Tag Archives: RIA in a Box

Alexa is NOT spying on you! Flash briefing for May 25, 2018

Posted on May 25, 2018 by in Flash Briefing, Technology

Here are the links to today’s top stories:

Aquiline Capital Partners Acquires Compliance Software and Solutions Provider RIA in a Box from BusinessWire.com

Don’t Freak Out About That Amazon Alexa Eavesdropping Situation from Wired

Orion’s May 2018 Product Updates Empower Financial Planners, Chief Compliance Officers from BusinessWire.com

(Disclosure: RIA in a Box and Orion Advisor Services have engaged Bill Winterberg for consulting and/or marketing services over the past 12 months. Full updated disclosures are always available here fppad.com/disclaimer)

Welcome to a new FPPad fintech briefing, here are the top fintech stories you need to know today brought to you by Morningstar, register today for the 2018 Morningstar Investment Conference coming June 11 in Chicago.

RIA in a Box Gets Acquired

In compliance news, RIA in a Box, a leading provider of compliance solutions to registered investment advisers, announced it has been acquired by New York private equity firm Aquiline Capital Partners for an undisclosed amount. RIA in a Box serves approximately 2,000 investment advisers in the country with compliance solutions ranging from initial business registration, online compliance calendar and reporting programs, as well as automated employee trade monitoring. According to a press release, Aquiline plans to help RIA in a Box pursue organic growth initiatives as well as an acquisition strategy in the wealth management software and compliance industry.

Alexa is NOT Spying on You

Is your Alexa spying on you? A Seattle news channel reported that a Portland, Oregon couple’s Echo device surreptitiously recorded a private conversation and sent it to a random person listed in their contacts. While the story quickly stoked backlash among the see-I-told-you-so crowd online, Amazon was quick to reply that the couple unintentionally activated their Echo’s wake up word followed by the phrase “send message,” which activated the Echo’s built in messaging feature. It’s the smart speaker equivalent of a butt dial. Nevertheless, however unlikely the string of events may be, Amazon said that the company will continue to evaluate options to make cases such as this one less likely.

Orion Advisor Services May 2018 Release Details

And finally, Orion Advisor Services released its May 2018 Software Update that includes updates to fee billing for one-time financial planning engagements, new integrations, and additional compliance automation. Here’s Orion’s Director of Technology Support, Joe Leyboldt with more details:

Today we announced the details of our May 2018 Tech Release. The most impactful updates are new billing functionality enabling advisers to generate bills for financial planning and advice, the addition of a tool called Supervise to Compass, our compliance app. We’ve also strengthened Compass’ AML screening capabilities. Finally, we’ve launched an integration with BlackRock’s iRetire and updated our Salesforce integration to run on the new Salesforce Lightning user interface.

To see all the detail of the Orion Software update, be sure to visit FPPad.com/flashbriefing for all the links to today’s top stories.

I’m Bill Winterberg, and those are your fintech headlines for today from FPPad.com. Check back in with me later for more fintech news.

Hackers Latest Trick to Steal Tax Refunds from Taxpayers: Flash briefing for February 21, 2018

Posted on February 21, 2018 by in Flash Briefing, Technology

Here are the links to today’s top stories:

IRS Scam Leverages Hacked Tax Preparers, Client Bank Accounts from KrebsOnSecurity.com

Quovo Announces “Cue,” a Data-Driven Alert Engine for Financial Services Firms from PRNewswire

What’s new from RIA in Box | 2018 fintech update from YouTube

[Note: I have provided creative marketing services to RIA in a Box in the last 12 months. See my full disclosures here]

Welcome to the FPPad fintech briefing, Here are the top fintech stories you need to know today.

Hackers Tricking Taxpayers Demanding Payments of False Tax Refunds

Hackers are using more elaborate techniques to steal money from taxpayers, according to a new report published by security researcher Brian Krebs. In this latest scheme, hackers are breaking in to tax preparation firms to file fraudulent tax returns that result in large refunds deposited directly into taxpayer bank accounts. The attackers then posing as debt collection agencies to contact the taxpayers, demanding that the tax refunds be returned. The demands appear very legitimate, as the hackers know the dollar amount of the refund because they created the phony tax returns. The IRS says that taxpayers who receive such inquiries should contact their financial institution to potentially close the affected accounts as well as their tax preparer who likely had their systems compromised.

Quovo Announces “Cue” System

In account aggregation news, Quovo recently announced the introduction of a new alerts feature called Cue, which applies data science to monitor connected accounts for changes in balances, significant money movements, and even identify the chances clients may have additional accounts that their financial advisers do not yet know about. Currently, the Cue system can generate email notifications for advisors or be integrated directly into CRM software by leveraging the Quovo API, and is currently in a pilot phase with several large financial institutions for a rollout later this year.

RIA in a Box Electronic Employee Trade Monitoring

And speaking of aggregation, how do financial advisers make sure they stay on top of their compliance requirements to monitor personal stock trading by employees? I recently spoke with GJ King of RIA in a Box to learn more about how the company is using technology so simplify trade monitoring for compliance:

Our latest new feature we’re rolled out in the last few months is what we call automated employee trade monitoring, and how we think about that is most advisory firms today, maybe they don’t want to admit this but it’s true, where most people are still tracking personal employee trading through paper brokerage statements. You walk into an advisor’s office, you’ll generally see a stack of paper statements, maybe hidden in the corner, but they exist, we’re trying to bring that into a digital experience. It’s not rocket science, but we’re taking what used to be a paper experience and making that all automated and electronic through our system.

For more details on employee trade monitoring by RIA in a Box, head over to fppad.com/flashbriefing to get all the links to today’s top stories.

I’m Bill Winterberg, and those are your fintech headlines for today from FPPad.com, be sure to check back in with me later for more fintech news.

See what went down at this year’s Fuse 2015 advisor fintech developer event

Posted on September 14, 2015 by in Conferences

Orion Advisor Services hosted Fuse 2015, a developer event the company organizes to encourage development of new apps and solutions for advisors and to increase the quantity and quality of integrations with Orion.

I created three videos from Fuse 2015 to get you an up close look at what happens at this exciting developer event.

Follow this link to view the Fuse 2015 Award Winners and view the #FuseUtah hashtag on Twitter.

Day 1: Fuse 2015 kickoff

Day 2: What are you developing?

Day 3: Best in Show

FPPad Bits and Bytes for May 17

Posted on May 17, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

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I’m starting a long west coast swing tomorrow, so the next two weeks of Bits and Bytes are in jeopardy as I won’t be back in my home office until June 3.

Included in this trip is a stop at FPA NorCal 2013, so if you’re attending, be sure to catch my Mobile Adviser session on Wednesday the 29th at 1:15pm PT.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

Trust Company of America And RIA in a Box Announce Strategic Alliance from PRNewswire

[I missed this story last week, but still feel it’s a good one for you. RIA in a Box carved out a great niche several years ago as the fast, turnkey way to get an RIA formed. Now the rapidly growing business continues to broaden its client base through strategic partnerships like this one with Trust Company of America. Even if you’re already an established RIA, RIA in a Box offers a range of ongoing compliance services from $99 to $399 per month. If that saves you at least two hours a month, you’re making money on the outsource relationship!] Trust Company of America, an independent technology and custody provider for RIAs, announced today that it has entered into a strategic alliance with RIA in a Box, the industry-leading RIA registration and compliance firm. RIA in a Box serves RIAs looking to start a career in the industry or break away from the wirehouse model.

 Want a More Profitable Firm? Let Employees Work From Home from AdvisorOne.com

[The place where I work (most of the time) has four walls, two windows, a desk, computer, and some office furniture. I bet the room where you work is not all that different. So does it make any difference that my room happens to be in my home? According to adviser performance consultant Angie Herbers, it doesn’t. She describes how the desire for more time with family or following a spouse in a move for a better job should not mean the end of employment with a successful advisory firm. In fact, Herbers’ example actually resulted in even stronger client connections without anyone ever stepping foot in a “traditional” advisory office.] One of the common lifestyle perks we get asked about is working from home. The technology explosion spilling over into financial advice has made working from home quite productive and profitable for many firms.