Technology Tools for Today's High-Margin Practice: How Client-Centered Financial Advisors Can Cut Paperwork, Overhead, and Wasted Hours

Technology Tools for Today's High-Margin Practice: How Client-Centered Financial Advisors Can Cut Paperwork, Overhead, and Wasted Hours

by David J. Drucker, Joel P. Bruckenstein
Released January 2013
Publisher(s): Bloomberg Press
ISBN: 9781118434765

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Book description

Revolutionize your financial advisory practice with the latest cutting-edge tools

Tired of spending more time with filing cabinets than with clients? Is overhead eating up your margins? In a new revised edition of the "bible" of practice management and technology for financial professionals, two leading financial planners, with some help from their friends*, deliver the knowledge advisors have been begging for. This book serves up a nontechnical trove of technology, clever workarounds, and procedural efficiencies tailored to help financial advisors in private practice move toward today's virtual office. The authors show you how to drastically reduce the paperwork in your office, slash overhead, and find anything you need in seconds using the latest software.

This revised edition includes new information on SaaS and cloud computing, software integrations, mobile devices/apps, social media tools, portfolio accounting and outsourcing, collaborative tools, digital signatures, workflow management, marketing technology and much more.

  • Perfect for successful practices seeking greater efficiencies and healthier profit margins

  • The authors are well-known financial advisors, each with more than 30 years of experience in financial services

  • Addresses the evolution of the virtual office and its impact on advisory firms

If you're looking for new systems and efficiencies to transform and streamline your private practice, look no further than Technology Tools for Today's High-Margin Practice.

*Chapter 1 Selecting the Right CRM System, Davis D. Janowski

Chapter 2 The Future of Financial Planning Software, Bob Curtis

Chapter 3 The Future of Financial Planning Software and the New Client-Advisor Relationship, Linda Strachan

Chapter 4 Portfolio Management Software, Mike Kelly

Chapter 5 Achieving Growth and Profitability with Technology Integration, Jon Patullo

Chapter 6 How the World Wide Web Impacts the Financial Advisor, Bart Wisniowski

Chapter 7 Managing Your Online Presence, Marie Swift

Chapter 8 Client Portals and Collaboration, Bill Winterberg

Chapter 9 The Cloud, J. D. Bruce

Chapter 10 Digital Signature Technology, Dan Skiles

Chapter 11 Innovative Software and Technologies Implemented at One of the United States' Leading Advisory Firms, Louis P. Stanasolovich

Chapter 12 Virtual Staff Sparks Growth, Profitability, and Scalability, Jennifer Goldman

Chapter 13 ROI—The Holy Grail of the Technology Purchase Decision, Timothy D. Welsh

Chapter 14 Building an Efficient Workflow Management System, David L. Lawrence

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Contents
  3. Title
  4. Copyright
  5. Introduction
  6. Chapter 1: Selecting the Right CRM System
    1. Junxure and Redtail
    2. So Who Are You?
    3. Salesforce, Salesforce, Salesforce
    4. Intelligent Integration Can Be Confusing
    5. Factor in Your Favorite Apps, if You Have Them
    6. Other Considerations
    7. Innovation Continues
    8. Resources
  7. Chapter 2: The Future of Financial Planning Software
    1. The Distant Past
    2. The Past Five Years
    3. The Now
    4. The Near Future
    5. Conclusion
  8. Chapter 3: The Future of Financial Planning Software and the New Client-Advisor Relationship
    1. Advisor and Client Demographics
    2. Social Media
    3. Technological Advances
    4. An Advisor’s Planning Tool versus Consumer Planning Tools—Working Together or Apart?
    5. Conclusion
    6. References
  9. Chapter 4: Portfolio Management Software
    1. My Place or Yours?
    2. All for One or One for All?
    3. Keeping Up with the Joneses
    4. Putting It All Together
    5. New Advisors
    6. Breakaway Brokers
    7. Changing Your Portfolio Management Software
    8. Summary
  10. Chapter 5: Achieving Growth and Profitability with Technology Integration
    1. Wading through a Wealth of Choices
    2. Preserving Quality, Increasing Profits
    3. Much More than Data Access
    4. The Key Early Efforts
    5. The Custodians Get on Board
    6. An Open Invitation
    7. The Next Generation
  11. Chapter 6: How the World Wide Web Impacts the Financial Advisor
    1. Your Website as a Hub
    2. Mobile Considerations
    3. Social Media and Websites
    4. Blogging
    5. Content and Website Maintenance
    6. Marketing
    7. Monitoring and Measuring for Results
    8. Compliance
    9. Conclusion
    10. Notes
  12. Chapter 7: Managing Your Online Presence
    1. Being Seen (and Heard) Online
    2. Creating a Great First Impression Online
    3. Other Digital Outposts
    4. How do You Stack Up?
    5. Use Social Media as an Extension
    6. Communication Essentials
    7. Finding Your Social Media Groove
    8. Where to Spend Your Time
    9. LinkedIn
    10. Blogging
    11. Twitter
    12. Facebook
    13. Begin with a Strategy
    14. Compliance
    15. Training
    16. Guarding Your Webutation
    17. Social Media Dashboards
    18. Locking Out the Imposters
    19. Marketing Automation Software
    20. Notes
  13. Chapter 8: Client Portals and Collaboration
    1. Delivering Documents and Reports
    2. What to Look For
    3. Compliance
    4. Edit Documents Simultaneously
    5. Collaboration Platforms
    6. Screen Sharing
    7. Social Enterprise
    8. Wrap-Up
  14. Chapter 9: The Cloud
    1. Understanding Cloud Computing
    2. Implementing and Maintaining a Cloud Infrastructure
    3. Conclusion
  15. Chapter 10: Digital Signature Technology
    1. E-Signature Technology Core Offering
    2. Evaluating E-Signature Technology Solutions
    3. Before You Start—Other Considerations
    4. Getting Started
    5. E-Signature Workflows
    6. Introducing E-Signature Technology to Your Clients
    7. E-Signature Technology Adoption
  16. Chapter 11: Innovative Software and Technologies Implemented at One of the United States’ Leading Advisory Firms
    1. Background
    2. Video Training
    3. Audio Media Solutions
    4. Dictation Service
    5. Webcasts
    6. Organizing Online Data
    7. Hardware
    8. Security Technologies
    9. Phone Messaging Technology
    10. Recording Pen Technology
    11. Video Conferencing
    12. Scanning
    13. Customer Relationship Management
    14. Website Hosting
    15. E-mail Marketing
    16. Design Software
    17. TV and Web Video Production
    18. Accounting Software
    19. Investment Research
    20. Investment Portfolio Reporting
    21. Investment Portfolio Rebalancing
    22. Financial Planning Software
  17. Chapter 12: Virtual Staff Sparks Growth, Profitability, and Scalability
    1. Benefits of Virtual Staffing
    2. Virtual Financial Planner
    3. Virtual Chief Operations Officer or Operations Manager
    4. Virtual Assistant
    5. Virtual Compliance
    6. Virtual Portfolio Back Office
    7. Virtual Portfolio Manager
    8. Outsourced Chief Marketing Officer
    9. In Closing
    10. Note
  18. Chapter 13: ROI—The Holy Grail of the Technology Purchase Decision
    1. The Technology Plan
    2. Customer Relationship Management
    3. Client Portals
    4. Portfolio Management and Performance Reporting
    5. Document Management
    6. Conclusion
  19. Chapter 14: Building an Efficient Workflow Management System
    1. What Is Workflow?
    2. Mind Maps and Flowcharts
    3. Managing the Workflow Process
  20. Epilogue: Advisor Technology: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
    1. One Example from the Archives
    2. Some Lessons Learned
    3. Looking Forward
    4. In Closing
  21. About the Authors
  22. About the Contributors
  23. Index

Product information

  • Title: Technology Tools for Today's High-Margin Practice: How Client-Centered Financial Advisors Can Cut Paperwork, Overhead, and Wasted Hours
  • Author(s): David J. Drucker, Joel P. Bruckenstein
  • Release date: January 2013
  • Publisher(s): Bloomberg Press
  • ISBN: 9781118434765