News

TD Ameritrade makes trading on iPads for RIAs available before mobile devices

Written by Brooke Southall, RIABiz Friday, 06 April 2012

Following the lead of Pershing LLC and Fidelity Investments but ahead of Schwab Advisor Services, TD Ameritrade Institutional is making it possible for advisors to place trades for mutual funds, ETFs and equities from chairlifts and hotel lobbies using iPads. See: Fidelity releases WealthCentral Mobile for the iPhone.

The Jersey City, N.J.-based custodian is also making other features of its Veo advisor platform available on the Apple tablet computer including consolidated and single client account views, as well as live streaming CNBC coverage. See: TD Ameritrade’s technology, Veo, wins high praise from advisors so RIABiz took a look.

“We thought the iPad, more so than mobile apps, [is important] so [advisors] can present [information] to clients. Mobile is hard to use to present to clients,” says Jon Patullo, managing director of technology product management for TD Ameritrade Institutional. Read More..

Scottrade bets on tech for growth

Written by Davis D. Janowski, InvestmentNews Friday, 30 March 2012

Six-year-old Scottrade Advisor Services has hit a milestone: 1,000 registered investment advisory firms now use its custody services.

Built on the promise of low fees for smaller financial advisers and breakaway brokers, its leaders think that its next growth phase will be driven by technology. To get the ball rolling, it has just completed the first of several integrations with third-party providers.

The integration involved financial planning software MoneyGuidePro from PIE Technologies Inc., which was a natural place to start, given that financial planning tools top the list of tech requests in survey after survey of advisers.

Advisers who use the custody services of Scottrade will be able to get the software at a significant discount, though no formal pricing announcement has been made. Read More..

I've Seen The Future Of Professional Wealth Management Software And Its Name Is inStream Solutions

Written by Andrew Gluck, Advisors4Advisors Friday, 30 March 2012

In 1974, rock critic Jon Landau, writing in Rolling Stone, said: "I've seen the future of rock 'n roll and its name is Bruce Springsteen." Well, I’ve seen the future of professional wealth management software and its name is inStream Solutions.

If Advisors4Advisors gave an award to the most innovative advisor application of the year, inStream would get it. In fact, inStream would win the Advisors4Advisors award as the most innovative professional wealth management software of the past decade.

inStream was developed by Alex Murguia. Murguia came to McLean Asset Management in 2001 right after completing his Ph.D. in psychology. His wife's father founded McLean. Murguia has taken the firm from $25 million of assets under management to $550 million today. Murguia is a visionary. Read More..

Why RIAs are shunning mobile apps and why Black Diamond, Orion, Fidelity and others are still placing their chips on an iPad future

Written by Lisa Shidler, RIABiz Friday, 30 March 2012

Despite the worldwide craze for mobile apps, RIAs are proving resistant to their lure.

“I think we’re in the middle of this major shift to mobile apps and I think advisors are a little late to the game in regards to taking advantage of this shift and realizing how to position their firm,” says Eric Clarke, president of Orion Advisor Services LLC. See: How Orion Advisor Services became a mobile device pioneer and how competitors plan to react.

Its not for lack of trying on the part of custodians and fund companies, both of which are rapidly introducing apps on a daily basis for advisors. In fact, just last week, online RIA Personal Capital and Franklin Templeton Investments launched iPad apps. Read More..