Tag Archives: Smarsh

FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 7

Posted on August 7, 2015 by in Bits & Bytes

On today’s broadcast, LPL financial reveals its robo intentions, Wealthbox raises the CRM stakes with an integration with Slack, and Smarsh steps up its archiving of your Microsoft Office 365 content.

So get ready, FPPad Bits and Bytes begins now.

(Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes on YouTube)

Today’s episode is brought to you by ExternalIT, a leading provider of cloud solutions to the wealth management industry, With the recent integration of Microsoft Office 365, you can enhance the familiar tools of Word, Outlook and Excel with an extensive range of apps including VoIP communication, on-line meetings, collaboration, business intelligence, and more.

External IT

See how External IT brings all this together in a free webinar on August 18, so be sure to register today at fppad.com/externalit

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

LPL Financial Launches Vendor Affinity Program from LPL, and

Google News results for LPL Vendor Affinity Program

[Today’s top story comes from LPL Financial, as the nation’s largest broker-dealer, oh, thank you disclosure, held its annual LPL Focus conference in Boston last week.
On the technology side, LPL announced it will soon introduce its own an automated investment service, cough robo-advisor, consisting of low-cost ETF portfolios powered by LPL’s research. No details on pricing or even a name for the solution were provided, but LPL president Dan Arnold did say that a pilot program with about 20 advisors will be begin in the next few months.

LPL also announced the launch of its Vendor Affinity Program, calling it “a centralized repository” of vendors that offer discounted pricing to LPL advisors for their products and services. LPL is launching the Vendor Affinity Program with over 50 vendors from the get-go, with discounts ranging anywhere from 10 percent to 80 percent off retail pricing.

Now if you’re not affiliated with LPL Financial, don’t get too discouraged. Vendors don’t get to be included in the affinity program simply by offering a discount; vendors must also meet certain security and compliance requirements imposed by LPL, so this is the takeaway for you. If you’re not really sure a technology vendor will meet the standards for your own business, you can be more confident in those vendors who have passed muster with LPL by meeting some pretty high standards.

As far as who is in the affinity program? I couldn’t reach anyone at LPL in time before filming this episode to get that list, but some detective work on Google should yield a list of usual suspects who’ve issued press releases regarding their inclusion into the program.] LPL Financial LLC, the nation’s largest independent broker-dealer, a custodian for registered investment advisors (RIAs), and a wholly owned subsidiary of LPL Financial Holdings Inc., today announced the launch of its Vendor Affinity Program, a new initiative designed to help advisors reduce the complexity and costs of running their businesses.

Wealthbox CRM Integrates with Slack! from Wealthbox, and

View Slack Pricing at Slack.com

[Next up is news from CRM provider Wealthbox, as the company announced a new integration with Slack, a wildly-popular online collaboration tool. “What is Slack?” you ask.

I’d rather not make a comparison to email, but, Slack is like email on steroids. But instead of collaborating via back-and-forth email threads, Slack lets you use real-time chat, aka messaging, to work with your team using Channels centered around certain topics, connect privately with colleagues using direct messages , or set up private groups with just a few team members to work on top secret tasks.

With the new Slack integration, Wealthbox users can select from 22 different notification types to automatically push into Slack, helping everyone in the firm stay informed on day-to-day activities. And with the Slack feed on your favorite mobile device, you should be able to stay in the loop on all sorts of tasks in your office no matter where you are.

And one last thing: since Slack can be used to chat about clients, and potentially WITH clients, you’ll need the Slack Plus plan that’s around $15 per month per user that includes compliance exports of all your message so you keep your compliance officer happy.] Wealthbox CRM, an activity stream-based client relationship management app for wealth management firms, has announced an integration with Slack, the messaging app for business teams.

Smarsh Offers Enhanced Archiving Support for Microsoft Office 365 Environments from BusinessWire

[And finally, this week’s episode wraps up with news from Smarsh, the archiving solution provider, as the company introduced enhanced archiving support for Microsoft Office 365 environments. As more of you move away from local servers to the cloud, you still need to fulfill your compliance and record-keeping obligations required by FINRA and the SEC.

By all accounts, Microsoft is moving full-steam ahead on cloud services, so it’s pretty much inevitable that as long as you want to keep using Word, Excel, Outlook and more, you’ll need to incorporate a compliance solution for the resources you manage in the cloud. In addition to archiving Office 365 email, the Smarsh solution can also capture content on Yammer as well as Skype for Business Online, formerly called Lync, which is Microsoft’s attempt to compete with Slack that I mention, oh, about a minute ago.] Smarsh®, the leading provider of cloud-based comprehensive archiving solutions for compliance and e-discovery, today announced enhanced archiving support for electronic communications within Microsoft Office 365 environments.

 

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 7, 2015

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 7, 2015

FPPad Bits and Bytes for November 8

Posted on November 8, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

On this week’s broadcast, get up to speed on all the developments from the T3 Enterprise Conference, find out which portfolio rebalancing company just acquired a portfolio management software provider, and another CRM with a long history with advisors gets a fresh start in the cloud.

So get ready, FPPad Bits and Bytes begins now!

(Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes on YouTube)

This week’s episode of Bits and Bytes is brought to you by Mimic Technologies, providers of complete outsourced technology support, security, infrastructure and IT solutions exclusively for RIAs.

Mimic Technologies

To learn how you can keep your data safe from attackers, download a free copy of their white paper on social engineering attacks by visiting fppad.com/mimic.

Here are this week’s top stories:

Joel Bruckenstein convenes a wholesale version of T3 for IBD execs who choose software for thousands of reps from RIABiz.com, Trying to harness the power of big data for advisers from InvestmentNews.com, Live from T3: Deploying Tech at the B/D Level and Day Two at T3: A Lack of Data Standards from WealthManagement.com.

[First up this week is a recap of the first-ever T3 Enterprise Conference for broker-dealers and financial enterprises. T3 Enterprise is modeled after the T3 Conference for financial advisors, now in its 9th year, and in full disclosure, I co-produced T3 Enterprise along with Joel Bruckenstein and David Drucker.

If you weren’t able to attend or follow the conference hashtag on Twitter, here’s what you need to know:

Redtail, the leading provider of cloud-based CRM to advisors, unveiled a new platform called Redtail Data Cloud. Redtail Data Cloud aims to tackle the challenge of making sense of “big data” present in disparate or poorly integrated technology solutions, and generate valuable, meaningful insight that was generally only possible after pouring over custom spreadsheets for hours upon hours.

Redtail Data Cloud collects over 500 unique data points across its CRM, email, and document imaging products, and also collects data via integrations with Riskalyze, Advisor Websites, Advisor Deck, ActiFi, and MoneyGuidePro. Look for the platform to debut for both advisors and broker-dealers this January.

Also, two companies exited stealth mode at the conference by introducing new promising products.

The first is CleverDome, is a Scottsdale, Arizona-based startup born from the back-office of United Planners Financial Services. Their two new solutions, SOAR, or Source of Accurate Record, and miVu, or Media Integrated View Unification, are best described as document management tools that are invisible to the user, so if that doesn’t make you at least a little curious about what they do, I don’t know what will.

And second to emerge is Gotham Tech Labs, led by John Rourke, who introduced two new stand-alone products, WealthBox CRM and WealthBase. WealthBox CRM is intended to be a simple CRM with a streamlined interface, but with powerful social and collaborative workflows. WealthBase is an inbound marketing network intended to connect financial advisors with consumers seeking feedback and engagement on their financial needs.] Joel Bruckenstein and his co-producers, David Drucker and Bill Winterberg, made it a two-day event geared toward broker-dealers and large RIAs looking to enhance their advisors’ productivity and simplify the many day-to-day processes of providing advice.

Total Rebalance Expert Acquires PowerAdvisor from Cornerstone Revolutions from PRNewswire.com

[The next story is news hot off the presses from Total Rebalance Expert, the San Diego-based portfolio rebalancing software provider. In a press release issued just today, TRX announced that it acquired the PowerAdvisor portfolio management software solution from Portland, Oregon-based Cornerstone Revolutions. PowerAdvisor will be rebranded as TPX, or Total Portfolio Expert, and TRX will continue to support over 100 firms that use portfolio management software every day in their business.

Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed, but this deal will likely offer advisors with a tightly integrated portfolio management and rebalancing software package, a single resource for customer service and back office support, and a very capable solution offered at a very compelling price point.] Total Rebalance Expert (TRX) today announced the acquisition of PowerAdvisor’s portfolio management software suite from Cornerstone Revolutions. The combination of TRX’s industry leading portfolio rebalancing platform with PowerAdvisor’s portfolio management system will create a complete and integrated portfolio management solution.

Tech Review: ProTracker Cloud CRM Software from Financial-Planning.com

 [And finally, this week’s broadcast wraps up with an update on ProTracker software, providers of desktop-based CRM to advisors for over 16 years. In his technology column for Financial Planning magazine, Joel Bruckenstein reviewed ProTracker Cloud, the latest CRM to introduce a cloud-based solution, which is built on top of the SugarCRM platform. This is similar to the concept of overlays from XLR8 and AppCrown, which both customize the out-of-the-box Salesforce platform and tailor it for the wealth management environment.

Warren Mackensen, president of ProTracker Software and also an active fee-only financial planner, certainly has the experience of knowing what it takes to run a successful advisory business, so I’m optimistic that he’ll be able to introduce SugarCRM, which hasn’t yet gained much traction among advisors, as a viable contender among cloud-based CRMs.] A well-established product for independent advisors is moving to a platform that will provide increased flexibility and may attract new categories of users.

 News that didn’t make the broadcast:

Dell sells its majority stake in Smarsh to investment fund Toba Capital from Businessweek

[This in an informative review of Smarsh’s odd ownership by Dell, as a result of its purchase of Quest several years ago. Dell was a silent owner for roughly a year, making strategy moves challenging, according to the article. Now that the uncertainty seems all but gone for now, Smarsh is making strides to expand its growth among several industries, including archiving for financial services. They even opened a new office in the Atlanta metro area, about a half hour drive from FPPad world headquarters!] Dell has quietly unloaded its majority stake in digital archivist Smarsh, ending a prolonged period of uncertainty for one of Portland’s fast-growing tech companies.

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for November 8, 2103

FPPad Bits and Bytes for July 5

Posted on July 5, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

fireworks

The Fourth of July holiday is an ideal time for independent financial advisers in the U.S. to celebrate independence.

But before you leave for the long weekend of hot dogs, hamburgers and cold drinks, take three minutes to review this week’s stories of interest:

Lockbox and Smarsh Partner to Offer a New Standard in Privacy and Security Service to Financial Services Professionals from Marketwire.com and Exemplar Turns to the Cloud for Document Security from Financial-Planning.com

[Who is Lockbox? They rapidly advanced up my watch list of companies with technology solutions for financial advisers. Lockbox is an Australian company that just entered the US market in May this year. They are entering a crowded space of cloud document storage providers along with Dropbox, Box, ShareFile, SpiderOak, and many more. Lockbox’s strong points are that it offers two-factor authentication and client-side encryption (see: Evaluating Online Document Storage at the Journal of Financial Planning for more details), but Lockbox lacks a number of features I’d like to see in a true solution for advisers. As of today, Lockbox isn’t compatible with Mac, they don’t offer desktop file synchronization, and they don’t have mobile apps for iOS or Android. Add these capabilities and change pricing from user based to storage capacity based, and I’ll be interested.] Lockbox, the leader in privacy and security service, today announced that AdvisorSquare, part of the Smarsh suite of website services designed specifically for financial services professionals, has joined the company’s affiliate community.

SigFig Lands $15 Million in Series B Funding From Top Investors from Finovate.com

[Officially launched just under two years ago, San Francisco-based SigFig raised $15 million in Series B funding to . Formerly known as WikiInvest, SigFig aggregates over $75 billion in assets on its platform and is entirely about making investment analysis accessible and transparent, while delivering investment recommendations in an attempt to generate a higher return in a portfolio. Recommendations typically cover switching mutual funds or ETFs for similar, lower-fee versions, or changing financial institutions where lower trading commission charges are offered. But for clients who have professional investment advisers, SigFig compares portfolio performance to a peer group of thousands of other investment advisers aggregated in the platform. If your portfolio isn’t performing, SigFig tells clients “Your adviser sucks for the following reasons:” How’s that for a nudge?!?] SigFig, the platform that helps users manage a total of $75 billion in assets, recently received $15 million in Series B funding.

Tech Review: New Digital Content Services from Financial-Planning.com

[You work something like 40 hours a week. If you want to maximize time servicing existing clients and attracting new ones, how much time should you be devoting to creating content shared on social media networks? Probably not a lot. Thankfully, Joel Bruckenstein shares two providers, Vestorly (listen to my podcast with Vestorly co-founder Justin Wisz at Social currency might just be the answer to financial advisers’ frustration with social media) and AdvisorDeck,  in his July column at Financial Planning that can streamline your content generation process, saving you precious time while still allowing you to maximize your compliant use of social media.] While many advisors have struggled to adopt social networking tools, there have been few low-cost, turnkey solutions to help advisors curate information and automatically deliver digital content to clients and prospects.

Succession Planning for an Entire Industry: Why Study Groups Aren’t That Bad from AdvisorOne.com

[Warning: subtle self promotion ahead! This story by AdvisorOne’s John Sullivan tells you why study groups are not bad, contrary to what compliance adviser Tom Giachetti might say. I belong to an outstanding study group called Xcelsior, and in this story you’ll ready why this study group shows that an exciting future lies ahead for the financial planning industry.] Compliance curmudgeon Tom Giachetti doesn’t think much of study groups. “Study groups are a bunch of people sitting around convincing each other that they’re right,” the chairman of the securities practice group at the law firm of Stark & Stark said recently in Denver.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for June 21

Posted on June 21, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

integration

For financial advisers, integration, no matter how simple or complex, leads to higher revenue, profitability, and income says one survey.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

What I Learned from Getting Robbed: Part 1 from Advisortechbuzz.com

[This is a last-minute addition to this week’s Bits and Bytes. Here’s a personal story from Commonwealth’s Justin Unton about a robbery at his house and the theft of a bunch of his electronics. Unton strongly advocates the use of two-factor authentication (see: How to enable two-step verification on your LinkedIn account) which renders these devices and online logins useless without access Unton’s mobile phone. Let this be a lesson to us all: turn on two factor authentication wherever you can to give yourself an additional layer of protection in the event something like this happens to you.] At first, we thought it was our cat, Oscar, who had caused the mass destruction in our living room. We even laughed it off, thinking that he must have seen a fly and done his best puma impression to track it down and pounce on it. That all changed as we went down the hallway to our bedroom and saw the contents of our drawers strewn about the floor.

Envestnet | Tamarac White Paper: Technology Integration Leads To 20% More Annual Income For Advisors from Marketwatch.com

[I think it’s generally common sense to equate the use of integrated software tools with increased profitability. But just in case you have your doubts, here’s a white paper compiled from an Aite Group survey that demonstrates this fact. So what is “some degree” of technology integration? The white paper says it’s single sign-on, manual data sharing, automatic data sharing, and cross-product functionality. Want a copy of the white paper? Visit http://tamaracinc.com/White-Paper-Download.aspx and offer your contact information.] Envestnet | Tamarac, part of Envestnet, Inc., a leading provider of integrated web-based portfolio and client management software for independent advisors and wealth managers, has released a white paper showing that financial advisors at independent RIA practices with some degree of technology integration earn approximately 20 percent more in annual income than their counterparts at independent RIA practices with no technology integration.

AssetBook rolls out mobile portfolio management application from InvestmentNews.com

[AssetBook joins other portfolio management software providers including Black Diamond and Orion Advisor Services (see: Eric Clarke, President of Orion Advisor Services, on additional integrations and mobile apps) in offering a native mobile app advisers can use to view portfolios.] AssetBook LLC announced Friday the release of AssetBook Mobile: a native application for devices running both iOS and the Android operating system.

Smarsh, an archivist for the information age from OregonLive.com

[Smarsh routinely appears on FPPad for email and social media compliance. Clearly they’re a popular service provider among their regulated financial service customers, and that popularity has resulted in dramatic growth of what was once a small start up in the Pacific Northwest.] Companies used to wish away their old correspondence. Old letters were a legal liability, the thinking went, and ought to be destroyed. Smarsh has built one of Portland’s fastest-growing tech businesses by taking the opposite approach, contending that in the information age nothing is ever really gone.

Dell owns 60 percent of Smarsh, with an option to buy more from OregonLive.com

[This is a sidebar to the Smarsh article above, but I felt it important enough to break it out separately. Did you know Dell, yes, that Dell, now owns 60 percent of Smarsh? I didn’t either. That news managed to fly under my radar.] Companies that produce the kind of growth that Smarsh has inevitably attract suitors. But don’t look for a buyout at Smarsh: It’s already happened.

Tweet this: Finra spot-checking firms for social media compliance from InvestmentNews.com

[Surprise, surprise, FINRA is checking broker-dealer rep’s use of social media! It’s not breaking news, FINRA is doing what they’re supposed to be doing; their job! Still, if these spot-checks scare you, here’s what you need to have: 1) A compliance manual that includes your social media policy, 2) documentation that reps are periodically trained, and 3) a monitoring and archiving system that contains the history of social media posts. Is there anything I left out?] The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. is doing social-media compliance spot checks on some of its member firms. In a notice posted Monday on Finra’s website, the regulator said it wants broker-dealers to identify the sites used by a firm, as well as all individuals who post or update the firm’s content on social-media sites.

 

FPPad Bits and Bytes for March 22

Posted on March 22, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

I made it! The new FPPad headquarters is up and running in Atlanta (and if there weren’t boxes and papers everywhere, I’d post a photo).

But right now, it’s back to unpacking for me. So here are this week’s stories of interest:

Personal Phones, iPads at Work: Convenience or Cyber Threat? from Financial-Planning.com

[BYOD, or bring-your-own-device, is a growing trend in all businesses, including yours. Do you allow employees (and you, too) to connect to work-related systems with a personal mobile device? It can be as simple as allowing email or contacts to be synchronized to the device. If so, it’s critical you have procedures and systems in place to adequately protect any sensitive data stored on personal devices. This short review from new FP editor Paula Vasan is a timely reminder, plus you’ll get three mobile device management resources cited by me.] Personal devices can pose a serious threat to businesses if strict policies and preventative cybercrime measures are not put in place, according to a study.

Citrix follows Box’s lead by adding content editing and secure synching to its ShareFile mobile apps from TheNextWeb.com

[Dropbox, Box, ShareFile, etc. are common names heard when talking about cloud file storage and synchronization. Dropbox is wildly popular among consumers, Box is a leader in the enterprise, and ShareFile is growing well among financial advisers (it was also one of my picks for Best Tech of 2012). This week, ShareFile enhanced its mobile app by allowing users to create and edit documents, spreadsheets, and presentations directly within the ShareFile app, as well as allows users to markup and annotate PDF documents. With Box, you can do similar tasks using other third-party apps compatible with OneCloud. With Dropbox, you can’t do this.] Citrix, a cloud, networking, and virtualization technology company, will announce on Tuesday that it is updating its ShareFile file-sharing app with better mobile content editing. What this means is that the service aims to compete against Box and other enterprise-focused file sharing services, hopefully allowing users to be more productive while on the go, even when they are offline.

With a fresh $20M and sharp increase in assets managed, Wealthfront keeps growing from PanoDaily.com

[How is online advice platform Wealthfront fairing? Well, they’re up to $170 million in assets aggregated through the platform. I’d judge by growth in 2012 that the company is on its way to $500 million in assets by the end of 2014. Still, with a fresh round of $20 million raised, coupled with $3 million in Angel and $7.5 million Series A capital, its a significant investment for a questionable return so far. But again, there’s potential here if Wealthfront catches on with the next generation of wealth transfer on the horizon.] Wealthfront, which makes software that acts as a financial advisor for its clients, hasn’t had the easiest road remaking the financial world in Silicon Valley’s image. But it after a name change, a pivot and some key new hires it appears to be growing rapidly.

Erado Announces the Latest Addition to Their Social Media Compliance Solution, Salesforce Chatter from Erado.com

[Erado continues to increase their social media archiving coverage with the addition of Salesforce Chatter connectivity. Smarsh has supported Chatter since October 2012 (see FPPad Bits and Bytes for October 5), and with Erado onboard, I’d expect to see a slight uptick in Chatter use among advisers using Salesforce for their CRM.] Erado, the nation’s leading compliance and archiving firm in electronic communication, officially announced the newest addition to their Social Media Capturing suite, Salesforce Chatter.

 

 

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.]

ArchiveSocial delivers authentic social media capture for financial advisers

Posted on November 26, 2012 by in Compliance, Social Media

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

When you get asked by the SEC, FINRA, or your broker-dealer for the last six months of your social media posts, what are you going to provide? How will your auditor make heads or tails out of your social media posts if they look nothing like the ones posted on public sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter?

Anil Chawla, founder and CEO of ArchiveSocial

One company wants to simplify the way social media messages are captured and displayed, giving advisers peace of mind knowing their archives can be reviewed easily by auditors.

That company is ArchiveSocial, and I recently connected with ArchiveSocial founder and CEO Anil Chawla to learn more about how they capture social media updates in what Chawla calls their “natural, authentic form.”

Click here to learn more about ArchiveSocial’s solutions for financial services.

In the podcast below, hear Chawla discuss the drawbacks of several existing solutions from vendors, the benefits of a “carbon copy” approach to archives, and an overview of ArchiveSocial pricing.

If you decide to purchase a full-year subscription, you can save 10% by using the code FPPAD12 (not an affiliate code).

FPPad Bits and Bytes for November 2

Posted on November 2, 2012 by in Bits & Bytes

Don’t forget to watch today’s broadcast with Bart Wisniowski of AdvisorWesbites.com on Google+. It starts at 4:15pm ET/1:15pm PT. Head over to my Google+ profile and click the “Join Hangout” button at that time.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

Smarsh Launches Archiving & Compliance for Yammer from Smarsh.com

[(see Advisers using Yammer can enhance collaboration without sacrificing compliance for a podcast of this story) Yammer is a collaboration tool that provides an interface similar to the Facebook News Feed for your business. I’ve been recommending it in my Transformative Technology presentation to advisers for a year now as a way to supplant stand-up meetings in your office that can disrupt productivity and waste time. Now Smarsh has an archiving solution to capture and retain Yammer activity for both client-related and in-house communication.]  Smarsh®, the managed service leader in secure, innovative and reliable email archiving compliance solutions, today announced the launch of Archiving & Compliance for Yammer. Developed in partnership with Yammer, the hosted solution enables organizations to capture, preserve, search, supervise and produce Yammer files and communications in support of compliance, e-discovery and recordkeeping initiatives.

Schwab and Advent Software forge (historic) agreement — mostly for the good of Black Diamond users for now from RIABiz.com

[It’s nice that Schwab lets us know that an integration with Advent and Black Diamond is coming, but *when* it will actually be available to advisers is still anyone’s guess. If you’ve read our past stories on integrations from Fidelity and TD Ameritrade Institutional, you know that Schwab is playing catch up relative to their competition. So view this announcement as one way the industry’s biggest custodian is trying to fill the gap.] Schwab Advisor Services chose Advent Software as its first major portfolio management software partner for its grand ecosystem of software — Schwab Intelligent Integration.

PODCAST: Advisers using Yammer can enhance collaboration without sacrificing compliance

Posted on October 30, 2012 by in Compliance, Podcast, Social Media

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

Advisers experimenting with enterprise social networks now have an option to solve their compliance needs.

Sam Kolbert-Hyle, vice president of business development and strategic initiatives at Smarsh, Inc.

There are a host of new collaboration tools on the market today, all attempting to harness the promise of an enterprise social network.

Services like Chatter, Jive, and Yammer allow you to create your own internal network for your business that resembles many of the popular networks like Facebook and Twitter.

These services offer many new ways to work with colleagues and review important news at a glance, but advisers must address one persistent complication of any new technology: compliance.

Until now, there have been few methods available to capture and archive content posted on enterprise social networks, which is required for all communications related to client service.

Earlier this week, Smarsh, the email and social media compliance provider, announced the launch of Archiving and Compliance for Yammer, the popular enterprise social network.

For more information on Archiving and Compliance for Yammer, I spoke with Sam Kolbert-Hyle, vice president of business development and strategic initiatives at Smarsh.

Listen to the podcast below to learn how these collaboration tools can now be used without sacrificing compliance.