Sponsored by TD Ameritrade Institutional
Innovation. It seems like that’s all advisors are hearing about these days. At the TD Ameritrade Institutional RIA conference, National LINC, innovation came to life in entirely new, meaningful ways for advisors who may be tech-weary and future wary.
From new business strategy commitments to new Alexa skills to the first-ever innovation competition for RIA specific tech, the new thinking from LINC will have a direct impact on how advisors work.
New commitment to solve an old problem
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| Tim Hockey, TD Ameritrade CEO on stage with Tom Nally, president of TD Ameritrade Institutional, assuring advisors that the firm will not compete for clients. |
At Thursday morning’s opening session, TD Ameritrade’s CEO Tim Hockey took the stage to make the event’s most critical point. TD Ameritrade considers RIAs part of its business strategy – and it’s committed to helping RIAs grow by not competing for clients. Hockey described the process by which RIAs that custody with TD Ameritrade Institutional would receive referrals of any client who wants the steadying hand of an advisor.
New tech launches
Dani Fava, TD Ameritrade Institutional’s resident futurist and director of product development, announced Thursday the launch of two new Alexa skills. The first – TD Ameritrade for Advisors – will provide advisors with a business-building flash-briefing every morning. The second skill will allow advisors’ end clients to access account information by asking Alexa. This could save calls to advisors to check balances and positions.
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| Dani Fava, Director of Product Development, announcing the launch of two new Alexa skills |
Innovation Alley
For advisors interested in advanced tech and what it could mean for their businesses, the place to be was Innovation Alley. Here, advisors could converse with a robot, interact with a holographic Tim Hockey, learn what the TD Ameritrade Innovation lab is up to, and discuss rapid innovation practices with the TD Ameritrade Tiger team.
First-ever fintech competition
This year’s LINC marked the first Innovation Quest, a technology competition that focused on bringing disruptive new technology to the RIA space. This year’s winner, the Plan-It app from Derrick Wesley of IMar Learning Solutions, endeavors to solve the financial literacy crisis, thereby creating better clients who are more disposed to heed sound financial advice. The winner, who was selected by a panel of judges and votes from the advisors in the audience, brought home $50,000 of seed money.
The other finalists included an application that used predictive analytics to determine when a client most needed to be called on by the advisor and an Alexa application that managed operational efficiency needs for RIAs.
Veo Village
The heart of the conference space was undoubtedly Veo Village. Here, 81 technology partners gathered to discuss how they integrate with TD Ameritrade Institutional’s Veo One and Veo Open Access, allowing greater operational efficiency, time saving and automation of repeatable tasks. Advisors found their way here to learn how to run a more tech-savvy, streamlined practice.
TD Ameritrade Institutional, Division of TD Ameritrade, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. TD Ameritrade is a trademark jointly owned by TD Ameritrade IP Company, Inc. and The Toronto-Dominion Bank. © 2019 TD Ameritrade.
