News

After a year under wraps, Laser App unveils a new "anywhere" product at its sixth annual conference in San Diego

Written by Timothy D. Welsh, RIABiz Tuesday, 11 September 2012

Laser App Software Inc. capped off a year of development with the debut of its new web-based technology platform at its sixth annual conference last week.

Nearly 300 advisors, tech vendors and representatives from all of the leading industry firms gathered at the Marriott Marquis and Marina resort in San Diego Aug. 22-24 to learn about the latest technology innovations and integrations that are making the vital, if admittedly unsexy, task of filling out forms and processing business easier and more efficient for RIAs. See: Laser App is showing the prosaic business form’s sexy side at its San Diego conference.

For the past 12 months, Ontario, Calif.-based Laser App, which aggregates 29,000 forms from fund companies, broker-dealers and custodians, has let it be known that it was developing what it generically called the Advisor Project, giving out no details but dropping hints that it would be a groundbreaking technology initiative. On the opening session on Thursday, the firm publicly launched “Laser App Anywhere.” In an industry that tends to preannounce technology initiatives and then take years to deliver, this “stealth launch” seemed a refreshing approach. Read More..

Revamping its trading platform, Schwab at long last is poised to catch up with its smaller peers

Written by Lisa Shidler, RIABiz Tuesday, 11 September 2012

Schwab Advisor Services is finally catching up with the other custodians by overhauling its antiquated trading system thus allowing advisors to make bulk trades across multiple accounts but industry leaders wonder whether the incremental process by which the company got there might work to its detriment. And other custodians such as TD Ameritrade, Trust Company of America, Fidelity and Pershing say that Schwab is quite late to this party and that Schwab’s massive upgrade won’t give the firm an edge over their trading platforms due to their significant head start.

Industry technology leaders say that while Schwab has been woefully behind in its trading capabilities at least now the giant custodian will be on level-ground with its competitors. Schwab, despite its market leadership, was at risk of becoming dinosaur given the rapid pace of technology advances. Read More..

iRebal-Veo integration is enviable

Written by Davis Janowski, InvestmentNews Friday, 17 August 2012

Imagine hitting a single keystroke and being able to re-balance all your client accounts.

That remains a pipe dream for many, but the concept is coming closer to reality for at least one segment of the advisory community.

That remains a pipe dream for many, but the concept is coming closer to reality for at least one segment of the advisory community.

Thanks to an integration formally announced last Monday, registered investment advisers now have access to straight-through processing of re-balancing trade orders between iRebal and TD Ameritrade Institutional's Veo account management platform. Read More..

Big Retirement Threat

Written by Joel Bruckenstein, FA Magazine Friday, 17 August 2012

Aside from another market crash, health-care costs are perhaps the greatest threat to a secure retirement. Most Americans rely on some sort of employer-subsidized health insurance. When they reach age 65, they typically rely on Medicare and/or supplemental insurance. In the past, some had access to employer-sponsored health benefits, but that type of benefit is becoming increasingly rare. The net result is that more Americans than ever are going to be relying on Medicare at a time when the system’s ability to pay its bills is in jeopardy.

Over the next 20 years, it is estimated that 10,000 people per day will enter the Medicare system as they turn 65. As financial advisors are well aware, Medicare is not free. There are premiums to be paid, coverage gaps, co-pays and other out-of-pocket expenses that can have a significant impact on retirees’ financial health. In addition, it is clear to most observers that with the coming increase in Medicare subscribers, the current system is unsustainable. In the future, they will likely see reduced benefits, increased costs or a combination of the two. Read More..