Tag Archives: Pershing

FPPad Bits and Bytes for May 3

Posted on May 3, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

I’m in San Diego presenting at the Shareholders Service Group 2013 conference, then headed out to Palm Springs tomorrow for FPA Retreat 2013. Grab me and introduce yourself if you’re attending either event!

Here are this weeks stories of interest:

How to secure mobile devices against “WiFi honeypots” from FPPad

[This is important, so I’m sharing it in the first spot this week. WiFi honeypots are hardware devices that fool your laptop and/or mobile device into thinking its connected to a trusted WiFi network. But its not, and unknowingly connecting to a WiFi honeypot exposes you to a man-in-the-middle attack. Read this article now to learn how you can increase your defenses against WiFi honeypots.] Most of the time, you’re likely not at risk of having data you send over WiFi intercepted by someone else. But a number of software programs and hardware devices for sale on the Internet allow users to do just that; sit on public WiFi and eavesdrop on unencrypted data being passed back and forth.

Pershing Broadens the Accessibility of NetX360 to run on Microsoft’s Surface Pro Tablet from PRNewswire

[Ok, the race to support Windows 8 is on. Pershing starts off the PR campaign by announcing its NetX360 custodial platform is now supported on Windows 8. By definition, that means NetX360 also runs on Surface Pro tablets, which run Windows 8. BUT, what I haven’t seen yet is the user interface, and I doubt there have been any major changes to the interface that correspond with the tiles UI (formerly Metro) featured so prominently in Windows 8. I’d reach out to Pershing for comment, but I’m 35,000 feet in the air as I write this.] Pershing LLC, a BNY Mellon company, today announced that the company’s industry-leading technology platform for advisors, NetX360®, now runs on Microsoft’s new Surface™ Pro tablet. The availability and compatibility of NetX360 on the Surface Pro will help advisors manage their business more effectively and efficiently while working in the office or on the road.

Building a Smarter Portfolio from Financial-Planning.com

[Joel Bruckenstein reviews Riskalyze, a web-based tool that uses questionnaires to determine a quantifiable number for a client’s risk tolerance. With the “magic” number in hand, advisers can design portfolios around the client’s appetite (or lack thereof) for risk. Sound familiar? As Bruckenstein mentioned, providers like MoneyGuidePro and FinaMetrica have similar features in their respective programs. But the fresh graphics and appealing user interface give Riskalyze a leg up on the usability factor, so this is one worth watching as they mature.] I recently tried a new cloud-based product called Riskalyze Pro that provides advisors with both risk-assessment and portfolio-construction tools. The tool was developed by Riskalyze Advisors, a new company whose proprietary platform provides risk assessment, portfolio construction, analytics and investment discovery.

eMoney And Zumbox Announce Strategic Partnership To Offer Digital Postal Mail To Clients from PRNewswire

[Here’s an interesting combination. Zumbox is an alternative to paper mail you get every day. Instead, Zumbox scans all your paper mail and delivers it to you through a secure portal. That worked well five years ago when everything came in the mail. I don’t know about you, but today, I get virtually everything electronically, including bank statements, credit card statements, brokerage account trade confirms. Even my tax return this year was 100% electronic. So why eMoney chooses to partner with Zumbox for electronic document delivery over more prevalent providers (say, ShareFile, Box, etc.)? I’m going to connect with eMoney soon, so I’ll report back what I learn.] eMoney Advisor (“eMoney”), the only wealth-planning system for financial advisors that offers transparency, security, mobile access and superior organization for everything that impacts their clients’ financial lives, has announced a strategic partnership with Zumbox to offer Digital Postal Mail to clients whose advisors use the eMoney platform.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for April 19

Posted on April 19, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

I started a six-week stint of travel across six cities, including several presentations at upcoming conferences.

See my speaking page for my upcoming conference appearances to see if you’re attending one of the events. Please stop by and say hello!

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

Pershing Integrates Redtail Technology to Simplify Client Onboarding for Advisors from Pershing.com

[Pershing is not one to flaunt news of new integrations, so here’s a rare example of the company taking a bit more public stance on new partnerships. Here, Pershing now integrates with adviser-favorite CRM Redtail, particularly to push contact information in CRM to Pershing forms. This is useful when prospects are tracked in Redtail, then after some time, are converted to clients. Instead of manually filling in account forms, or using a third-party service like LaserApp, Redtail can now push data directly to NetX360. The fewer points of failure in technology systems, the better!] Pershing LLC, a BNY Mellon company, today announced a significant innovation in its industry-leading NetX360 platform through its relationship with Redtail Technology, a provider of web-based Client Relationship Management (CRM) solutions. Pershing’s integration of Redtail’s solution into NetX360 is designed to help advisors onboard clients more quickly, easily and efficiently.

Comply or die: NRS upgrades ‘manual’ to the 21st century from InvestmentNews.com

[The days are over of maintaining a compliance manual printed out in a three-ring binder sitting on the COO’s bookshelf. Today’s modern office demands more flexible systems, including a higher-tech compliance manual. It’s surprising that it’s taken until 2013 to achieve this, but hey, compliance isn’t exactly cutting edge.] Simply put, Policy Architect is meant to help both registered investment advisers and those affiliated with a broker-dealer stay compliant by allowing for more frequent updating of a firm’s compliance manuals (it helps, of course, if you keep yours digital as opposed to cutting down trees for a binder).

Mobile Assistant Launches iPhone App, “TALK IT” from PRNewswire.com

[Have bad cell coverage, but still need to dictate meeting notes from the road? Now Mobile Assistant has an iPhone app to facilitate this process. It’s not the first dictation service to support a mobile app (CopyTalk did it several months ago, starting this arms race), but definitely is a useful feature to all of the Mobile Assistant users who ever experienced a dropped call or two in the middle of dictations.] Mobile Assistant, the professional quality voice-to-text dictation service for the financial, insurance and sales industries, announces the release of its iPhone Application, TALK IT, this week. Mobile Assistant’s TALK IT is a high quality transcription service and an alternative to inaccurate automated voice-to-text solutions on the market, appealing to financial advisors and insurance agents as an easy way to accurately and securely document client meeting notes.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for June 1

Posted on June 1, 2012 by in Bits & Bytes

Wow, it’s June already? I returned from presenting at FPA NorCal this week on top apps for financial advisers. If you want some of the inside scoop, check out the #FPANorCal hashtag or tweets from Michael Kitces while they’re still on his timeline (you’ll need to scroll down to see tweets from May 29).

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

How Can RIAs Improve Efficiency? from Financial-Planning.com

[Donna Mitchell covers a new report from Pershing Advisor Solutions with three ways advisers can be more efficient, but it doesn’t list any resources to use. So here’s a recap of Pershing’s insight with a resource thrown in: 1) Identify an ideal client profile (self explanatory), 2) Have a consistent business process (so you need a tool to define workflow), and 3) avoid overloading staff members (I wish I had a solution for that!)] Principals of RIA firms need to pay closer attention to workflow and operational issues at their firms, especially if they want to stay viable amid rising operational costs, Pershing Advisor Solutions said.

Advisers still shaky on social media policy from Reuters

[Guess what: you need a social media policy, even if your policy is ‘we don’t use social media.’ And what about Facebook ‘Like’ buttons? It appears that as long as a ‘Like’ stands on its own without any additional commentary, advisers aren’t violating regulatory rules prohibiting testimonials.] As the securities industry finally warms up to using social media sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn, regulators are discovering that brokerages and investment advisers are off to a rocky start.

Plantly launches “missing allocation tool” to the public from FPPad

[It’s my blog so I get to link to my own posts once in a while. Most of you are familiar with Personal Capital, Betterment, SigFig, and Wealthfront in the race to deliver online financial advice to investors. Plantly is yet another startup aiming to equip DIY investors with simple plans based on MPT models. Oh, it’s free to use today.] Brooklyn-based startup launches free asset allocation planning tool to the public.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for October 28

Posted on October 28, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

I just came back from Brooklyn where the NAPFA Practice Management and Investments conference was held. While away, I kept an eye on new tech stories for advisers and wrapped them in one nice convenient package for you here:

TD Ameritrade Institutional Veo® Integration with Salesforce CRM Helps Financial Advisors Manage Important Client Relationships from amtd.com

[My Bits and Bytes post for September 9 listed TD Ameritrade’s announcement of an impending release of Salesforce CRM for its advisers. Yesterday, TD formally announced its release, which includes pre-defined workflow sequences advisers can use to get up and running quickly.] TD Ameritrade Institutional today introduced a Veo advisor platform integration with Salesforce CRM and other third party systems. The customized CRM app offers advisors flexibility, automated workflows and easier access to client data to help improve efficiency and client service.

Pershing Expands Anytime, Anywhere Account Access for Investment Professionals and Advisors With the Launch of Web-based NetX360.com from PRNewswire.com

[You knew lots of announcements were coming now, just days before Schwab IMPACT next week. Here’s an update from Pershing, which is in the final testing phase of rolling out a 100% web-based solution for its NetX360 platform. Notably, the platform supports multiple browsers, including Chrome and Safari, which I feel is a very wise decision.] Pershing LLC, a BNY Mellon company, announced today that it has expanded its leadership of anytime, anywhere account access with the introduction of a browser-based version of its innovative, open-architecture NetX360® technology platform.

Turning planning on its head from InvestmentNews.com

[Davis Janowski covers a new entrant into the financial planning software space. Free, web-based inStream from inStream Solutions, headed up by McLean Asset Management’s Alex Murguia, looks to be a streamlined challenger to the established, high-maintenance software applications traditionally used by advisers.] Planning tools that predict a client’s future needs, advanced financial calculators and an integrated contact management system make inStream a robust, cloud-based product.

EISI strikes a deal to cash out its shareholders from RIABiz.com

[A property and casualty insurance software provider bought the maker of NaviPlan. Add this to the Financeware patent-infringement issues from a few months back, and you have some “what’s next?” thoughts with respect to the future of financial planning software.] Faced with an innovation challenge and increased competition, Emerging Information Systems Inc., North America’s biggest financial planning software company, responsible for NaviPlan and Profiles financial planning software, announced yesterday that its shareholders have reached a deal to sell EISI.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for June 10

Posted on June 10, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

I’ve spent the week catching up on a backlog of work, vendor demos, phone calls, and reading due to May’s busy travel schedule. Tungle.me deserves recognition for helping me keep my sanity while scheduling all the calls and demos this week. If you haven’t heard of Tungle.me, read my column for Morningstar Advisor A Simpler Way to Schedule Meetings and try it yourself.

Now on with this week’s stories of interest:

Cabinet NG Creates New Class of Web-Based Document Management with CNG-WEB from CabinetNG.com

Cabinet NG, an on-premise document management software application, extends its functionality to the web with its latest release of CNG-WEB, making document capture and access from remote locations easier than ever.

One RIA’s unvarnished views on Advent, Black Diamond, Tamarac, IAS, Orion and Schwab PortfolioCenter after an odyssey of test drives from RIABiz.com

Take six portfolio management applications, drop them in a bucket, shake it around with a dose of trials and due diligence, and out comes one winner (in theory). Here’s one adviser’s perspective on hashing out a portfolio management solution for his practice.

Choosing Software That Works for Your Advisory Firm—Part 7: The Keys to Success from AdvisorOne.com

The seventh update in a series by Spenser Segal of ActiFi designed to present best practices to advisors on how to choose, implement and monitor new technology for an advisory firm.

Advent Brings APX to Pershing NetX360 from Marketwire.com

Advent Software, Inc., a leading provider of software and services for the global investment management industry, today announced that Pershing’s introducing broker-dealer and independent registered investment advisor (RIA) customers will now have access to Advent Portfolio Exchange® (APX) through NetX360™, its innovative, open-architecture technology solution.

 

Pershing Brings NetX360™ to the Android Market

Posted on May 24, 2011 by in Technology

Pershing LLC continues to expand its mobile offerings to advisers by releasing NetX360™ for the Google Android™ operating system.

We wrote in June 2010 about Pershing’s support of an iPad app for its NetX360 portfolio management platform. The app was finally released to the App Store in December, taking almost six months to complete the final development and review process. Using NetX360 for iPad, advisers can view client portfolio balances, access account statements, submit trades for equities and mutual funds, and more.

This week, Pershing is expanding its support of mobile access to NetX360 with the announcement of an Android-compatible app.

“The availability of NetX360 on mobile devices provides our customers with the ability to utilize all of NetX360’s capabilities no matter where they are, and provides them with the same level of security and encryption as their desktop NetX360 application,” said Suresh Kumar, chief information officer of Pershing, in a company press release.

Click here to read the full press release at PRNewswire.

And click the image below to view NetX360 Mobile in the Android Market

NetX360 Mobile - Android Market

FPPad Bits and Bytes for May 6

Posted on May 6, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

Today is the final day of FPA Retreat 2011, and Bill will soon be flying to Baltimore for a short weekend visit before returning to Dallas next Monday. As the events at Retreat unfolded, we’ve taken brief breaks to cover the best of technology news for advisers this week.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

TechCheck: Archiving for QuickBooks gets quicker from InvestmentNews.com

This InvestmentNews update covers a new Quickbooks integration in eFileCabinet Inc., a free social media policy resource, and news of the partnership between Trust Company of America and Black Diamond Performance Reporting.

TradeWarrior and TradePMR Announce Integrated Partnership from MarketWire.com

TradeWarrior and TradePMR announced today an integration between the two firms. The partnership provides TradePMR advisors with the ability to seamlessly export their client data files into TradeWarrior’s powerful rebalancing and trading system. The affiliation marks the first time TradePMR has made rebalancing software available to their advisors.

Lean on Me at FA-Mag.com

The major custodians are taking a leaf from the page of the independent broker-dealers who, in the best of cases, look beyond their advisors’ need for trade execution to the entire area of practice management.

Dropping Out of the Tech Arms Race at RegisteredRep.com

But even while confidence has slowly crept back among advisors, as the market has cooperated as well, many are still holding tight to the lessons of the past few years — spending on technology, but with a new kind of financial savvy and discretion.

Read Bill’s column for the May issue of the Journal of Financial Planning, Five Misconceptions About Document Management

Financial planners have benefited tremendously from new technologies introduced in the digital age by being able to conduct much of their business while on the go. However, one area of the digital movement that financial planners have been slow to adopt is document management technology.

The Tech Needs of Advisors on Advisor TV at Financial-Planning.com

At the Tiburon CEO Summit, Stuart DePina, CEO of software provider, Tamarac Corp., discusses what firms need to do with technology to service clients more effectively.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for March 25

Posted on March 25, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

This is the final week to prepare our Cultivating Clients in a Connected World presentation for FPA Retreat 2011. We’ve been busy refining slides and notes to deliver a message we feel advisers need to hear about how technology is changing the way they work with clients.

In the meantime, we’ve collected the best technology-oriented articles from around the financial planning community. Here are this week’s stories of interest:

Fidelity slips in ahead of Pershing on Google phones with WealthCentral for Android from RIABiz.com

Fidelity announced yesterday that it has released WealthCentral Mobile for the Android platform, making it the first custodian to hit the Android Market with an RIA-centric app

Junxure moving to the cloud amid market pressures from RIABiz.com

Greg Friedman, president of San Rafael, Calif.,-based CRM Software, is announcing that his company’s industry-leading customer relationship management product, Junxure, will have a cloud-based version of its software come January 2012.

Choosing Software That Works for Your Advisory Firm-Part 2: Assess from AdvisorOne.com

The second update in a six-part series by Spenser Segal of ActiFi designed to present best practices to advisors on how to choose, implement and monitor new technology for an advisory firm.

And finally, this week’s blog post at MorningstarAdvisor.com, Create an iPad Icon for Your Website.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for March 18

Posted on March 18, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

Pershing keeps ahead in the mobile space with an Android app and mobile trading from RIABiz.com

Pershing is launching an Android version of NetX360 in late April that includes mobile trading capability, adding to its lead in the mobile space over other custodians.

Choosing Software That Works for Your Advisory Firm-Part 1 from AdvisorOne.com

The first in a six-part series by Spenser Segal of ActiFi designed to present best practices to advisors on how to choose, implement and monitor new technology for an advisory firm.

Latest MarketCounsel Acquisition Overlays Operational Expertise with its Leading Compliance Platform from MarketCounsel.com

[Bill’s note: Last week it was FamilyOfficeNetwork that merged with The Efficient Practice, this week the east coast version happened.] MarketCounsel, the leading business and regulatory compliance consulting firm to the country’s preeminent entrepreneurial investment advisors is pleased to announce the acquisition of Beneficial Concepts Group, LLC.

ByAllAccounts’ Survey Reveals Financial Advisors Are Missing Opportunity to Attract HNW Clients from Marketwire.com

ByAllAccounts, Inc., the financial advisors’ choice for account aggregation, today released results from a nationwide survey of financial advisors on fiduciary responsibility.

And if you missed our update earlier this week, be sure to download the “FPA-ActiFi Adviser Technology Reports: Portfolio Management Edition”, free for FPA members (and at $495 for non-members, it’s well worth the price to join FPA)

FPPad Bits and Bytes for December 24

Posted on December 24, 2010 by in Bits & Bytes

Merry Christmas from FPPad! Sit down with your favorite browser (might I recommend Google Chrome?) and hot chocolate to take in this week’s Bits and Bytes.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

SEC’s New Form ADV Requirements: Fidelity Offers Guidance from AdvisorOne.com

Fidelity Investments is scheduling a series of webinars and regional workshops in 2011 to help its registered investment advisor clients who are worried about complying with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s latest regulatory changes.

How Will Mobile Technology Impact Advisors? from AdvisorTV.com

In this 5-minute video, Les Satlow of Cabot Money Management says advisors are embracing mobile technology. Tools including “cloud-like applications,” social media and iPads are helping them get closer to clients and build new business.

Neesha Hathi: Leader of Schwab tech project under pressure from InvestmentNews.com

While she always appears unruffled in public, Neesha Hathi is under pressure to bring Charles Schwab Advisor Services’ multi-million dollar effort, now formally called Schwab Intelligent Integration, to fruition and boost the firm’s chances to remain the top dog among custodians serving the growing registered investment adviser sector.

iPad’s Next Life: Sales, Information & Action Tool from Financial-Planning.com

Tony Mayo thinks the iPad is a “game-changer.” He’s the chief technology officer of Dreyfus Corporation, manager of more than $400 billion in mutual funds and separately managed accounts. And he’s in the process of giving iPads to every one of Dreyfus’ 70 salespeople, across three divisions.

NetX360 Mobile for iPad from Apple iTunes

In today’s marketplace, it is critical that you stay connected. NetX360™ for the iPhone enables you to conduct critical business operations while you’re on the move—wherever you are. It will also help you stay on top of the latest market developments and updates, and provide access to essential activities that support your business.