Seeking Help on CRM, Portfolio Software
In my last blog I wrote about my decision to choose the RIA route. This week I’d like to provide a brief summary of my progress so far and ask for your input on a few key issues. I have purchased most everything I need to do business. I have the necessary furniture, office space has been acquired, I should have an RIA relationship established very soon to custody client assets, and I have a pretty good idea who I will run my insurance business through. I also have my proprietary financial planning software and now that my thorny encounter with Windows Vista is behind me and I have gone back to XP, everything’s working great on the technology front. I have three new clients which will keep me busy for a while and a few more on the way. So far, so good. I do have a request for any of you that have experience with the following key planning tools:
Special Request #1 – Contact Management Software
I need a good contact manager. In the past I’ve used Goldmine, ACT, Maximizer (don’t know if it’s still out there), and found each to have its own strengths and weaknesses. Goldmine is probably the most robust, but I’ve found it requires the skill of a specialist to customize it. ACT is the most user friendly and I can customize it easily, although it takes time. I have Outlook with Business Contact Manager currently but I am not sure if it will meet my needs. I really need to spend some time with it. Do any of you have a comment on this? What are you using?
Special Request #2 – Portfolio Reporting Software
I will soon have an RIA custodian and client assets to manage. The RIA platform’s higher payout means that I am responsible for acquiring many of the tools I’ll need, including this piece of portfolio management software Since I am a start up, I really don’t want to spend a lot of money on this initially. Do you have any suggestions? Are you aware of any that charge on a per client basis rather than a large annual fee?
I would appreciate any feedback you can give on these issues. I’d love to hear from you whether on this blog or by e-mail. Thanks for joining me on my journey.
crm – redtail technology
portfolio reporting – B-Ready Outsorcing Solutions. Contact is Linda Bready 704.933.4488
charge on per account basis.
good luck-
John Charles Kernodle
Strathmore Capital Advisors
Linda Bready at B-ready Outsourcing Solutions, Inc. for portfolio management software solutions – the new Schwab Portfolio Center Licensing Arrangement seems ideal for the emerging RIA shop, in my view.
http://www.b-readysolutions.com/
–Keith Newcomb
Full Life Financial LLC
Nashville, TN
For Portfolio Reporting Software, I think there is nothing better or more affordable than CapTools. You can check it out at http://www.captools.com. Their saleslady, Norma, is a real delight to talk with, too.
Alan R. Myers, CFA
Aerie Capital Management, LLC
Winston-Salem, NC
as for performance reporting, i use advent back office, setup fee per account and monthly per account and they do all the reconciling
thanks,
neil master
CRM – The best CRM out there is something unique. Bill Good Marketing. The Gorilla system is pretty remarkable, you are constantly in touch with your clients and prospects. One of the most recent letters was in regards to the 2 cents postal increase, I recieved a number of calls thanking me for the stamps. I was able to get 5 referrals from that simple piece. Similiar letters have also generated these types of referrals. http://www.billgood.com
Wade G. Nelson
Trusted Financial Advisors
Woodbury MN
Hey, Mike, this comment may or may not help for your original question, but as far as financial planning software, Moneytree and Naviplan are two programs that allow some morphing between excel/.pdf/outlook/word files. I used to use Naviplan (several years, actually), but have recently switched to Moneytree TotalPlanning system (www.moneytree.com). I can give you reasons for this if you are ever interested. My office number (for you and clients only, please keep this to yourself) is (800) 330-3393. Like you, I have found that ease of use can sometimes override other things in life when challenged (but still maintaining the detail needed in our business). Moneytree is one of only a handful of companies currently involved in a project to develop open-architecture with multiple other CRM programs to make sharing of info with integrity reality for us in the field. I used a CRM program at one time, but have gone back to simply using Outlook now. Exploring Microsoft Access, too. That’s a cool program (I believe ACT actually uses it as their architecture). Already offers user fields about 80% of what ACT has anyway. Also allows you to build some of your own fields. My “paid-for” programs like Moneytree already have all that financial info if I need to go look it up, without duplicating it in ACT, or some othere CRM program. Thanks for your writings, they’re interesting. Would love to converse sometime, Best regards, Keith Schnelle, CFP, AIF.