Tag Archives: PortfolioCenter Hosted

FPPad Bits and Bytes for January 23

Posted on January 23, 2015 by in Bits & Bytes

On today’s broadcast, Riskalyze enhances its best client facing technology with a fresh new interface, Advicent adds new integrations for Schwab Intelligent Technologies, and, get my best cybersecurity tips to protect your business from hacking, phishing, and spoofing attacks.

So get ready, FPPad Bits and Bytes begins now!

(click to watch FPPad Bits and Bytes on YouTube)

But first, if you are interested in supporting future episodes of FPPad Bits and Bytes, find out how you can become a sponsor to reach a fantastic audience of advisors looking to grow their business with technology. Visit fppad.com/advertise for more information on how you can help support this show.

Oh, and check out the #baconjam at Carson Kitchen in Las Vegas. It is to die for!

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

The Industry’s “Best Client Facing Technology” Just Got Better from Riskalyze

[Now this week’s top story comes from Riskalyze, the provider of risk tolerance assessment tools for advisors, as this week the company announced an all-new dashboard and client profile interface.

The new interface is clean, designed to be easy to navigate, and is overall very user friendly. For example, profiles prominently display the risk number of a client’s existing portfolio, the risk of a portfolio proposed by the advisor, and a probability percentage from the Riskalyze Retirement Map feature I mentioned back in episode 129.

As the winner of my best client-facing technology award in 2013, Riskalyze raises the bar once again with its new look and feel, but the company is also enhancing the nuts and bolts of what goes on behind the scenes. If you’re not yet using a formal risk assessment tool in your business, Riskalyze deserves to have a spot on your list of contenders.] One of the things our customers love the most about Riskalyze is how simple and easy it is to use. Today, we’re doubling down on that with the launch of an all-new Riskalyze dashboard and client profile, the Advisor-Set Risk Number and simpler stress tests.

Advicent Launches Two New Integrations for Schwab Intelligent Technologies™ from PRWeb

[Next up is news on Advicent Solutions, a provider of financial planning and marketing communication tools to advisors. Earlier this week, Advicent announced to new integrations with Schwab Intelligent Technologies™.

First, if you monitor client accounts using the Schwab PortfolioCenter Hosted™ solution, you will be able to import account values into the NaviPlan® financial planning application using the Schwab OpenView Gateway™ integration. If you don’t use Schwab PortfolioCenter Hosted, you can still import values from Schwab Advisor Center using the integration the company announced last year.

Second, a new integration was announced for those of you who use the Profiles™ financial planning software tool from Advicent. Just like NaviPlan, Profiles now supports account information imports from Schwab Advisor Center as well, helping you save time when importing account values into plans built with Profiles.

If you don’t custody assets with Schwab, you’ll be glad to know that Advicent has been busy building integrations with other providers in recent months, including TD Ameritrade Institutional’s Veo Open Access, Redtail CRM, Morningstar Office, Appcrown, and Orion Advisor Services.] Advicent Solutions, a Milwaukee-based SaaS provider, adds two new integrations for Schwab Intelligent Technologies™ to help financial advisors manage their time more effectively.

How to Keep Client Data Safe From Online Attackers from Financial Planning, and

Download my Defend Against Hacking, Phishing, and Spoofing Attacks guide from FPPad.com

[And finally, I traveled to Las Vegas this week where I presented at the AICPA Advanced Personal Financial Planning conference. I gave a room full of CPAs tips and techniques to protect their business from hacking, phishing, and spoofing attacks.

Financial Planning magazine sent Maddy Perkins to cover my session, and she did a terrific job capturing the risks to your business and the defensive strategies you can implement.

Visit fppad.com/151 to get the link to the story in Financial Planning, and while you’re there, you can also link to my free three-page PDF on all the tips, strategies, and resources I covered during my presentation.] Just hours before he was going to give a presentation on online security for advisors, Bill Winterberg lost his phone at the AICPA Personal Financial Planning Conference. Luckily, thanks to a plan he has for just such an occasion, he found it.

 

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for January 23, 2015

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for January 23, 2015

Schwab Advisor Services’ Brian Shenson addresses PortfolioCenter Hosted, OpenView Gateway, and Integrated Office offerings for advisers

Posted on July 1, 2013 by in Video Spotlight

In this video spotlight interview, Brian Shenson, vice president of Advisor Technology Solutions for Schwab Advisor Services met with me to update Schwab’s progress on a number of technology initiatives.

(For details on last weeks’ Schwab Tech Talk conference call, read RIA technology updates from Schwab Advisor Services’ Tech Talk series.)

Brian Shenson, vice president, Advisor Technology Solutions for Schwab Advisor Services

Brian Shenson, vice president, Advisor Technology Solutions for Schwab Advisor Services

PortfolioCenter Hosted

Clearly, Schwab Advisor Services recognizes the opportunity in offering advisers the ability to locate portions of their technology in the cloud.

The launch of PortfolioCenter Hosted, according to Shenson, is intended to simplify operations for advisers.

“We have over 3,500 advisers today relying on PortfolioCenter desktop, but they’re looking to simplify their operating model with cloud-based solutions,” said Shenson.

“PortfolioCenter Hosted allows [advisers] to have the same control and ownership of their data that they have today, but leverage Schwab’s backbone infrastructure to host their systems,” he added.

Schwab OpenView MarketSquare

I asked Shenson to elaborate on the resources Schwab provides when it comes to the various integrations supported by PortfolioCenter and other Schwab Intelligent Technologies’ resources.

Schwab OpenView MarketSquare is the latest resource Shenson highlighted to educate advisers on their technology purchase options.

“[OpenView MarketSquare is] not meant to replace other resources advisers rely on to learn about technology”, said Shenson, “but we think we have a unique opportunity to create voice to the adviser’s perspective on the technology they use to help inform other advisers before making that purchase decision for a particular technology.”

Schwab OpenView MarketSquare™ provides technology ratings and reviews, exclusively by and for advisors who custody with Schwab Advisor Services™

Schwab OpenView MarketSquare™ provides technology ratings and reviews, exclusively by and for advisors who custody with Schwab Advisor Services™

Visit Schwab OpenView MarketSquare online at http://www.schwabintelligenttechnologies.com/MarketSquare

OpenView Gateway versus Integrated Office

Finally, there still is confusion over the differences in the two primary back office offerings from Schwab Advisor Services, OpenView Gateway and the Integrated Office.

I asked Shenson to identify the type of advisory firm to which each solution is best suited.

“Many advisers have already made substantial investments in their technology infrastructure, and for them we wanted to work with best-of-breed providers and build integrations to those platforms. That is what we designed with OpenView Gateway,” said Shenson.

The alternate solution, Integrated Office, is a complete “office in a box” offering.

“Many advisers are looking for incredible simplicity in their operating model,” said Shenson.

“They’re looking to us as a provider to offer an integrated solution where all the pieces are designed to fit very well together. For them we offer the Integrated Office.”

(click to watch on YouTube)