Tag Archives: Technology

Dropbox Featured in Forbes; Tools Should “Just Work”

Last week I wrote about how the Dropbox service prevented minor embarrassment when my presentation slides weren’t loaded on the presentation laptop.

I finally got around to reading the October edition of Forbes magazine and saw Lee Gomes’ Digital Tools column.

Click here to read Forget Disruption. Dive Deep Instead on Forbes.com.

The point of the column is how Dropbox programmers worked extremely hard to tackle some very difficult code, yet the result is a simple and elegant program that just works. Once you “get” the concept of Dropbox and start using it, you wonder how you ever lived without it.

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Flood of Tech Announcements Anticipated at Schwab IMPACT Conference

Schwab’s IMPACT® 2009 Conference begins Monday next week, and buzz is already being circulated about technology announcements from wealth management vendors.

Case in point, CRM Software pre-announced its upcoming releases of Junxure 8, an updated version of its CRM software, and a new offering called Junxure Mobile, a product that allows advisors on the road to access data in Junxure 8 via laptop, Blackberry, or iPhone.

Also just announced is ExpertPlan’s launch of a new trading platform to advisors who custody assets with Schwab.

I expect the flood of announcements to last throughout the duration of the conference, and there will be too many for FPPad.com to keep up with.

Be sure to watch Schwab’s IMPACT® 2009 website for all the details.

FPPad to Deliver Commentary on New Practice Management Website for Advisers

I have an exciting announcement to make, which in part explains the delays in updates to the FPPad.com blog.

I was asked, and have accepted, to be the technology contributor to a new practice management website for financial advisers, advisorsforadvisors.com.

Now I must admit, practice management website is not the best way I’d describe advisorsforadvisors. Yes, you will find articles and commentary on practice management issues, but advisorsforadvisors offers much more.

advisorsforadvisors is positioned to be a key destination for financial advisers looking for timely, relevant information on the markets and economy, investment news, regulatory changes, compliance, marketing, practice management, software reviews, and technology.

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Technology Tips to Cut Costs and Increase Revenue

I participated in a webinar on June 9 hosted by InvestmentNews titled “50 Cost-Saving and Money-Making Ideas in 50 Minutes” (blogged about here).

The replay of that webinar is available here or use the embedded player below (my portion begins at the -27:50 time point).

I highlighted the following 10 technology tips to help advisers cut costs and increase revenue:

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Free Download of Acronis True Image 10 Personal Edition

FPPad readers, go get a free copy of Acronis True Image 10 Personal Edition today!

Update 2/3/09: The website is back online. Try registering again.

I found out about this deal from LifeHacker.com where they have this to say about the disk image backup solution:

True Image does offer backup archive validation, a recovery disk creator, a startup interrupter that can re-apply a backup image, and other tools for those shaking their fists at the Windows gods.

See the full LifeHacker.com write-up by clicking here.  Advisers need to think about full disk imaging solutions in disaster recovery and business continuity plans.  When (not if) your main server’s hard drive fails, what will you do?  Dig up yesterday’s backup tape and run a full restore?  How long will that take?

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NAPFA Technology Conference Report: Day Three

Day three of the NAPFA Technology Conference leads to the close of this invigorating trip.  I had the opportunity to share many stories and ideas with practitioners and back-office staff alike, and have come away with several new ideas I hope to implement over the next several months.  Here is the recap of day three:

Human Capital

Richard Lee of Lee Financial Corporation opened the final day with a session titled Human Capital and Systems.  Richard commented that financial advisers have come a long way since the days of VisiCalc, but advisers are still defining the business and profession.  He played a video featuring a staff member who discussed how spreadsheets and computer programs simplified financial product illustrations in the early 80s.

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NAPFA Technology Conference Report: Day Two

Day two of the NAPFA Technology Conference has been exhausting.  Admittedly, I was up late last night, but digesting the volume of information and resources highlighted today is something I’d compare to drinking water from a fire hose.  So here it is, a recap of day two:

If you haven’t seen a Tamarac demo, DO IT NOW!  If your firm trades on a consistent basis (e.g. over 2,000 trades a year or so), Tamarac will save time, reduce mistakes, and facilitate compliance.

Tamarac is poised to give 3rd party money managers a run for their money.

I recommend requesting a demonstration of the program.  Connor Wilson presented for this conference, and he has deep knowledge of the program yet is able to explain its complex features with ease (note: I receive no compensation whatsoever for saying this, as noted in my About page).

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NAPFA Technology Conference Report: Day One

Here’s a quick post on the highlights from today’s NAPFA Practice Management and Technology conference held in Las Vegas.

Chris Parker, Franklin Covey: Success Is In The Systems

  • If you closed your financial planning practice today, what would your clients miss?  The answer makes up a significant part that differentiates your firm from other firms around you.
  • On leadership: You can choose who to follow, but you can’t choose who follows you.
  • Finally, clarify your business purpose: You must define the specific job to be done at a high level.  Next you must identify the strategic link between your firm’s mission and strategy.  Lastly, you must ensure you have a money making model and operate profitably

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Technology Reports Aplenty

techIn the last month or two, I have received a number of new reports that focus on operations and technology in the financial adviser space.  These reports do a fair job of identifying some of the trends of technology used in a wide variety of firms and some of the reasons why advisers have been slow to roll out new technology.

The first report is the 2008 FPA Practitioner Technology Report – Leveraging Technology Solutions.  This report uses results from an online survey taken by 291 random FPA members in February 2008.  Respondents consisted of the following categories:

  • Independent RIAs (35 percent)
  • Independents affiliated with a broker-dealer and IAR-dually registered (21 percent)
  • Independents affiliated with a broker-dealer (20 percent).

The majority of participants (72 percent) reported revenue of $1 million or less.

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Adviser Technology in 10 Years

crystal ballDavis Janowski from Investment News posted a thought-provoking question on LinkedIn.com this week.  He asked:

Looking into your crystal ball what do you see as the technology needs, trends, challenges, and milestones that lay ahead for financial advisers and the industry at large over the coming decade?

Click here to see the variety of answers given so far, including mine regarding the advent of mass collaboration and wikis.

What technology-related issues do you think advisers face in the future?  Share your comments below or over at LinkedIn.