2. RESPONDING TO CHANGING CLIENT NEEDS
Areas where IFA’s need to enact transformative
change to be successful –
Markets and Clients - While emerging markets
are growing faster than developed markets there
is a need to communicate with next-generation
clients the way they want to be communicated
with. Clients leave an IFA because they are next-
generation investors who want to replace their
parents' advisor. But most of the IFA’s that are out
there haven’t quite gotten up to speed yet.
3. Risk and Regulation - The increasing cost of
regulation is a significant challenge facing the IFA
industry. When regulations are passed they frequently
take effect in several phases. It is estimated that
regulatory costs will consume major component of
annual revenue in the next two years. It’s hard to
architect technology and business & solutions and
people & everything else. Clients require a single view
of everything they’ve got globally and to get a single
view of the customer, IFA’s need to be able to focus on
the data.
4. Human Capital – IFA’s want client relationship managers
who can identify and respond to client needs, bring in
new clients, communicate well and respond quickly to
clients. Over the next two years, IFA’s looking for talent
will expect managers to be knowledgeable about in-
house and external products, and have strong cross-
selling skills.
5. Products and Services – Products and services
generates the majority of revenues for IFA’s. But in the
future wealthy clients will likely demand holistic financial
planning and will pay for actively managed portfolios, not
transactions. Currently, most IFA’s are working to improve
product performance, but over the next two years,
improving transparency and information will define their
product approach.
6. Legacy transactions are helping IFA’s stay commercially
successful but the top technology priority would be to
implement legacy systems that address regulatory
requirements having standards, reviews and control
assessments.
So they have to start using advanced technology in more
of a clean-room environment. Currently, telephone, in-
person meetings and email are the primary ways IFA’s
communicate with their clients, but use of such methods
will fall in the next two years. Mobile technology, video
conferencing and social networks will be used to a
greater extent over the same time period.
7. In the middle of all this we’re shifting from legacy
transaction processing environment to more of a digital
and data-centric environment. IFA’s who are having
trouble keeping up have to contend with this new reality.
Fortunately or unfortunately, it’s only going to accelerate
potential acquisitions and changes in the market.‖
8. DOMAIN
Go to the GoDaddy website and look around for
the domain name search box. It's typically in the
middle of the page about halfway down.
Enter the domain name you want to buy. We
usually start with the perfect domain name,
because even if it's already taken, GoDaddy will
suggest other options that could be bought.
Other domain experts are Bigrock
Alert : Book Domain by yourself and hosting from
some vendor separately. Keep control panel with
yourself.
9. WEBSITE & BLOG
Word Press powers more than 17% of the web - a
figure that rises every day. Everything from simple
websites, to blogs, to complex portals and
enterprise websites, and even applications, are built
with Word Press.
Advantages :
Security
SEO
Clear Navigation
10. PERSONALISED EMAILING – APPS TO FIT
YOUR BUSINESS
Using Gmail or Yahoo email address — isn’t
professional, and that’s what you’re striving to be.
The great thing about personalised email addresses is
that you can tailor the whole address - you could use
your personal or business name, or nickname,
e.g.you@yourname.com. This means fully customised,
easy to remember email addresses. With this service
you also get many valuable features not included with
free addresses such as spam filters, virus protection and
webmail.
You can use Google Apps to set up custom email
addresses through Gmail
Additional apps calendar, drive, docs, sheets, & slides.
11. SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media managing tools can help marketers save
time, stay organized, and optimize their efficiency.
Social media is the blending of technology and social
interaction for the purpose of communication and co-
creation in today's world. Knowing how to use social
media is an essential 21st century skill that you can
acquire for business.
HootSuite is probably the most well-known social media
management platform, letting users manage Facebook,
LinkedIn, Google+, Foursquare, and many other
social accounts.
Other options Buffer, Sprout Social & Social Bro.
12. MASS MAILING – BULK SMS
Mass email & Bulk SMS is when one information is
sent to many recipients.
Reach thousands of recipients with one click
Send thousands of emails & sms within minutes.
Provides low-cost solution when compared with
traditional phone calls & couriers.
Options are Campaigner, Mail Chimp, etc for
emails and SMS Poll, Bulk SMS for messages.
13. NEWSLETTER – NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL
One of the biggest tasks facing many businesses today is
gaining and keeping prospective customers. Increasingly, most
companies are turning to the newsletters as an effective way to
market their products and services.
Marketers take advantage of what these company letters can
provide to upgrade their status in the industry. If you are looking
forward to meeting your business goals, then you can explore
the possibility by investing in a company newsletter. Options
are Datacomp & Karvy’s World
Newsletters are being widely used by many companies who
have claimed a lot of benefits of using these marketing tools to
promote their businesses.
Effective communication & Establish brand recognition
Increase client loyalty & Increase website traffic
Cost effective & Increase public and media exposure
Establish company’s expertise & Communicate sale information
14. ONLINE VIDEO CHATS – VIRTUAL MEETINGS
Communication Technology is advancing day by day. For any
business to succeed, it has to use improved communication
tools, communication helps in the flow of information which in
return accelerates the rate of decision making in an
organization or business. Virtual meetings are becoming more
popular, many business owners and organizations are
resorting to virtual meetings because they save time. You can
use web-conferencing tools to communicate with employees,
customers and business partners. All web-conferencing tools
support video chat, so both parties will see each other and this
will make the communication so real and effective. Most of
these virtual conferencing tools will require participants to
install a web conferencing software on their devices, some
can even be used on smart-phones, so you simply download
a virtual meeting mobile Application and start attending
meeting via your Smartphone.
Options are Skype, Infinite, Watchitoo, Gotowebinar, Zoho
meeting.
15. ONLINE DOCUMENT SHARING
Today’s technology and machines (whether it’s PC or
Mobile) are certainly capable of processing large original
files in our businesses. But the bad news is the sharing
part aren’t . Our files are fairly large in size and
cumbersome to share with peers and clients.
Two ways we would generally used – e-mailing and
sharing via hosting account. Not saying it’s bad but e-
mail comes with attachment limitation and usually
doesn’t allow anything more than 100Mb.
On the other hand sharing via web hosting account
allows you to upload as big as your account can take
but it also means the file is exposed by anyone who
knows its direct path.
Options are Pando, Google Docs, Dropio & DropBox
16. ONLINE DOCUMENT STORAGE (CLOUD)
Cloud storage can improve small business owners'
capability to access, share, and protect their
company's data, particularly when they have a
limited capacity—or desire—to manage on-site
technology resources.
To be sure, moving data to the cloud brings its own
set of concerns, ranging from security (vulnerability
to breaches) to availability; i.e. will a service outage
prevent you from getting to your data when you
need it.
Options are Googledrive, Box, Sugarsync,
Dropbox
17. ONLINE MEETING SCHEDULER
A slew of online applications are attempting to eliminate
the headache of scheduling meetings. And, unlike their
proprietary older brothers, such as Outlook and iCal,
these new entrants into the scheduling market are
completely web-based, compatible with Google
Calendar, and best of all, don’t require your invitees to
install software or register on their site.
Share calendars with your clients
Access your calendar from anywhere and any machine
Create more than one calendar
Set reminders for yourself to your mobile device
Set appointments with RSVP’s
Set recurring meetings or appointments
Options are Google Calender, Doodle, Tungle, Scheduleonce
18. ONLINE PAYMENT GATEWAY
As India grows, more people are expected to enter
the online market with access to easy and cheap
internet services. With fast paced penetration of
credit card, India is on the poised to be one of the
most envied nations in the technology of e-
commerce era.
Options are payupaisa & ccavenue
19. SIGN DOCUMENTS ONLINE WITH
NOTHING TO SLOW YOU DOWN
Online document signing is a software program or suite that lets its users sign
documents electronically and send the signed copy over the internet. The online
document signature is legally binding, just like a real ―pen and paper‖ signature,
making online document signing a powerful, flexible tool for businesses,
employees, and anyone who needs to sign or collect documents.
The benefits of online document signing are numerous. Signatures can be sent
and returned instantly, which notably speeds up paperwork. Instead of waiting
impatiently at their desk, someone who utilizes online document signatures can be
completing sales or filing paperwork from the airport or while at lunch.
Benefits to online document signing include:
Speed – documents are signed and transmitted instantly
Paperless – electronic documents clear the clutter from your office
Flexibility – complete paperwork with anyone, anywhere
Portability – send, sign, and collect documents on your mobile device
Ease of use – most programs, like Right Signature, lets users sign with a
single click
20. CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
In today’s market, financial advisors know that they need
a customer relationship management (CRM) solution to
help manage their business. Technology surveys and
studies over the past few years have focused on how
the right CRM can help advisors run more efficient
practices and provide more consistent client service.
While all of that is true, choosing a CRM is only the first
step for advisors seeking to transform their practices. A
well-planned and well-executed roadmap is necessary
to ensure that the technology meets its expectations,
and it takes only a few key missteps to derail the best
laid plans for organization.
Options are paretoplatform, salesforce & zohocrm.
21. PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
Portfolio management software programs are one of the
tools most widely used by IFA’s. As an investor’s
personal portfolio grows over the years, it often
encompasses several investment accounts. Tracking all
these accounts accurately is an difficult task, and many
investors need help. Luckily, the continuing development
of technology has led to increasingly powerful portfolio
management software aimed at providing just that.
Fully integrated Multi Asset Wealth Tracker - MF, Equity,
Insurance, FDs, Bonds, Real Estate, Gold, Personal
Items, Loans.
Options are Wealtherp, Mprofit, ARM Fintech, Accord
Fintech, Vijya, Investplus, Investwell
22. FINANCIAL PLANNING
With major legislative change set to occur, it is up to software
providers to make life easier for financial planners.
The push for more low-cost advice delivery models has been
a central focus for financial planners over the past 12 months
and this demand will get stronger as the entire industry creeps
ever closer to the Future of Financial Advice
Financial planning software is a business intelligence tool that
helps track individuals financial status. The benefits of
financial planning software are very extensive as well as
appealing. It has various valuable functions such as reporting,
analysis, balancing, reconciling, tracking and others that can
be used.
Options are Omnimax, Redvision, Finserv, Figlo, XLFP,
Optimum Financial, FiscAlmanac.
23. RISK PROFILING
Risk profiling is integral to the investment process. It
underpins decisions about making an investment, and
plays an essential part in ensuring the suitability of
investments for clients.
As per the investment advisor regulations offering
investment advice can be risky, as advisers are open to
compensation claims in the event of any mistakes. Risk
profiling helps to reduce this, not only for advisers but
also for investors, as it improves the quality of advice
and brings added credibility, explanation and rigour to
the investment advice offered.
Options are Finametrica
24. MONEY ORGANIZER
Money management software seems to be the one phrase that
many people are spilling out when they are talking to others
nowadays about their finances. However, many people wonder if
this money management software is really worth their time? It is
useful at all?
It is something that most people should consider having since it
can really help them manage their finances. Have all the financial
information in one place and know exactly the spending on the
things that are bought throughout. In the end, one may find that
they are better able to make a budget and they are going to have
more money to put into their savings accounts. It is one way in
which those that are not financially stable could find a way to
make sure that they are making their lives more financially stable
and preparing for their future. Which is something that everyone
should be doing in order to ensure success in the future.
Options are Perfios, Mint, Aditya Birla Money, Intuit,
Arthamoney.
25. ACCOUNTING & PAYROLL
Payroll software systems can be programmed to perform manual human
resources tasks, freeing up time for you to run or grow your business.
They can be used to archive your employee slips and monthly reports,
giving you a concrete payment history. And as an automated program,
payroll systems pay your employees on time and according to the
parameters that you set, leaving little margin for human error.
Payroll software takes care of employee taxes
Integrated access to your information
Fully customised reports
Secure access online
The accounting programs carry out functions such as invoicing, dealing
with payments, paying wages and providing regular accounting reports
such as trading and profit and loss accounts and balance sheets. The
introduction of computerized accounting systems provide major
advantages such as speed and accuracy of operation, and, perhaps
most importantly, the ability to see the real-time state of the financial
position.
Options are Intelliob or raycomputech
26. PASSWORD MANAGEMENT
In 2011, IBM predicted that in five years we will not be using
passwords to access secure resources such as ATMs and PCs.
Instead of entering a PIN or typing a username and password
into a PC, we will simply look into a camera or speak a name into
a microphone, because our eyes and voices are unique, IBM
said.
Biometric recognition replaces the entry point for what password
managers are already doing today. Companies such as
RoboForm and LastPass provide a platform that requires only
one complex password to access your secure websites, credit
card information and even documents that you keep inside an
encrypted database. Depending on the platform, the database
could be stored locally, on the company's servers or even in
Dropbox.
Some password managers use browser extensions that keep
your data in a local profile, syncing with a cloud server. Because
the data is encrypted and transferred through a secure
connection, you can be reasonably confident that your data is
safe.
27. MICROSOFT OFFICE
Microsoft Office, also known as MS Office, is a popular
software suite featuring many desktop publishing programs. It
comes with everything that may come into use in a classic
office setting, hence the name.
Unlike some other kinds of software, Microsoft Office is the
industry standard when it comes to desktop publishing.
Whenever a document is required, it is always required in the
Microsoft Word format with very few exceptions. In order to
stay current with industry trends, MS Office is a must.
If you are looking to write a letter to a client, Microsoft Word is
the right software to use. You could employ Microsoft
Publisher to help create a business brochure, or you could
use MS Excel for your client database.
Options are Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Publisher (Create
fliers & brochures), Picture Manager, Onenote
28. NEWS & UPDATES / REPORTS
While online platforms continues to expand rapidly,
regulations continue to gear up, financial advising has
just begun transitioning. The gravitation towards online
applications represents an interesting shift in the
financial services industry and IFA faces challenge to
stay ahead of times. But the question on many IFA’s
minds is whether they feel comfortable to adapt these
online tools. It's not an easy task, but a number of
financial industry experts believe online tools for
advising can be useful for a segment of the population
that's largely untapped.
These websites provide financial advice/information to
advisors & people at a large and at a lower price point.
29. Advantage Subscriber gets –
Any time access to a unique & exclusive mix of company,
industry, country and financial data for national & international
markets.
Essential information that independent advisors need to make
informed decisions about their business and the clients they
serve.
Financial advisors can rely on the news, opinion, expert
advice and practical business building ideas that independent
financial planners need to be successful. Their primary
concerns are their clients, their practice and managing their
client's portfolios.
Registration to these websites produce news, conferences,
articles, files, forums, events, custom publications and
newsletters covering in-depth analysis and planning advice.
They provide advisors with the most up-to-date information
and cutting-edge analysis on investments, client relationships
and business management to help advisors run a thriving
business.
Options are NetworkFP, Cafemutual,
Wealthforumezine, Financial Planet, Advisor One,
Kiplinger and ICRA, Value Research, Crisil
30. ADVISORY EXECUTION PLATFORMS
Offer a 360° comprehensive business platform with
unmatched IT solutions, empowering IFA’s to set the
best practice standards and deliver real value to their
customers.
Advantages –
Robust Platforms
Highly Scalable Solution
High frequency and volume
Price negotiation power streamed directly to IFA’s
True Anonymity – Will never disclose not execute your
business in their names.
Options are Datacomp, iFast, Next Advisors,
FundsIndia Advisor, NJ Fundz, Bajaj
Capital,Prudent, AMFI
31. ONLINE BILL PAYMENT
The monthly chore of paying bills - starting right from receiving them,
sorting them, remembering to pay them on time, writing out the cheques,
standing in queues and paying them, storing the receipts and finally
toting up the amounts to figure just how much of our salary has been
spent. And well, do we know if all bills have been received and paid? Or
are we running up late payment charges, penalties, or possible
discontinuation of facilities?
A one-stop destination through which we could make all our payments, at
one time, from one location - or better still anytime from any location. A
one single destination that keeps track of our bills, informs us of due
dates, eliminates the hassle of writing out cheques and standing in
queues and gives us the freedom and the ability to pay with just one
instruction to our bank.
Saves time - fewer checks to write.
Helps you maintain good credit by ensuring your payment is made on
time.
Password protection and other leading technologies safeguard your
personal information.
Easily access your account balance, payment data and history.
Options are Billdesk