Tag Archives: Skype

FPPad Bits and Bytes for March 20

Posted on March 20, 2015 by in Bits & Bytes

On today’s broadcast, learn about the technology one planner selected to launch his new RIA, SigFig launches a free portfolio guidance algorithm for investors, and find out what happens when Tony Robbins mentions your firm in his best-selling book.

So get ready, FPPad Bits and Bytes begins now!

(WatchFPPad Bits and Bytes on YouTube)

Today’s episode is brought to you by ITEGRIA, providers of complete outsourced technology support, security, infrastructure and IT solutions exclusively for RIAs.

itegria - providing a 360-degree, comprehensive approach to financial advisor IT needs

In their new book titled Red Flags, you’ll learn how to protect your firm from cyber-attacks, disasters, and IT compliance risks. Learn more about the Red Flags book by visiting fppad.com/itegria.

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

Meeting The Requirements To Start Your Own RIA Without Breaking The Bank from Kitces.com

[This weeks top story comes from Michael Kitces’ Nerd’s Eye View, as this week Kitces featured a guest post from financial planner Andrew McFadden. McFadden tells how he was inspired to launch his own RIA after reading a post by Gen Y planner Sophia Bera about her own experience. He recently launched Panoramic Financial Advice for roughly $7,000 and provided a helpful overview of the technology he selected to get his business up and running.

First, McFadden chose Less Annoying CRM after evaluating Redtail and Wealthbox, because of the CRM’s customization options and low price of just $10 a month. Less Annoying CRM does integrate with Google Apps and Mailchimp, but it doesn’t offer integrations to industry programs like financial planning or portfolio management software. But that’s ok, because McFadden didn’t need to buy portfolio management software, as he opted to leverage the services of third-party money manager Frontier Asset Management which uses Fidelity as its custodian.

For planning engagements, McFadden gathers client data using PreciseFP, builds financial plans using MoneyGuidePro, communicates with remote clients via Skype, and gathers electronic signatures using Adobe EchoSign.

So think about the advisors in your business: For $7,000 and a lot of hustling, practically anyone can start new RIA from scratch. So if you’re not investing in your people, your technology, and your compensation plan so that there’s upside potential in your business, don’t be surprised if you witness breakaways from your firm as advisors decide to go out on their own.] Launching a business is hard enough in any industry, but getting through the requirements for setting up an RIA and figuring out the necessary technology vendors and software to have in place when starting a firm can be especially daunting.

SigFig Launches ‘SigFig Guidance’ to Help the 90% of Investors Losing Money Due to Common Mistakes from BusinessWire.com

[Next up is news from SigFig, another player in the online automated investment service arena, that launched a new feature this week called SigFig Guidance. SigFig Guidance uses an online questionnaire and account aggregation to identify an investor’s current portfolio and risk tolerance, and then proceeds to diagnose common problems in the portfolio. SigFig Guidance looks for things like high fees, uninvested cash, excessive risk, and poor diversification, and then offers portfolio recommendations generated by SigFig’s algorithms, all for free.

So does this sound like a second opinion service or a portfolio checkup? That’s because it is. So if you’ve been using a second opinion incentive to attract prospects to your business, you might need to modify your process in light of this new competition.] SigFig, the fastest and most convenient automated investment service, today launched ‘SigFig Guidance’, a free investment tool specifically designed to analyze any portfolio in less than five minutes, offering unbiased, actionable suggestions to optimize returns and reduce fees.

Stronghold takes wraps off robo matchmaker by InvestmentNews

[And speaking of portfolio checkups, this week’s broadcast ends with another new portfolio checkup service, only this one is offered by Stronghold Financial out of San Diego. Now where have I heard that name before? Oh, yes, Stronghold Financial is the business that motivational speaker Tony Robbins promoted in his book, “Money: Master the Game” published back in November, and the firm is led by Robbins’ own advisor Ajay Gupta, which created a bit of controversy on its own.

That aside, what happens when your firm gets mentioned in a New York Times best selling book? You get flooded with leads. In response, Stronghold now offers a free Portfolio Checkup service on its website that uses account aggregation powered by Jemstep in the back end, but instead of taking on thousands of new clients itself, Stronghold is referring those clients out to roughly 100 financial advisors who are part of the Stronghold network, and in return, those advisors pay 25% of the fees generated by each referral back to Stronghold.

So if you feel like your lead generation could use a boost from riding the coattails of Tony Robbins, this is an interesting option to consider at the least, or you could implement Jemstep on your own for a lower fee, but be totally responsible for your own lead generation campaign.] Stronghold Financial, the advisory firm that found itself at the center of controversy last fall because of its ties to self-help guru Tony Robbins, believes its robo-matchmaking service is ready for prime time.

There were no other of stories of interest this week, so enjoy an early start to your weekend!

 

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for March 20, 2015

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for March 20, 2015

FPPad Bits and Bytes for January 25

Posted on January 25, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

I’m under the weather today, so there’s no FPPad On Air broadcast. As conference season is in full swing including upcoming events of TD Ameritrade Institutional 2013 National Conference and T3 2013, broadcasts will return in mid-February.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

Shoot for the Stars, Land in the Cloud – World’s First Mikogo Cloud Desktop from Mikogo.com

[Most readers recognize Mikogo for their screen-sharing app for virtual meetings. But here’s an announcement for an all-new product from the company, a cloud desktop. But “World’s First?” I don’t agree. Cloud desktops are not new: consider OnLive Desktop, which launched in January 2012, but this news is noteworthy coming from a company with more connections with financial services (and its compliance requirements) than the typical startup. Nevertheless, using a tablet to control a cloud desktop can lead to severe frustration since most desktop apps (read: Microsoft Office) are in no way optimized for touch.] The Mikogo Cloud Desktop is an innovative browser-based way of hosting an entire computer system in the Cloud. Built on HTML5 technology and 100% browser-based, there are no downloads, no software installations and no plugins, you can just open a browser on any computer or tablet and log in to your Cloud Desktop.

NetDocuments Upgrade Available to iManage, Worldox and OpenText Users at No Cost from CPAPracticeAdvisor.com

[With the exception of Laserfiche and Cabinet, news from the document management world has been quiet. This week, one leading cloud-based provider is converting users over from several legacy systems to its own for free. Really, I suspect Worldox is the only provider of note for subscribers, as iManage and OpenText are found much more in legal services than financial services.] NetDocuments announced today that it will offer a free upgrade to the cloud for current users of iManage, Worldox or OpenText. NetDocuments provides cloud content management and collaboration services to organizations of all sizes, including Charles Schwab.

How Do the New Wealthy Communicate? Digitally, Futurewealth Report Says from AdvisorOne.com

[Yes, this article is a bit short on details, but the main point comes through loud and clear: more and more of your clients (and future clients) are going to want to connect with you via Skype, FaceTime, text message, and other tech-enabled pathways. So the time to start developing practices around such technology is now!] The world’s up-and-coming wealthy are not only adopting new technologies, but also understand how digital communication tools can enhance experiences, according to a study released last week by SEI, Scorpio Partnership and Standard Chartered Private Bank.

An Inside Look at Smarsh, Inc. from YouTube

[Here’s a terrific video produced for Smarsh to give advisor clients and prospects an idea of what the company is trying to do to improve the businesses of their customers. It’s very well done and should serve as a model for a potential way you can highlight your business using this medium.]

FPPad Bits and Bytes for December 7

Posted on December 7, 2012 by in Bits & Bytes

Remember to watch today’s FPPad On Air broadcast at 4:15 pm ET with Blane Warrene.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

Meet the wealth management firm of the future from Reuters.com

[Technology Tools for Today’s High-Margin Practice is being released in early 2013 as the 10th anniversary of their original book, Virtual Office Tools for a High Margin Practice, nears. It was a privilege to be asked to contribute to the new edition, as I submitted a chapter on collaboration tools financial advisers can use in their business. Pre-order the book on Amazon to lock in the pre-order price.] When David Drucker and Joel Bruckenstein wrote a book about technology innovations for advisers in 2002, many readers were skeptical of their recommendations to use email and create a website.

Junxure Cloud – The Clear Choice for Advisors from Junxure.com

[I will be honest: I think Junxure faces an uphill climb when it releases Junxure Cloud next year. The desktop version has so much in its interface, between notes, tasks, assets, documents, action sequences, etc. that I can’t help but be skeptical how it will translate to a web-based user interface. Junxure provided a sneak preview earlier this year (see: A sneak peek of Junxure Cloud), so take a look and decide for yourself. But give credit to Greg Friedman, the points in this article are valid; there are no overlays like there are in Salesforce, and support is handled internally and not farmed out to a third party. Will those benefits be enough to overcome the daunting interface?] Junxure attended Charles Schwab’s IMPACT® 2012 event, where we announced the spring 2013 release target for Junxure Cloud, our new web-based CRM solution. Attendees were treated to a preview demo, including how Junxure Cloud could help manage workflow, track a firm’s efficiency, and capture client documents and financial data through a wide range of integrations.

Why You Should Consider Online Meetings With Clients from RIACentral.com

[Again and again I counsel advisers that they need to be comfortable using online meeting tools like Skype, FaceTime from Apple, and Google+ Hangouts. Giving your clients options to meet with you remotely, when it is convenient for them, goes a long way in solidifying your working relationship. Here’s a good summary article from RIACentral about four key benefits of meeting online.] Meeting clients online may seem like technological overkill. After all, it’s much easier to just pick up the phone and chat, right? But, in reality, online meetings solve a myriad of practical everyday problems for you.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 5

Posted on August 5, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

I spent much of the week attending a retreat to help plan the future of the financial planning profession. Add to that my commitments for Morningstar, Blueleaf, and the Journal of Financial Planning and I had a nose-to-the-grindstone schedule.

But still, you can count on my Friday updates to deliver the best tech related articles from around the financial planning industry. Here they are:

Ebix may hit a CRM sweet spot for some RIAs from RIABiz.com

[I used SmartOffice CRM from E-ZData back in 2006-2007, now part of the Ebix family. It has the potential to grow in the financial adviser space, but the CRM has a lot of work ahead of it.] For advisors looking for a happy medium, say a company with some heft whose people – and maybe even the inner workings of its computers – know the difference between an advisor and a carpet wholesaler, Ebix might be worth a look.

VirtualPlanning from Financial-Planning.com

[Think you need to meet clients in your office all the time? Think again. Here are some spotlights of advisers using remote tools like Skype and RingCentral to meet with clients on their terms.] In an era when clients can easily reach their accounts online, many planners are cutting overhead and staff and working remotely.

The Mobile Advisor from Financial Advisor

[Another article on advisers working remotely, only this time the focus is on eliminating operating overhead and infrastructure, rather than identifying specific technology to facilitate remote working.] In the wake of economic pressures on financial advisory practices, some have chosen to dramatically downsize their firms, opting to fire staff, work without an office or even give up certain types of clients.

CRM: An Untapped Engine for Growth from AdvisorOne.com

[Schwab Advisor Services VP Neesha Hathi explores survey results on advisers using (and not using) CRM effectively.] By taking advantage of these key untapped growth drivers in CRM, advisors can boost their success in three areas.

BeamYourScreen Releases Mikogo 4.0 Beta, Adds New Features

Posted on March 24, 2011 by in Software

A new version of a popular desktop screen-sharing software called Mikogo was released today by Germany-based BeamYourScreen.

Click here to learn the details on Mikogo Version 4.0 from the Mikogo blog.

Bill recognized Mikogo as the Best Client-Facing Technology for 2010 in his column for MorningstarAdvisor.com. Mikogo is a free application advisers can use to conduct desktop screen-sharing sessions with clients when face-to-face meetings are inconvenient or impractical.

Version 4.0 is being released as an open beta, meaning the software is robust enough to be used by a large community, but periodically there may be minor issues that affect performance or usability. We invite you to download and try the latest version to see how you can engage more and more of your distant clients using simple screen-sharing meetings.

Do you have other screen-sharing applications you prefer, such as GoToMeeting, WebEx, Adobe Connect, or even Skype? Let us know by dropping a comment below and tell us how well it works (or doesn’t) in your practice.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for January 14

Posted on January 14, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

We were on the road for the first half of this week attending Laserfiche Empower 2011 in Los Angeles. While we took extensive notes over the 2 1/2 day event, we haven’t had the time to review and summarize them for posting (or post anything else for that matter!).

So check back in a week or two for our thoughts on Laserfiche’s potential to increase its presence in financial services.

Meanwhile, here are this week’s stories of interest:

Fidelity, Schwab and TD Ameritrade prep for arms race in mobile technology for advisors from RIABiz

In the next few months, Fidelity Investments and TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. will launch mobile apps for advisors that deliver functionality from their respective technology platforms, WealthCentral and Veo, according to the companies.

Advisor Tested: iPad proves ideal for advisors on-the-go; the surprise is the effect on clients from RIABiz

Tech Enables Convenient Client Connections, my January column at Morningstar Advisor

Growing advisory firms need easy tools they can use to collaborate with busy clients in real time when an in-person meeting is not possible or practical. Here are four screen-sharing tools that advisors should consider adding to their technology toolkit to enhance client service.