asked about web-conferencing ROI,
we expected to see very strong numbers because the entry-level cost of
the equipment and service can be very
low, and the time savings is attractive,
as is the ability to reach clients and colleagues anywhere, at any time. Yet just
18% of respondents reported above-average ROI in this category, while
22% had below-average results.
We suspect that the problem here
may be a lack of comfort with the
technology. Some technologies, like
Skype and Face Time, were originally
designed for consumers; as a result,
they are great for videoconferencing.
Other technologies, such as WebEx
and GoToMeeting, have advanced
independent advisor niche, but it dis-
played weakness across most other cat-
egories. Advent AXYS, which had only
a 3% share, also did relatively well with
independent RIAs, posting a 7% share.
CUSTODIANS AND B-DS
Custodians and broker-dealers can
be great facilitators of technological
improvement for their advisors, but
they can also be an impediment if they
fail to take a proactive role. Virtually
every executive at custodian and B-D
Junxure shines with independent RIA firms:
It is tied with Redtail at 15% market share.
business conferencing features and
are capable of hosting large meetings,
but they do require some training to
use effectively.
We strongly suspect that, as advisors become more comfortable with
the technology, web-conferencing ROI
numbers will improve over time. The
cost is low and the potential benefits
are many. What’s not to like?
PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
The variations across groups in use of
portfolio management software and
services were substantial. The one
product that led the ranking, Morningstar Office, did relatively well across all
groups, with the exception of CPAs. But
Albridge, which ranked second overall, drew almost all of its strength from
dually registered advisors and affiliated
advisors; it had virtually no support
among independent RIAs and CPAs.
Schwab’s PortfolioCenter, on the
other hand, led all competitors in the
Financial-Planning.com
firms seems to think his or her firm does
a good job on the technology front, so it
is always interesting to see if their advisor clients agree.
When it comes to custodial technology, it came as no surprise that TD
Ameritrade had the most “very satisfied” advisors this year. TD Ameritrade’s success with VEO Open Access,
the program that integrates the TDA
platform with many leading third-party software providers, has been a
huge success. Schwab and Fidelity
also scored well in advisor technology
satisfaction. Some firms in the middle
of the pack did well within a specific
category: For example, the custodial
technology results for Trade PMR
were average overall, but with dually
registered reps they had the highest
percentage of very satisfied advisors
— and by a substantial margin.
On the broker-dealer side, a firm
that is often mentioned on the street
as a leader in technology, Common-
What document management soft ware
do you use?
38%Adobe Acrobat
6%
6%
5%
4%
3%
PaperPort
Redtail
Pershing/iNautix
DocuPlace
3% NetDocuments
2% Worldox
1%
0%
0%
0%
13%
33%
Cabinet
CEO Image
DocuXplorer
XTRAC
Other
None
wealth Financial, had the most “very
satisfied” advisors. Cambridge Investment Research also had a solid showing. The good news overall is that
there are relatively few advisors who
are “very unsatisfied” with their custodial or B-D technology. Just two firms,
LPL ( 14.8%), and Ameriprise ( 10.7%),
had “very unsatisfied” rankings in the
double digits.
Integration, or lack thereof, remains
a problem. Overall, only 10% of advisors are “very satisfied” with the integration among their various applications. That number drops to 7% for
independent RIAs, indicating there is
still significant work that needs to be
done on the integration front.
PLANNING SOF T WARE
In the financial planning software category, MoneyGuidePro remains the top
choice of respondents. It’s strongest
among independent RIAs, but also
