Tag Archives: Wealthfront

FPPad Bits and Bytes for October 31

Posted on October 31, 2014 by in Bits & Bytes

What a wild week! Schwab announces its “free” (except for ETFs expense ratios) online automated investment solution, and then Wealthfront and Personal Capital proceed to secure a combined $114 million in additional venture capital. While I originally titled this update as It’s now a robo-eat-robo world, I’m sticking with the conventional FPPad Bits and Bytes update.

FPPad Quick Hits

  • Schwab introduces its ultra-low cost, dare I say “free,” Schwab Intelligent Portfolios online platform; investors only pay underlying ETF expenses
  • Wealthfront raises $64 million for a total of $129 million in venture capital, AUM is now $1.4 billion
  • Personal Capital raises $50 million of its own for a total of $104.3 million in venture capital
  • FINRA says it’s hiring a “handful” of people with cybersecurity expertise, so hopefully the new auditors will know a thing or two about holes in broker-dealer security

Schwab to offer free ‘robo-advice’ from Reuters

[Let me pose a few questions: Will Schwab’s ultra low cost investment service lure customers away from startups like Wealthfront, Betterment, Future Advisor, and others who charge anywhere between 15 and 40 basis points for automated investment management? Will investors pay a premium for modern web design and mobile app access to their investment portfolios? Schwab’s Intelligent Portfolio website looks really bad compared with ones published by the startups. It’s Hal, only with a blue eye instead of red. Because the color blue conveys trust, correct? Then, Is Schwab’s brand recognition significant enough to influence the “buying” decision of investors shopping around for low-cost investment services?] Charles Schwab Corp confirmed on Monday that it will introduce free automated investment plans picked by computer algorithms in the first quarter of 2015.

Wealthfront CEO Adam Nash explains his plans for that $100 million pile of cash from Pando.com

[Wealthfront has now raised $129 million in venture capital with its latest round of $64 million. Here are some more questions: Does anyone outside of Wealthfront know what they’re going to do with $100 million? From reading most coverage, I think the answer is no. Look, VC investors certainly want an exit from Wealthfront (and from all of their investments), and despite what Adam Nash says in this article about independence, Nash should expect some pressure from his investors should the company fail to meet expectations over the next several years. Nash cites independence from Wall Street. Ok. But Wall Street doesn’t care about Wealthfront because Wealthfront isn’t stealing any of Wall Street’s customers (yet). Wealthfront is till squarely focused on the Silicon Valley-startup-entrepreneuer-Millennial population and has yet to strongly deviate from that target market. At least, that is, until that market is saturated and loses momentum.] Wealthfront is rolling in cash. The company announced this morning that it raised $64 million in a Series D round led by Spark Capital. The funding follows closely on the heels of the company’s $35 million Series C in April of this year, a pool of capital that it has yet to even touch, and means that it now has more than $100 million in cash in its war chest.

Personal Capital Adds $50 Million As Digital Financial Management Bulks Up from TechCrunch.com

[Personal Capital is NOT a low-cost online investment service. It’s a startup that closely resembles the business model of a traditional RIA, but one that has built an impressive array of technology tools. Chief executive Bill Harris keeps stressing that the company is delivering digital wealth management, and the company does employ somewhere around 100 human advisers in Denver and Redwood City. Chances are, Personal Capital is not very different from most large RIAs managing around $1 billion, but they’re able to attract outside capital to support growth. One difference is that their technology is all built in-house, while I suspect the majority of your technology comes from your custodian or third-party software providers.] In the latest news, Personal Capital, a provider of electronically enabled wealth management services, said it has raised $50 million in a new round of financing.

Wall Street watchdog to bolster reviews of brokerage cyber security from Reuters

[Wait, so the people FINRA is sending TODAY to audit the security of broker-dealer firms AREN’T experts in technology? Better late than never to announce they’re going to hire a “handful” of examiners with technology expertise to look for security holes. But expect the SEC to do the same, as your exams are going to dive much deeper into the software, hardware, and security policies in place at your firm.] Wall Street’s industry funded watchdog plans to intensify its scrutiny of cyber security practices at brokerage firms in 2015 and is hiring technology savvy examiners to help boost its efforts, an official said on Wednesday.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for October 10

Posted on October 10, 2014 by in Bits & Bytes

On today’s broadcast, Schwab and Google drop hints about their online investment services. See how this crowded market is about to become a little bit more cozy. Digital estate planning for your clients is becoming more important than ever. Find out which new solution will help your clients plan for their digital assets. And, Bob Veres gets me fired up about the use of social media in your business. You’ve been warned, prepare for a storm off!

So get ready, FPPad Bits and Bytes begins now.

(Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes on YouTube)

Today’s episode is brought to you by Envestnet | Tamarac, the provider of Tamarac Advisor Xi, a web-based portfolio and client management platform that uniquely integrates portfolio management, reporting, monitoring, rebalancing, and trading with a client portal and enterprise level CRM.

Tamarac620

Find out more about Advisor Xi and download their latest white paper on best practices for technology evaluation and implementation by visiting fppad.com/tamarac

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

Exclusive: Schwab ready to unveil free ‘robo-broker’ service from Reuters, and

Google study heightens fund industry peers from Financial Times (subscription required) or Google Looks to Enter Financial Industry from NBC Bay Area, or Google will likely re-invent the industry rather than play in the existing sandbox from Valuewalk

[This week’s top story covers *two more* announcements in the online investment algorithm space. You did watch last week’s episode, didn’t you? So first up is Charles Schwab who, according to a Reuters article, is developing its own automated investing service for use by you, the financial advisor, to attract emerging clients with a low-cost solution. How low cost you ask? Rumors indicate the service will be free, not including the four to 19 basis points charged by Schwab’s ETFs used in the platform.

And on the heels of Schwab’s news, Google hinted that the company is exploring its own entry into the investment management business. Financial Times first reported that Google commissioned a research report back in September on entering the asset management industry, which trigged a wave of industry speculation that gained a lot of momentum this week.

So let’s take a step back for a moment. Schwab has over 7 million investor accounts with over $1trillion in assets under management and Google has over one billion users across their various online services and mobile devices.

Collectively, the online investment providers have somewhere around $3 billion in assets under management (that’s 3 tenths of a percent of Schwab!) and less than 100,000 users (that’s one one-hundredth of a percent of Google!). Are the disruptors about to be disrupted? I don’t know, you tell me, and it all depends on whom you ask.] Charles Schwab Corp. is weeks away from introducing an automated investing service aimed at winning business from novice investors it does not currently serve, company officials told Reuters.

Estate Assist Wants To Provide Estate Planning For The Social Media Age from TechCrunch

[Next up is an announcement of a new service called Estate Assist, an online safe deposit box, if you will, that stores information about digital assets and shares that information with trusted recipients after a user passes away.

Identifying and managing your clients’ digital assets is probably not a part of your current service model, partly because there really haven’t been any decent solutions out there you can use that are better than using plain old spreadsheets. But with the introduction of Estate Assist, I think it’s time you consider including digital asset management services. Look at my YouTube channel or my email newsletter as an example: if I got hit by a bus <pause>, how will my spouse and beneficiaries access these assets?

In addition to Estate Assist, I think you should look into similar services from PrincipledHeart.com, created by CFP® practitioner William Bisset, as well the data inheritance feature from SecureSafe.] Estate Assist, launches out of beta today. Its aim is to help you store all your online passwords, social media accounts, digital health records, bank info and other paperwork.

The Five Biggest Ways Your Practice Needs to Change from Advisor Perspectives

[And finally, this week’s episode wraps up with industry commentary from Bob Veres, as he identifies the biggest ways your business needs to change in a recent Advisor Perspectives column. Now Veres says “pundits and journalists” say you need to make radical transformations, but they don’t give you any specifics. I hope he’s not talking about me, because I try to load these broadcasts you’re watching with tons of resources you should have on your radar. But I digress.

Veres mentions a number of what he calls “genuine evolutionary trends” which are all enlightening in their own way, but buried down at the bottom of his column, he says he suspects that “social media is going to be the least productive in terms of generating business for your firm.”

Really? Now to his credit, Veres says you should play to your strengths, and if social media isn’t one of them, it’s ok.

Well, I think that attitude was valid 20 years ago before it was possible to find out just about anything about anyone online using a quick Google search.

Just look at this broadcast. Complete strangers are watching it, they’re getting consistent value from it, and if they meet me in person at a conference, they say they feel like they already know me. So to say it’s the “least productive” way to generate business.. that’s it, I’m done.] Pundits and journalists make their living telling you that our profession is in a period of rapid evolutionary transition, and exhort you to be open to radical transformation. What you don’t hear in these messages are the specifics.

Here are the stories that didn’t make this week’s broadcast:

Watch all of the videos from Finovate Fall 2014 presentations

Mobile Dossier Startup Refresh Finds A Revenue Model With Its Salesforce App from TechCrunch

Refresh, the mobile tool for making you smarter at meetings, is now positioning itself to help sales teams be smarter about their clients and potential clients. To do that, the company has created a new product for Salesforce’s AppExchange that will allow users to access detailed information about the people in their professional network.

 

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for October 10, 2014

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for October 10, 2014

 

FPPad Bits and Bytes for October 3

Posted on October 3, 2014 by in Bits & Bytes

On today’s broadcast, Upside Advisor teams up with a high-profile RIA. Will this partnership do anything to slow the growth of the $(!#-advisers? Redtail CRM previews the new version of its popular CRM. Will the design and feature changes be enough to attract advisors that are using aging systems? And, broker-dealers aren’t turning a blind eye to technology. Find out which firms are investing heavily to boost the efficiency of their representatives.

So get ready, FPPad Bits and Bytes begins now!

(Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes on YouTube)

Today’s episode is brought to you by Wealthbox CRM. Version 1.6 is now available featuring automated workflows, templates for routine processes, and progress updates all on one screen!

Wealthbox CRM

Sign up for a free trial of Wealthbox today by visiting fppad.com/wealthbox

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

Upside Powers Ritholtz Wealth Management’s New Digital Offering, Called Liftoff from Upside Advisor

[First up this week is an announcement from Ritholtz Wealth Management, the New York RIA headed by The Big Picture blogger Barry Ritholtz and Josh Brown, aka The Reformed Broker, who released a new web-based offering to emerging clients called Liftoff. Liftoff is a white-labeled version of the $(!#-adviser solution, uh, ok, online investment solution from Upside Advisor, which I introduced to you back in episode 136.

For around 40 basis points, Liftoff provides automated asset allocation recommendations to clients who want to get started with investing, but don’t yet have enough assets to qualify for a one-on-one relationship with Ritholtz’s advisors. Upside Advisor is just the latest $(!#-adviser, oh, right, online investment provider to join this space, as they’re going up against competing solutions like Wealthfront, Personal Capital, Betterment, Learnvest, Guide Financial, JemStep, Orion Discover; I can’t keep them all straight!

So today you’re faced with a choice: will you sit on the sidelines to see how these low-cost automated solutions play out, or will you partner with a low-cost provider to offer an investment solution for your emerging clients?] Upside, a technology company providing a digital advisor platform to investment advisors, today announced a new partnership with Ritholtz Wealth Management (RWM).

Tech Review: Redtail’s New Edition from Financial Planning

[Next up is a review of Redtail CRM and its third major product update to its software called Project Tailwag. In his October column for Financial Planning magazine, Joel Bruckenstein gives a very favorable review of the redesign and feature enhancements to the industry’s most widely used CRM.

Users will soon have access to a clean, flat design that’s easier to use, and it’s also responsive, as it adjusts to screens of any size from desktops to smartphones. Contact records feature a timeline of client interactions, and important details like contact information and activities and workflows are just a single click away.

Whether you use Redtail CRM or an alternative solution such as Junxure, Salesforce, Wealthbox, and others, these are the types of features and functionality you’re going to need if you expect to cultivate meaningful relationships with clients and differentiate yourself from the $(!#-advisers, uh, I mean, online investment providers.] Redtail Technology just released a major upgrade to its popular CRM application. Dubbed Project Tailwag, this version of Redtail — only the third upgrade in the company’s 12-year history — offers a host of new enhancements.

Racing Ahead from Financial Advisor

[And finally, Joel Bruckenstien once again wraps up this week’s top stories with a technology update from the nation’s leading broker-dealers firms. In his column for Financial Advisor magazine, Bruckenstein highlights LPL Financial’s announcement of ClientWorks, the successor to the existing BranchNet platform that I covered in episode 137, an updated portfolio reporting solution and Client Center dashboard from Raymond James, updates to Commonwealth Financial Network’s Client Household 360 Dashboard and Practice360 business dashboard, and the AIG Advisor Group’s pending release of a mobile version of Salesforce and with integrated Salesforce work flows.

Clearly these broker-dealer firms are investing heavily in technology to boost the capabilities of their representatives, especially as they face increasing competition from all of the $(!#-adviser, ugh, online solutions out there.] The pace of technological innovation has never been greater. Independent broker-dealer firms continue to invest to keep up with the competition, offering advisors and end clients a better experience.

Here are the stories that didn’t make this week’s broadcast:

Risk Tool Smackdown: FinaMetrica vs. Riskalyze from Financial Planning

I tested myself using two of the more popular risk tolerance instruments: Riskalyze and FinaMetrica.

Smarsh Introduces Enhanced Archiving Support for Instagram from BusinessWire

Smarsh®, the leading provider of hosted archiving solutions for compliance and e-discovery, today announced the Smarsh Archiving Platform now offers enhanced support for Instagram.

Personal Capital integrates Zillow home estimates from Personal Capital

For those of you with property, Personal Capital has come out with a great new feature that will help you keep track of your real estate investments with Zillow.

 

 

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for October 3, 2014

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for October 3, 2014

FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 8

Posted on August 8, 2014 by in Bits & Bytes

On today’s broadcast, online investment advisors are coming to an RIA new you. Find out who the latest company is to enter this growing market. JemStep is another provider that’s white-labeling its technology to RIAs. Learn how one RIA is using the platform to serve its emerging clients. And Joel Bruckenstein is concerned about the future of advisor technology. Find out what issues keep this technology expert up at night.

So get ready, FPPad Bits and Bytes begins now.

(Watch FPPad 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

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

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

Upside Raises $1.1M To Help Investment Advisers Compete Against Wealthfront, Betterment And Co. from TechCrunch

[This week’s top story comes from Upside Advisor, the latest startup to join the class of online investment advice providers. But unlike the direct-to-consumer startups like Wealthfront and FutureAdvisor, Upside Advisor is specifically targeting financial advisors who can white label Upside Advisor’s platform to provide a low-cost managed account solution to their emerging clients.

Upside’s platform offers paperless account opening using a DocuSign integration, automated trading and rebalancing, a client portal, and more, and just raised $1.1 million in new funding to continue to enhance its features for advisors. Upside comes on the heels of the introduction of Guide Financial, a similar advisor-focused solution I highlighted back in March in episode 124, giving you one more solution to offer a low-cost, high-tech automated solution to compete with the algorithm-based competition.] Upside, which today announced that it has raised a $1.1 million funding round led by Cultivation Capital, gives financial advisers a white label solution that’s very similar to what other robo-advisers offer.

Upside Advisor video

Traditional advisory firm hammers out deal with robo-adviser from InvestmentNews

[Now another online investment provider also dipping its toe into the RIA waters is JemStep, which just recently announced a partnership with Redhawk Wealth Advisors based in Minneapolis. Under the agreement, the RIA is able to white label the JemStep platform as Redhawk Online Advisor, where investors can sign up online, connect their financial accounts, and receive investment recommendations for a fee ranging from $17 to $69 dollars a month based on the amount of assets under advisement.

It’s important note that while JemStep offers investment recommendations, it does not automatically execute trades on behalf of its users. Actually following through on JemStep’s recommendations is the responsibility of either the advisor or the end-user, which could pose an implementation challenge as the platform gains momentum with RIAs.] Redhawk Wealth Advisors, a registered investment adviser with a wealth management practice, and Jemstep Inc., also an RIA but with an algorithm-driven account aggregation and investment advice platform, have become partners, bringing online advice to help Redhawk’s retail clients manage their investments, including funds held in their 401(k) accounts.

Things That Keep Me Up At Night from Financial Advisor Magazine

[And finally, all this news about competition from online investment advice providers might give you cause for concern, and it’s also one of the topics that keeps technology consultant Joel Bruckenstein up at night, too. In his latest column for Financial Advisor Magazine, Bruckenstein expresses his anxiety over the state of affairs in financial advisor technology.

He highlights complacency, insufficient integrations, and competition from automated online advisors as significant threats to the growth and success of the independent advisory industry. Fortunately, Bruckenstein cites vendors like Envestnet|Tamarac, Orion Advisor Services, Ornaj, Advyzon, and more who can equip independent advisors with technology solutions that not only rival those of the competition, but can also live up to the increased expectations from today’s tech-savvy clients and prospects.] Over the last several months, I’ve traveled thousands of miles, met hundreds of advisors and spoken with numerous representatives of custodians, broker-dealers and software vendors. Although I’m generally rather upbeat about the future of this industry, there are some things that concern me about current affairs.

Here are the stories that didn’t make this week’s broadcast:

Advent’s Black Diamond Platform Surpasses 500-Client Milestone from Advent

Advent Software, Inc., a leading provider of software and services for the global investment management industry, today announced that Black Diamond, an independent business group of Advent, has surpassed 540 clients and exceeded $245 billion in assets on its portfolio management, reporting, and rebalancing platform.

Wealth Managers Enlist Spy Tools to Map Portfolios from the New York Times

Some of the engineers who used to help the Central Intelligence Agency solve problems have moved on to another challenge: determining the value of every conceivable investment in the world.

Vestorly Partners With Advisor Websites to Enhance Client Engagement and Lead Generation from PRWeb

Vestorly, a leading client engagement and lead generation platform, and Advisor Websites, a leading provider of websites to advisors, announced today a joint venture to develop highly engaging websites that build advisors’ brands with investors, as well as generate qualified leads for marketing purposes.

Announcing our new release from Guide Financial

At Guide Financial, our core mission is to help America’s next generation achieve a secure financial future. We are excited to roll out a new release that underscores our commitment to advisors serving the next generation. The new release is now available to currently subscribed advisors and will become more broadly available in the coming weeks.

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 8, 2014

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 8, 2014

FPPad Bits and Bytes for January 17

Posted on January 17, 2014 by in Bits & Bytes

On today’s broadcast, have robo advisers finally cracked the code to asset gathering? A leading document management provider rolls out mobile and social features your business soon can’t live without, and who are the top industry bloggers all financial advisors should be reading? All this and more.

So get ready, FPPad Bits and Bytes begins now!

(Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes on YouTube)

Today’s episode is brought to you by Blu Giant Advisor Studios, a multi-disciplinary creative firm, empowering advisors to engage clients though branding, social media, video and the web; an experience called “hypermedia.”

Blu Giant Advisor Studios

Experience Blu Giant’s new interactive website and see what’s possible for your business by visiting fppad.com/blugiant

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

Wealthfront Reaches Over Half a Billion Dollars in 2013 from Wealthfront

[This week’s top story comes from the world of online advice providers, aka “robo advisors,” as Wealthfront announced this week that the company surpassed $500 million dollars in assets under management. While topping $500 million in AUM might seem like celebrating another 1,000 point threshold in the Dow Jones index, Wealthfront is starting to increase the gap over similar competitors like Betterment, which manages a reported $360 million, and Personal Capital, weighing in at a little over $200 million.

Wealthfront claimed over $67 million dollars in new assets for the month of December, which for many RIAs would make up a great year in new assets under management. Still, Wealthfront may not be a profitable business just yet, as Nerd’s Eye View blogger Michael Kitces estimated an optimistic annualized revenue of $1-and-a-quarter million dollars generated to support a team of expensive, full-time software engineers.

But pay careful attention to the types of clients Wealthfront cites in its announcement. Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, and more make up the top ten list of Silicon Valley companies with the most employees that are Wealthfront clients. This group IS next generation of clients for your business, so if you’re interested in attracting them, your technology needs to be up to par, but you must offer something that robo advisors completely lack; a real relationship with a trusted advisor.] Although we began the year with less than $100 million in assets under management, we closed 2013 with over $538 million, growing over 450% to become the largest and fastest-growing software-based financial advisor.

Laserfiche Unveils Product Roadmap at Empower 2014 from BusinessWire.com

[Next up is news from Laserfiche, one of the leading providers of document and electronic content management to financial advisors. Laserfiche held its annual Empower conference for users and resellers in Southern California this week, selling out for the first time in the event’s history.

Laserfiche announced a number of updates, including a complete redesign of its web-based interface called Laserfiche Web Access 10. Users will find the fresh interface easier to navigate and much more user-friendly on tablets and smart phones. And speaking of smartphones, Laserfiche also introduced a brand new app for Android, adding more support for mobile devices since the introduction of the app for iOS back in 2011.

Finally, an interesting development for financial advisors is the addition of new feature in Laserfiche Forms 9.1. Laserfiche posted a form online that anyone could fill out to post a message on Twitter. But before each tweet went global, the message was automatically routed through an approval process built in to Laserfiche.

Tie that in with Laserfiche’s archiving capabilities, and you have a pretty elegant solution anyone in your business can use to stay compliant on social media and also avoid those embarrassing drunk tweets.] Laserfiche today kicked off its sold-out Empower 2014 Conference with a keynote speech from company CTO Karl Chan outlining new and upcoming software releases. The new lineup includes social BPM, expanded mobile offerings and new web products.

The RIABiz top 10 industry blogs — and what bloggers they recommend from RIABiz

[And finally, many of you ask where I get my news and information to produce each episode of FPPad Bits and Bytes. Well several of my favorite sources were just listed among the top 10 industry blogs for financial advisors.

This week, RIABiz published its list of the best industry blogs, and what’s wrong with a little shameless self-promotion since FPPad.com was listed as number three!

So let me thank you for helping make FPPad a part of the top industry blogs, because without your questions, feedback, and loyal viewership, FPPad would not be the resource that it is today.] The RIA business is a land of micro-niches where owner-operated blogs are often the best reading spot for advisors to find the vibe and the level of granularity they seek on a subject

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for January 17, 2014

Watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for January 17, 2014

FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 2

Posted on August 2, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

It’s here! Bits and Bytes has gone video.

I’m now delivering the week’s best technology bits for financial advisers in a video broadcast you can bite into anytime you like (oh yes, I just did that).

This week’s edition of Bits and Bytes is brought to you by Redtail Technology, providers of cloud-based CRM for financial professionals since 2003.

Redtail Technology

Check out their popular advisor solutions and sign up for a 30-day free trial. Visit fppad.com/redtail for more information.

(Watch on YouTube). But still, those with short attention spans or aficionados of the written word can get this week’s stories of interest in their full-text glory below.

Like it? Hate it? Let me know!

Like the new format? Hate it? Don’t care for it? Be honest, and let me know by contacting me.

Tech reporter Davis Janowski leaving InvestmentNews to become editor for WealthFront, via Davis’ Twitter feed

[In this week’s lead story, venerable technology reporter Davis Janowski announced this week that he will be leaving his position as tech reporter at InvestmentNews to assume the editor role over at WealthFront. Most of you should recognize WealthFront from a number of past articles about online financial advice platforms and so called “robo-adviser” platforms. For as long as I can remember, Davis has been a solid journalist covering technology for financial advisers and inspired me to launch FPPad back in the day. So Davis, thanks for all your work and passion, and I look forward to what you have in store for advisers with your new role at WealthFront.]

 

USB flash drives masquerading as keyboards mean more BYOD security headaches from ZDNet.com

[In my Defending Against Phishing, Hacking, and Spoofing Attacks presentation, this is one of the attacks I talk about under social engineering. See, hackers drop these little USB flash drives in business parking lots, labeled with enticing messages like “personal and confidential” or “2012 tax returns.” They hope than an unsuspecting employee will pick it up and plug it in to their corporate computer, which unbeknownst to the employee unleashes all kinds of malware and spyware inside the corporate firewall. The best defense against this tactic: train everyone in your organization not to use USB drives from unknown sources. The risk of stumbling on a rogue device is just too great.] You should be already aware of the data theft risks that USB flash drives pose to your company – even a seemingly lowly 2GB drive can hold a lot of precious data – but a new threat has emerged which makes them even more dangerous.

inStream Hires Professor Dr. Wade Pfau to lead Financial Planning Research from inStreamWealth.com

[inStream, the provider of free web-based financial planning, strike that, practice management software, just beefed up its chops in the retirement planning area by hiring Dr. Wade Pfau to lead its Financial Planning Research division. Pfau is the Professor of Retirement Income for the American College and has authored a number of influential papers on retirement research. Clearly, advisers looking to serve the needs of their retiring clients want access to the leading research on retirement planning, and Pfau’s connection with inStream will likely raise the company’s profile on most advisers’ radar. A final note: inStream is an advertiser on FPPad and helps support content production just like this.] inStream Solutions (“inStream”) announced today that American College Professor of Retirement Income Dr. Wade Pfau has joined the firm to lead Financial Planning Research.

Orion Advisor Services Enhances Integrated Performance Reporting Capabilities from MarketWatch.com

[Orion Advisor Services is well-known for its hosted portfolio management software and reconciliation service bureau. One issue with many of these services is that the reports themselves might not be exactly what advisers are looking for and want to present to their clients. Some advisers turn to third-party providers like MorningStar or AdvisoryWorld for more attractive reports that better convey information advisers want to put in front of clients. Well this week, Orion announced that its Report Builder solution now integrates with AdvisoryWorld, so advisers can pull in components like risk analytics, Modern Portfolio Theory statistics, and diversification and overlap analysis directly from AdvisoryWorld, but be able to match the font size and look and feel of standard Orion reports. If you’re one of the hundreds of Orion users, check out the updated Report Builder and see how you can enhance your reports with the latest AdvisoryWorld integration.] Orion Advisor Services, LLC, a premier portfolio accounting service provider, is delivering more robust performance reporting capabilities to its advisor clients through expanded integrations with AdvisoryWorld, a leading provider of customizable portfolio analytics and investment planning applications to the financial services market and PIEtech’s MoneyGuidePro, the leading goal-based financial planning software for financial advisors.

BlazePortfolio Completes Integration with Black Diamond from BlazePortfolio.com

[For rebalancing software, advisers are pretty familiar with Envestnet|Tamarac, TD Ameritrade Institutional’s iRebal, and Total Rebalance Expert. One of the programs not on most advisers’ radar is Atom Align from Blaze Portfolio. This week, the folks at Blaze Portfolio announced that their solution, Atom Align, is now integrated with Advent’s Black Diamond portfolio management software. So if you’re a Black Diamond user and don’t have rebalancing software, you have one more option to consider to increase your efficiency when rebalancing client accounts.] BlazePortfolio is excited to complete its integration with Black Diamond.  The BlazePortfolio and Black Diamond integrated solution offers Investment Advisors the opportunity to utilize both platforms for their back office systems.

LinkedIn Company Pages Add Analytics from Mashable.com

[If you’re like me, you work hard to build your brand and build your profile through a number of social media websites. So a big part of measuring your success for the time you spend on social media is the ability to get metrics and real data behind your social media activity. Mashable reported on Wednesday that LinkedIn is now offering analytics for Company Pages set up on the site, so if your firm has a Company Page, go sign in and look for the new analytics tab in your menu.] LinkedIn added analytic support to Company Pages Wednesday, giving businesses the opportunity to track how content shared on LinkedIn performs.

And if you want to read the best material in financial planning knowledge and information over the weekend, click or tap the button below to head over to Michael Kitces’ Nerd’s Eye View blog and see the latest in Weekend Reading.

Click to view Weekend Reading at Kitces.com

FPPad Bits and Bytes for March 29

Posted on March 29, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

Wealthfront and the rise of the machines from InvestmentNews.com

[There’s some deep reporting by Davis Janowski in this update on Wealthfront, one of the “robo adviser” platforms that aims to democratize the delivery of investment advice. But after you read it, press the button to load the comments, which are just as enlightening as Janowski’s sleuthing. The summary: it’s one thing to design an algorithm to recommend model investment portfolios, it’s an entirely different beast to try and disintermediate a financial planner.] Direct channel technology firms are improving at a rapid pace — what about your tools, Mr. Adviser?

John Norwood Consulting announces the release of CompositeBuilder from Norwood-Consulting.com

[Need GIPS-compliant composite reporting for your Schwab Performance Technologies® PortfolioCenter database? John Norwood just released a new product called CompositeBuilder that does just that, so if you’re a die-hard PortfolioCenter user, go check it out.] CompositeBuilder is a fully integrated add-on application to PortfolioCenter that provides the ability to create and report composite returns. The application is designed to facilitate compliance with the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS). All calculations are done in a manner that satisfies the portfolio and composite calculation requirements of the GIPS standards.

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.

 

 

LearnVest is now an RIA, adds Portfolio Builder service for $599

Posted on September 11, 2012 by in Technology

Online financial planning provider’s registration as SEC adviser allows investment advice delivered by personal CFP® practitioners

LearnVest, the online personal finance start-up founded by Alexa von Tobel, announced today that it is now an SEC registered investment adviser and added a plan called “Portfolio Builder” to address general investment recommendations.

Readers should recognize LearnVest from recent updates (see: LearnVest’s Mission to Wrangle Your Personal Finances) and as a member of the wave of “robo-adviser” start-ups, with Personal Capital, Wealthfront, and Betterment among them.

Without the investment adviser registration, LearnVest previously limited advice delivered through its online program to budgeting and money management. LearnVest clients could enroll in the “Complete Plan” program for $349 per year and receive a financial plan, four phone calls, and unlimited email support from the company’s CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER(TM) certificants.

Going forward, clients still have the option to work with a personal CFP® practitioner at the $349 per year level (now called “The 5-Year Planner” level) or choose to receive general investment advice under the “Portfolio Builder” plan priced at $599 per year.

While investment advice is now available, Portfolio Builder clients won’t receive specific guidance on buying or selling securities or which investment account custodian to select. Clients will need to perform those selections on their own with general input from their LearnVest planner.

There’s a lot of media coverage on LearnVest’s announcement, so visit Google’s News results page and select the outlet of interest.

To learn more about LearnVest’s positioning in the market, watch their 1:07 explainer video below.

Finally, view the LearnVest SEC Form ADV Part II brochure here.