Review of Technology Forum Meeting

We had a great turnout for the Technology Forum in June. Thank you to all of those who made it out to the meeting and a big thanks to Daniela Urs for allowing us to use Barnes Investment Advisory's conference room. It is great to learn from one another about the different systems and processes each of us use in the business. It's amazing how there is not one right way. People have different pieces to create their own puzzle. This was an opportunity to open up each other's world by sharing ideas and applications that others had never heard of before. The exposure is greater when more people contribute based upon their experiences. By discussing a particular program being used, it gives the listener an idea of that application without having to use it. There is some trust and validation within the Young Financiers that I think people take one another seriously and have a great deal of respect for others' comments.

One thing the group agreed upon is that there is not a silver bullet in the industry of technology for financial planning. It is almost a best-of-breed combination, but even the applications in that breed are not unanimous. The idea is to stay open to learning new technology and seeing if it is a fit in your practice. Things are constantly evolving in this world. If you stay the same, you will become less competitive because everyone else is adapting to those changes.

Next Young Financiers meeting: Technology Forum

The time has come in our organization to generate another Young Financiers meeting. A topic that is timely and relevant that the group has not focused on in the past is technology within financial planning. We are calling our next event "Technology Forum", which will be a culmination of the various systems and processes that are used within the industry to make our jobs easier.

A great article published recently that provides an overview of some current systems in our industry is David Drucker's piece in May's issue of Research Magazine entitled, "The State of Advisor Technology". David touches on:

• Customer Relationship Management Software
• Financial Planning Systems
• Portfolio Management and Reporting Systems
• Document Management Systems
• Software Integration
• Remote Computing

I think these are great talking points for the meeting because every one has it's place in a financial planning practice. I think there is a great deal to be learned from the group because everyone does things differently and there is not "one right way".

Some firms that are large such as brokerages and banks already have many of these systems in place. Other small sole practitioner or partner shops may have a few in action because they haven't focused their efforts on the technology area. Technology has been known in some aspects as a cost center and in a financial planning practice, the firm is not paid on the actual technology segment of the business. The relationship is the main driver for revenues within the firm.

This is about opening professionals' eyes as to how critical technology is to a financial planning practice. If the systems and processes are mastered, more time is allowed to develop relationships for greater revenue generation and a better chance of a successful venture.

More details will come as far as the logistics for the meeting. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to serve our community.