Tag Archives: Bits & Bytes

FPPad Bits and Bytes for July 29

Posted on July 29, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

It’s been another busy week this week with phone calls squeezed in on Monday and Tuesday, a presentation to the FPA of San Antonio and South Texas on Wednesday, an all-day client visit on Thursday, followed by a day off with my son on Friday.

In the meantime, I’ve gathered the best stories on adviser technology from around the web:

Getting a handle on adviser technology from InvestmentNews.com

A link to InvestmentNews’ adviser technology survey is in this column, the results of which will be featured in the Aug. 22 issue of InvestmentNews.

Review: EISI is producing a simpler NaviPlan in an effort to keep its towering market share from RIABiz.com

According to a 2010 Aite Group report, EISI’s 250,000 users account for 25% of the financial advisors that are candidates for using financial planning software. This is more than the next three competitors combined.

NPH Contracts with Erado to Monitor Advisor Social Media Use from Financial-Planning.com

National Planning Holdings, Inc., one of the nation’s larger independent broker-dealer networks, announced this week it has contracted with business technology firm Erado to supply its more than 3,500 affiliated representatives with compliance services for social media applications.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for July 22

Posted on July 22, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

I’ve had a wonderful week here in Portland, OR speaking to the FPA chapter, spending the day yesterday in Seattle, and basking in 70 degree summer days. I’ll be back in Dallas Monday and Tuesday next week, then speaking to the FPA of San Antonio & South Texas on Wednesday and all-day client work Thursday and Friday. Whew!

I also just confirmed a new speaking engagement at the Cabinet NG Collaborate 2011 conference to be held in October in Huntsville, AL. See my speaking page for more information.

So with that, here are this week’s stories of interest:

Update on Black Diamond-Advent merger from RIABiz.com

Brooke Southall covers the four things advisers should know about how the knitting together of the two companies is progressing.

MSSB data breach is a lesson for advisers from InvestmentNews.com

Still putting client data on CD-ROMs and USB drives? Davis Janowski highlights several resources and best practices advisers should consider to keep their clients’ personal information safe and secure.

RIAs fed up with Facebook should hop on the Google+ bandwagon from RIABiz.com

So you’ve heard of this new network from Google called Google+. Nevin Freeman and Brooke Southall share their experience on the network and forecast how advisers might adopt it within their practice.

 

 

FPPad Bits and Bytes for July 15

Posted on July 15, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

I’m flying with the family to Portland, Oregon tomorrow for business and pleasure. I’ll be speaking to the FPA of Oregon & SW Washington on Wednesday and visiting with a technology provider on Thursday. Outside of those commitments we’ll be touring the natural wonders of Oregon and relishing in the temperate summer weather (in contrast to 14 days of 100+ degree temperatures we’ve experienced here in Dallas!).

[Photo used under Creative Commons from camknows]

Now on to this week’s stories of interest:

Interactive Advisory Software joins the horse race with VC funding, a new look, and new CEO from RIABiz.com

[You’ve probably never heard of IAS unless you’re a user. They ranked far below competing platforms in the 2010 Financial Planning Technology Survey, so will their refresh and new marketing initiatives result in larger adoption by RIAs?] Based out of Atlanta, Ga., Interactive Advisory Software is stepping out of its “hidden gem” history with new investment, a new CEO, and a brand new look.

Fidelity adds trading to WealthCentral Mobile from InvestmentNews.com

[I suspect advisers are not too inclined to submit trades in client accounts from mobile devices. But from a marketing perspective, saying your app supports mobile trading is a nice checkbox in the functionality matrix] Financial advisers on the WealthCentral platform can now add trading to the list of things they can do from their iPhones and later model Android smart phones.

Social Media Archiving Meets the Back Office – a Cloud Computing Solution for Registered Investment Advisors from Arkovi.com

[Anyone heard of WinWeb? It’s new to me, and I have no clue how well they serve the adviser marketplace.] Arkovi and WinWeb Announce Integrated Partnership Bringing CRM, Social Media Archiving and Operations into One Solution for Registered Investments Advisors.

Orion Welcomes Advance Capital from PRNewswire.com

[Orion, the popular web-based portfolio accounting and service bureau, keeps gaining users and assets reconciled through their platform] Orion Advisor Services, LLC, a comprehensive portfolio accounting service bureau, is pleased to welcome new client Advance Capital Management, Inc., a Broker-Dealer and Registered Investment Advisor with almost $2 billion in assets under management including its own proprietary funds. Advance Capital Management joins a rapidly expanding roster of premier investment firms to utilize Orion’s innovative back-office solutions.

Read this month’s column for Morningstar Advisor, Save Time, Reduce Errors with Text Expanders. You might benefit tremendously from using tools like TextExpander and PhraseExpress.

And if you’re convinced your clients aren’t texting, you need to read my post this week for Blueleaf, Your Clients Are Leaving You In The Dust.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for July 8

Posted on July 8, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

I took advantage of the typical summer slowdown and spent most of the week on vacation. I’m back at FPPad headquarters for the next week and then off to Portland, OR to speak to the FPA of Oregon & SW Washington chapter on July 20. Drop on by if you can!

Now, on to this week’s stories of interest.

Fiserv purchase of CashEdge could affect account aggregation space from RIABiz.com

[CashEdge is one of those names that pops up every so often when discussing account aggregation. However, it’s an incomplete solution for advisers seeking reconciliation-ready data for held-away accounts. So I don’t see Fiserv’s acquisition of CashEdge for $465 million dramatically altering the account aggregation space] $465 million deal is mostly a payment processing technology-grab, according to ByAllAccounts.

Envestnet unbundles portfolio management software for RIAs and it won’t be a sideshow from RIABiz.com

[Envestnet is competing in the portfolio management software market with its Vantage product. Will it be powerful enough to compete with market dominators Advent and Schwab?] Envestnet has long been the undisputed leading platform for separate account managers, used by tens of thousands of advisors. The portfolio management software capability it provided, on the other hand, was always viewed as an add-on service.

The Relationship Manager from AdvisorOne.com

[Actifi’s Spenser Segal identifies the Achilles heel of poor CRM software implementation: people] Even though CRM systems have matured, with many systems built specifically for financial advisors, most firms are only scratching the surface when it comes to taking advantage of key features that are designed to help advisors grow their practices.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for July 1

Posted on July 1, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

Originally I was going to forego this week’s Bits and Bytes, but a few articles popped up in the latter half of the week that are worth sharing.

I’m still on vacation through next week, so let’s move on to week’s stories of interest:

How one RIA is running his practice on a Mac and finding it totally doable from RIABiz.com

RIABiz’s Nevin Freeman highlights how one adviser, Sunit Bhalla of Ft. Collins, Colo.-based OakTree Financial Planning, has successfully centered his practice’s technology entirely around the Mac platform.

 

FPPad Bits and Bytes for June 24

Posted on June 24, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

I’ve been in 100% focus mode this week, working on new products and services for FPPad’s consulting business. eBooks are a part of that development, too, so if there’s a hot topic in which you’re interested (e.g. iPad for advisers, social media compliance, etc.), please let me know.

Here are this week’s stories of interest.

Advisers: How do you know when it’s time for an upgrade from InvesetmentNews.com

Financial advisers, whether solo practitioners or members of a multiperson firm, need to think regularly about whether their technology is keeping pace with their business needs. Experienced advisers and technology experts have plenty of advice and experiences to share.

Portfolio management, reporting spawning new players, products from InvestmentNews.com

[Davis Janowski had a busy week this week!] Advisers seeking portfolio management software have choices beyond venerable offerings such as Advent Axys and Schwab PortfolioCenter. Take, for example, the demonstrations of two portfolio management and reporting systems that I received last week: PowerAdvisor and Atom Align Cloud Service.

Review: How Redtail got hot fast among RIAs and how it plans to leapfrog itself from RIABiz.com

[I reviewed Redtail’s upcoming Project Leapfrog release in May’s Morningstar Advisor column, A Popular CRM Gets an Upgrade] Fondly named after CEO Brian McLaughlin’s red-tailed golden retriever (not the hawk or the beer), Redtail is a Sacramento-based company living the American dream.

LPL Financial Provides Advisor Access to Social Media from FA-Mag.com

[If you read this month’s Morningstar Advisor column, How to Make Social Media Compliance Automatic, then you already knew Erado was on LPL’s preferred vendor list. Now the deal is official.] LPL Financial becomes the latest independent broker-dealer to allow its advisors to use social media, signing a multiyear deal with Erado Message Control Solutions that will provide monitoring that meets Financial Industry Regulatory Authority requirements for review of online marketing, officials said Wednesday.

 

FPPad Bits and Bytes for June 17

Posted on June 17, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

Now that summer is here (where it won’t go below 75 degrees here in Dallas for another two months), the typical slowdown is upon us. I’m taking the opportunity to focus on several projects that I put off this spring and build up a library of topics for future blog posts and columns.

So is there something you’re dying to learn about in the financial adviser technology world? Perhaps a vendor tool or web-based productivity plugin? Contact me and let me know. I get my best content from advisers like you.

Now on to this week’s stories of interest:

An adviser dives into video stream from InvestmentNews.com

Davis Janowski had a hard time tracking down advisers using video and screen sharing software with clients and prospects. But when he identified one, he learned of the many ways this technology is helping one adviser grow his business.

What one big RIA has to say about its switch from Advent Axys to Advent Portfolio Exchange from RIABiz.com

How much better is APX over Axys, and it is good enough for a firm to want to stay on Advent’s platform? Read about one firm’s process of evaluating their options and APX conversion experience.

Think your millionaire clients aren’t e-media savvy? Think again from InvestmentNews.com

[Bill’s note: You shouldn’t be surprised by the results in Fidelity’s survey. The question is, what are you doing to deliver service to clients over their preferred media?] According to a Fidelity Investments survey released today, 85% of millionaires use or are willing to use electronic media, such as e-mail, social-media sites and text messaging, compared with only 43% of financial advisers and brokers.

SEI Quick Poll: 1 in 4 Top Financial Advisors Use Electronic Tablets for Client and Prospect Meetings from Marketwire.com

According to a survey of 150 top financial advisors at SEI’s National Strategic Advisor Conference in May, one in four respondents indicated they currently use electronic tablets for client and prospect meetings. Additionally, nearly half (46 percent) of advisors are thinking about using electronic tablets for work.

Securities America Jumps on the Social Media Bandwagon from RegisteredRep.com

[Socialware will be Securities America’s compliance technology solution] During its National Conference in Orlando, Fla., this week, independent broker/dealer Securities America announced its new social media program, which will allow all of its 1,800 reps to access and post content on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter in mid-July, said Leia Farmer, deputy chief compliance officer.

 

FPPad Bits and Bytes for June 10

Posted on June 10, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

I’ve spent the week catching up on a backlog of work, vendor demos, phone calls, and reading due to May’s busy travel schedule. Tungle.me deserves recognition for helping me keep my sanity while scheduling all the calls and demos this week. If you haven’t heard of Tungle.me, read my column for Morningstar Advisor A Simpler Way to Schedule Meetings and try it yourself.

Now on with this week’s stories of interest:

Cabinet NG Creates New Class of Web-Based Document Management with CNG-WEB from CabinetNG.com

Cabinet NG, an on-premise document management software application, extends its functionality to the web with its latest release of CNG-WEB, making document capture and access from remote locations easier than ever.

One RIA’s unvarnished views on Advent, Black Diamond, Tamarac, IAS, Orion and Schwab PortfolioCenter after an odyssey of test drives from RIABiz.com

Take six portfolio management applications, drop them in a bucket, shake it around with a dose of trials and due diligence, and out comes one winner (in theory). Here’s one adviser’s perspective on hashing out a portfolio management solution for his practice.

Choosing Software That Works for Your Advisory Firm—Part 7: The Keys to Success from AdvisorOne.com

The seventh update in a series by Spenser Segal of ActiFi designed to present best practices to advisors on how to choose, implement and monitor new technology for an advisory firm.

Advent Brings APX to Pershing NetX360 from Marketwire.com

Advent Software, Inc., a leading provider of software and services for the global investment management industry, today announced that Pershing’s introducing broker-dealer and independent registered investment advisor (RIA) customers will now have access to Advent Portfolio Exchange® (APX) through NetX360™, its innovative, open-architecture technology solution.

 

FPPad Bits and Bytes for June 3

Posted on June 3, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

This week’s FPA NorCal Conference wrapped up a hectic month of May, involving four separate conferences in four cities across the U.S., combined with two short vacations coupled with the travel.

Still, we’ve managed to keep an eye out for relevant technology articles in the financial planning profession. Here are this week’s stories of interest:

AIG’s Advisor Group to roll out revised platform from InvestmentNews.com

See what an investment in the “healthy seven digits” looks like for representatives under the AIG Advisor Group technology platform.

Commonwealth’s revamp of technology includes subtracting Advent from RIABiz.com

Advent first buys Black Diamond, but then Commonwealth Financial Network breaks its ties with Advent Software citing a lack of value for the cost.

One-Click Calling from CRM at MorningstarAdvisor.com

In Bill’s monthly blog at Morningstar Advisor, he discusses how advisers can simplify making phone calls with web browser extensions. Say goodbye to 10-digit dialing!

FPPad Bits and Bytes for May 27

Posted on May 27, 2011 by in Bits & Bytes

This week’s Bits and Bytes is a big one! There are a few stories carried over from the previous week, as updating this page when traveling exclusively with an iPad is not the easiest thing to do, but a lot of great stories entered the wires this week, too.

And a reminder, Bill will be attending FPA NorCal next week in San Francisco, presenting Cultivating Clients in a Connected World on Wednesday afternoon. If you’ll be there, stop by and introduce yourself!

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

Choosing Software That Works for Your Advisory Firm—Part 6: Ensuring New Technology Meets Your Business Goals from AdvisorOne.com

The sixth update in a series by Spenser Segal of ActiFi designed to present best practices to advisors on how to choose, implement and monitor new technology for an advisory firm.

Compliance and Connectivity from Financial-Planning.com

Well, well, it seems that Bill’s presentation Cultivating Clients in a Connected World has persuaded Bob Veres to consider adopting social media for purposes other than marketing and search engine optimization. See what he has to say about advisers considering this new communication medium (and follow @bobveres on Twitter).

Smarsh Report Identifies Electronic Communications Compliance Gaps at Smarsh.com

Smarsh, the email and social media archiving solution provider, released results from a survey of compliance professionals regarding the use of electronic communications including social media. In summary, it confirms what you already know: compliance professionals aren’t up to speed on supervising and archiving electronic communication, specifically social media.

Tweet on the Street from NYTimes.com

Morgan Stanley is ready to unleash its 17,800 brokers into popular social media service Twitter (their archive and monitoring solution is Socialware). But nothing they post will be unscripted. Good luck with that, we say.

IPS AdvisorPro® and Redtail Integrate Technology Systems from IPSAdvisorPro.com

IPS AdvisorPro® and Redtail Technology announced the availability of a new data integration between their industry leading technology platforms for financial advisors. The new integration will streamline the preparation of Investment Policy Statements (IPS) by automatically populating IPS AdvisorPro® fields with client information contained in Redtail’s CRM solution.

After tortoise-like beginnings, AssetBook is now on-the-hop in portfolio management software from RIABiz.com

One smaller but fast-emerging portfolio management software firm is AssetBook. Based in McHenry, Md., it has burst onto the portfolio management software scene thanks to a recent marketing push and now has 150 firms using its services.