Products September 8, 2014

Guardian Puts Emphasis on Social Media

The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America says more than eight in 10 (81%) of its financial representatives regularly engage with clients  and prospects on social media channels.
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Guardian says these representatives have completed a social media training program to ensure successful interactions with customers and business partners via online channels. The training program covers social media basics, compliance issues, and how to leverage social capital through content planning, creation and publication. Further, the firm says it is working to extend its social media training program across its entire wholesaler network.

Guardian is also leveraging new content, compliance and retention software to equip its financial representatives and wholesalers with tools to effectively grow business through social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Facebook. Guardian says the successful use of these tools provides its agents with the ability to connect with more prospects, attain new clients and increase the assets under management in their books of business.

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“Guardian’s financial representatives and wholesalers need to be where our clients are and increasingly this is on social media platforms,” explains Kurt Shallow, vice president of risk products distribution at Guardian. “These forums provide unprecedented client access and engagement opportunities, and are also great tools for recruitment and professional development for our agents and wholesalers.”

Guardian’s social media program provides its reps with access to relevant materials, such as articles, images and videos that can be passed along to their clients and prospects. These interactions are captured to remain compliant with federal regulations, Guardian says. On average, Guardian’s users share eight pieces of content each month to create new touch points and avenues of engagement with clients.

For more information about Guardian’s social media efforts is at www.GuardianLife.com.

Products September 8, 2014

Redtail, Morningstar Partner on CRM Tech

Redtail Technology and Morningstar have partnered to integrate proprietary investment research and portfolio analytics within new client relationship management (CRM) software tools for advisers.
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Redtail and Morningstar say the new CRM software solution is set to launch in the fourth quarter of 2014. They hope the software tools will help advisers streamline and simplify practice management and client servicing.

“Throughout the development process, we’ve looked carefully at feature requests and suggestions from our users that have gathered the most support,” explains Brian McLaughlin, CEO of Redtail Technology. “We’re implementing hundreds of those ideas in this release, while also improving overall performance, design and ease of use.”

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Tricia Rothschild, head of global adviser solutions for Morningstar, says the goal is also to provide advisers with a more integrated, holistic workflow. “As advisers increasingly use Redtail, we’re pleased to offer easier access to investment and portfolio-level information where and when they need it,” she adds.

In addition to integrated Morningstar reports, analytics and data, the Redtail CRM user interface offers enhancements to key features, including:

  • improved calendar functionality, both at the contact and database user level;
  • more precise and user-friendly advanced searches;
  • expanded note formatting and commenting capabilities;
  • a new automations engine that helps advisers manage daily activities and processes more efficiently; and
  • a new projects feature with a revamped workflow management system.

Redtail CRM subscribers who upgrade to the new version will be able to conduct research and stay abreast of timely market information from Morningstar, according to the firms. Without leaving the Redtail platform, subscribers may view the Morningstar Report, an on-screen research report for mutual funds, stocks, closed-end funds and exchange-traded funds. Advisers can also view various Morningstar market-monitoring tools on the Redtail dashboard, including the Morningstar Market Barometer, Sector Delta graphics, fair value estimate chart and Morningstar news content.

In addition, Redtail CRM subscribers who also have a license for Morningstar Advisor Workstation or Morningstar Office will gain access to other reports and research, directly from the Redtail platform. These advisers will be able to view client portfolios and generate Morningstar portfolio-level reports—including Portfolio Snapshot, Portfolio X-Ray and Stock Intersection. Advisers also will be able to generate investment detail reports for funds, stocks, exchange-traded funds and closed-end funds.

If they choose to subscribe to the capability, Morningstar Advisor Workstation and Morningstar Office users will also have access to analyst research and ratings within the Morningstar Report directly from the Redtail platform. Later this year, Morningstar Office users will also have access to client portfolio data within the Redtail CRM.

“The primary goal of all of our integration efforts is to make those tasks that advisers have to perform on a day-to-day basis easier and more streamlined,” McLaughlin says. “This is only the first part of our coordinated integration effort, which will deepen significantly over time.”

Redtail says subscribers may switch to its new CRM or continue to use the previous version. Redtail will continue to support the previous CRM and keep all existing training information available, but will base new training materials on the updated user interface. New users who sign up for a free trial will instantly have access to the new interface. Redtail will offer multiple weekly webinars to educate users about the new features available and has an expanded training staff available to provide help and support throughout the transition.

More information on the Redtail CRM solutions is at www.redtailtechnology.com.

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