sure that the conversion and connective tissues are there.

Junxure Announces Agreement With Advisor Group to Provide CRM Integration from PRNewswire

[This is yet another integration Junxure supports with a proprietary system, this time being the Advisor Group’s (formerly AIG Advisor Group) VISION2020 portal. Advisor Group has over 4,600 independent financial advisers.] Junxure, a practice improvement firm that integrates technology, consulting, and training, announced that it has signed an agreement with Advisor Group to provide an integration offering financial advisors the ability to synchronize client data between Junxure and VISION2020 Advisor Portal (Advisor Portal), Advisor Group’s proprietary account tracking system. The integration is included as part of the Royal Alliance, FSC and SagePoint Financial advisor technology offerings.

RMB Capital Management Selects Black Diamond and Advent Portfolio Exchange Platforms to Support $2B Wealth Advisory Practice from Marketwire

[Not to be overshadowed by Orion Advisor Services’ announcement of partnering with a $3 billion RIA, Advent is publicizing its deal to migrate one $2 billion RIA’s portfolio data off of Advent Axys to Black Diamond. It doesn’t seem like a tremendous victory to me. After all, I believe Advent purchased Black Diamond to do exactly this: migrate customers on a legacy system to Black Diamond rather than lose them to the competition like Orion and Tamarac. Update: RIABiz published coverage of this today.] RMB Capital Management and Advent Software, Inc. announced today that they will broaden their strategic relationship by migrating RMB Capital Management’s approximately $2B in assets under management (AUM) from Advent’s Axys® to Black Diamond Performance Reporting, LLC’s platform and the Advent Portfolio Exchange® (APX) platform.

Video Spotlight: Orion CEO discusses Veo® integration at the TD Ameritrade Institutional 2012 National Conference

Posted on February 7, 2012 by in Video Spotlight

I’m launching a new series on FPPad this year called Video Spotlight. Here’s the first in what I hope will be a growing segment of updates to the blog. Enjoy!

Special thanks to Eric Clarke, TD Ameritrade Institutional, Marriott World Center Orlando, and FishDawg Productions.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for January 13

Posted on January 13, 2012 by in Bits & Bytes

Atlanta, Omaha, Las Vegas, Los Angeles…

That describes my homes away from home for the week leading up to and following today. While I didn’t have time to address some of the news that’s come across my wires, I still put together my Bits and Bytes list so you can quickly scan what’s going on in financial planning technology.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

Erado Shatters 2011 Growth Projection from MarketWatch.com

[I’d like to say I played a part in Erado’s success, what with all the mentions here on FPPad and in my social media compliance presentations delivered across the country. Even so, all the marketing and buzz does nothing if the product fails to deliver on a fundamental need: automated, no-thought capture and archiving of social media messages posted by registered investment advisers and broker-dealer representatives.] Erado, the nation’s leading compliance and archiving firm in electronic communication, formally announces their record-shattering growth in 2011. Amongst many other key milestones, Erado added over 30 new broker-dealer clients and partners, provided social media compliance services to over 40,000 advisors, and will be hiring more employees from the area.

Keeping Files In The Cloud from the Wall Street Journal

[This is a preview of a larger story to which I contributed several ideas on best practices advisers should follow when deciding to use cloud services for file storage. You can view the full article with a free trial to Dow Jones NewsPlus.] Advisers are increasingly turning to Web-based services to hold business-related information, for the convenience of accessing it from anywhere. Some use simpler storage sites, while others are contracting a comprehensive document-management system based in the cloud, which may actually make it easier for advisers to meet some regulatory obligations.

Mercer Advisors Due Diligence Team Selects Orion Advisor Services as Portfolio Accounting Service Partner from MarketWatch.com

[With just one client, Orion effectively boosted its assets under administration by almost 6%. The competition is getting serious between the industry’s top service providers!] Orion Advisor Services, LLC was selected as the outsourced portfolio accounting partner by Mercer Advisors, a total wealth management firm with $3.5 billion in assets under management as of September 2011. The Mercer Advisors due diligence team includes 10 individuals that made on-site visits to a number of portfolio accounting service bureaus, including Orion.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for December 16

Posted on December 16, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

I’m on an extended holiday break now through the end of the year, but I’ll be sure to keep you up to date with the best stories in financial planning technology.

So here are this week’s stories of interest:

How Orion won the account of a $2-billion RIA from Advent after two very long drives across the prairie from RIABiz.com

[I have to hand it to Brooke, he managed to weave in an appealing story about driving across the Midwestern plains into a feature of Orion Advisor Services.] Orion’s announcement last week that it has supplanted Advent Software for the private client assets of Mariner Wealth Advisors, a firm that manages about $10 billion of assets, was four years, and two multi-state car rides, in the making.

InvestmentNews Technology Directory to make its debut this week from InvestmentNews.com

[This could be a promising new resource for advisers seeking information on the various technology vendors out there.] After a great deal of effort and teamwork, the InvestmentNews Technology Directory was introduced online Wednesday. The directory features detailed profiles of products designed for the advisory community. It already has more than 100 listed.

SROIIA Launches State Web Tool in Anticipation of ‘Switch’ from AdvisorOne.com

[SROIIA’s web tool is a nice way to quickly check the disorganized state registration requirements for investment advisers.] The Self-Regulatory Organization for Independent Investment Advisers, which was founded by two University of Mississippi School of Law students last March, announced Wednesday that it had created a web tool to help advisors wade through the registration requirements for each state.

Fidelity’s New Benchmarking Dashboards Help RIAs See How They Stack Up from Financial-Planning.com

[If you’re familiar with the dashboard reports from Quantuvis Consulting (Stephanie Bogan’s firm), you’ll recognize the data in Fidelity’s new tool.] Here’s one way RIA firms can measure their firms’ success: they can see everything from where their revenue is coming from to total assets under management —benchmarked to other firms — the same way you’d look at dials on a car dashboard.

 

 

FPPad Bits and Bytes for November 4

Posted on November 4, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

Wow, what a packed week at Schwab IMPACT! Still, I took time out of my schedule to assemble this week’s top articles in financial adviser technology (and there are plenty!).

First, if you continue to seek guidance regarding online document storage solutions (like Dropbox, SugarSync, et. al.), read my column in November’s Journal of Financial Planning, Evaluating Online Document Storage.

Then, catch my coverage of IMPACT in these two posts:

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

Evolution of Orion from FA-mag.com

[Orion made a series of waves in the technology ocean back in August, which I covered in a series of posts. Here Joel Bruckenstien summarizes how Orion has put some serious pressure on technology providers in the independent adviser market.] Orion Advisor Services LLC is a firm that seemingly flies under the radar of many financial advisors. Orion’s journey from a service bureau start-up to technology innovator has been anything but typical.

Integration Key to Tech Advantage from AdvisorOne.

[You hear this over and over: integrated solutions can offer big time and cost savings. But at least Eric Clarke, president of Orion Advisor Solutions, provides good rules of thumb for advisers seeking new solutions.] Technology is a pervasive part of any industry and one that is constantly changing. One of the keys for advisors to maintain a comprehensive, efficient technology solution is integration.

New Raymond James Social Media Platform Lets Advisors Use LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter from AdvisorOne.com

[Erado and Socialware have been the beneficiaries of several broker-dealer engagements as of late, but here comes Actiance making news with its deal with Raymond James.] Raymond James has just implemented a new social media platform from Actiance that will allow the broker-dealer to use social media sites including LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter while complying with Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) regulations.

Live from IMPACT® 2011: Broadcast audio live from your mobile phone

Posted on November 2, 2011 by in General

I’m attending Schwab IMPACT 2011 this week and will post reports from the event as time permits.

Kyle Hiatt (L) and Jon Reiners (R) of Orion Advisor Services, LLC

My first item of business at Schwab IMPACT 2011 was to tour the vendor expo floor and connect with the many technology vendors here. I ran across the booth of Orion Advisor Services, where Kyle Hiatt, Todd Bertucci, and Jon Reiners were stationed.

Our conversation gravitated toward mobile platforms and mobile apps, so I mentioned one app I discovered just on Monday called FlipZu. FlipZu is an app that allows anyone with a mobile phone to broadcast live audio on the Internet.

I played around with FlipZu for the first time today, attempting to broadcast some of the highlights from Advent Software’s Expo Showcase featuring Black Diamond and Advent OnDemand. My 3G service was spotty from inside the Moscone Center, but you can see my FlipZu channel for the recordings I was able to make.

While talking about FlipZu, Bertucci mentioned how advisors could leverage the app to broadcast their market commentary in realtime directly from their phone. Anyone, including clients and prospects, could listen to the live broadcast right from their own mobile phones with the FlipZu app. Those on computers can use the FlipZu web player to listen as well.

We thought that was such a cool idea that I told Bertucci I’d blog about it later in the day. So, know you know.

Note: reps of broker-dealers will want to avoid live broadcasts, for obvious compliance reasons. Advantage independent RIAs.

 

 

FPPad Bits and Bytes for September 30

Posted on September 30, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

I’ve been on the road Monday through Thursday, sharing information on how advisors can use transformative technology in their businesses today. Despite my travel, I am still keeping you informed on the top stories in tech this week.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

Orion Updates Advisor Desktop for RIAs from AdvisorOne.com

[Orion is in the news again, this time announcing updates to its rebalancing tool to provide household-level management.] Orion Advisor Services unveiled the latest release for it Advisor Desktop portfolio management suite for RIAs on Monday with new features designed to make it easier for advisors using the primary database management tool to rebalance their clients’ portfolios and create tax efficient strategies at the household level.

Fidelity is set to add Envestnet, Redtail, Morningstar, AppCrown and Salesforce to WealthCentral from RIABiz.com

[If you’re a major custodian, you have technology news to share leading up to November. Case in point: Fidelity announces key integrations for its advisors.] As part of an accelerating arms race among RIA custodians, Fidelity Investments has more than doubled — to 11 from five — the number of vendors it plans to invest in integrating as part of its WealthCentral platform.

Trust Company of America is giving RIAs more weapons for free-wheeling from RIABiz.com

[Trust Co. of America announced its Liberty mobile platform two weeks ago. Hear from affiliated advisors on the benefits they see in the system.] Advisors currently using the product say that it takes the use of a mobile platform to a new level because everything that can be seen on a PC can be seen on a smart phone or tablet in the exact same configuration.

Advisor Software Debuts goalGetter App for iPad from Financial-Planning.com

[Today, if you don’t have a solution for mobile devices, iPad in particular, you might as well go back to the drawing board with your strategy. Here’s another iPad app for advisers from Advisor Software.] Advisor Software, a provider of wealth management applications for financial advisors, announced that its goalGetter financial planning application for the iPad is now available for free download from Apple’s App Store.