Tag Archives: Portfolio Management Software

FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 10

A decent pace of technology news has returned, with this week’s Bits & Bytes featuring a variety of worthwhile stories.

First, read Avoid Legacy Portfolio Software Constraints at Morningstar Advisor to learn how you can switch portfolio management software without incurring huge transition times or astronomical fees.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

The Rise of Robo-Advisors from Financial-Planning.com

[You are not clueless when it comes to the term “robo-advisors.” (watch the two-part video, Competing Against “Robo Advisors:” Delivering Advice in a New World from T3 2012Personal CapitalWealthfrontLearnVest, and others have been highlighted here before, and Jonathan Leaf provides a new update in this Financial Planning magazine update.] Imagine being replaced by a robot. That day may be more imminent than many planners believe. In the past two years, a number of online financial platforms for investors have been launched. These sites offer computerized investment guidance aimed not only at the smallest customers, but also at those with upward of $250,000 in investable assets.

iRebal Receives Makeover from Financial Advisor magazine

[The last time I saw significant news concerning TD Ameritrade’s iRebal software was back in August 2010 when RIABiz posted their overview of the product. This week, the growing custodian announced several enhancements to the stalwart application. I’m taking a look at the updates later this afternoon.] ThinkTech Inc., a TD Ameritrade affiliate, recently announced a number of major enhancements to iRebal, its highly-regarded intelligent rebalance and trade order management system.

Schwab Expands Practice Management Consulting Program for RIAs from Financial Advisor magazine

[Custodians continue to ramp up their value-add practice management resources as a competitive differentiator. In this update, Schwab Advisor Services announces new content for its nationwide traveling workshop.] Schwab Advisor Services today is expanding its “Insight to Action” practice management consulting program for its registered investment advisors customers that provides support on growing and managing their businesses.

Work aside; BACK UP your personal data including memories from InvestmentNews.com

[Here’s another reminder how important it is to have a good backup routine and policy, not just for your business information, but your personal data, too. Details of Wired magazine contributor Mat Honan’s loss of photos and other personal files as a result of a hack were syndicated across hundreds of websites this week. So take the prompt as a reminder to back up your files; something bad will eventually happen to your hard drive, so don’t be without a plan. Me? I have a Time Capsule for my Mac.] Please back up your personal computers, especially photos and things of sentimental value, whether you use a Windows-based or Mac system.

How not to be handcuffed by your legacy portfolio management system

One of the biggest assets you own as a financial adviser is the database that holds client portfolio information. As your business grows, so does the size and complexity of your database.

Meanwhile, new and existing portfolio management software vendors are updating their products to deliver lower cost and higher productivity to their adviser clients. In the past, if you wanted to take advantage of new products, you were looking at a long, costly conversion process for all of your legacy portfolio data.

Today, you have more options than ever to perform legacy portfolio database conversions in a timely and cost-effective manner.

This month’s Morningstar Advisor column addresses your database conversion options. Read Avoid Legacy Portfolio Software Constraints to discover how you can avoid being handcuffed by your legacy portfolio management system.

Video Spotlight: AssetBook CEO Rob Major discusses advantages of hiring an outsourced portfolio service bureau

How do financial advisers set aside more time to work with clients? One way is by outsourcing activities that aren’t client facing.

Here in this Video Spotlight, I speak with AssetBook President and CEO Rob Major about the benefits of hiring an outsourced portfolio service bureau. As you’ll hear from Major, options for advisers might not be as expensive as one might think, and the efficiencies and data accuracy to be gained are fairly substantial.

(click here to view on YouTube)

Get the Financial Planning 2008 Software Survey

Financial Planning magazine conducts an annual survey of its readers to gauge the different types of technology in use by financial planners and advisers.  2008 marks the second year of the survey, and Joel P. Bruckenstein published an overview of the results and a comparison to last year’s survey information.

Click here to view Bruckenstein’s review of Financial Planning’s 2008 Software Survey.

Here’s my 30-second take if you don’t have time to read the entire review:

Read More…