With an eye toward the future and likely also toward steering the Facebook generation toward its own website, Fidelity Investments launched a new app for Facebook, called FutureTimeline, which allows users to set long-term financial goals and track their savings toward shorter-term goals, like vacations or buying a new car.

The trade group's annual gathering showcased an industry less preoccupied with stabilizing itself and adapting to new regulations — and more interested in looking toward the future.

Asset managers spend more than 80 percent of their technology dollars simply maintaining existing operations. With regulatory changes and trading spanning more types of assets, “the buy side has a situation of underinvestment which is unsustainable,’’ research firm Celent said.

While beauty is in the eye of the beholder, there just seems to be a lot of noise “out there” as people in general and financial advisors in particular grapple with Twitter etiquette, Facebook do’s, and LinkedIn don’ts. Marketing Maven Marie Swift demystifies the art to using social media to build relationships and to amplify your voice.

Informa Investment Solutions, the New York-based supplier of software and solutions for the investment industry, announced Wednesday it will buy Zephyr Associates, Inc, a developer of analytical software tools.

Far removed from last year's Occupy-style protests in Chicago, customer experience shortcomings are still a big topic of discussion at 2012's BAI Retail Delivery Conference in Washington. New mobile innovation and social media advancements are two ways for banks to up their game.

Facebook is the world’s largest social network with more than 800 million active users. That is a lot of potential clients. However, Facebook presents some unique challenges to client acquisition, according to Craig Faulkner.

Some people say social media for advisors is a waste of time. Not so for Cathy Curtis, of Curtis Financial Planning, now a division of ClearRock Capital, LLC. Curtis has social media use to thank for the merger.

To attract clients, brokerage firms should be offering a mix of in-person as well as online, self-directed investing and retirement planning options, according to a recent report by Aite group.

The Salentica Advisor Desk with the Schwab OpenView Gateway is a platform for independent investment advisors to access real-time information on their clients' financial holdings through the Salentica CRM solution.

Learn about boosting skills and improving strategies.

Boost for index reflects improved outlook despite election jitters

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Software that enables advisors to fill out and process forms may not be glamorous, but it is essential.

Who's at the forefront of the shifting dynamic of planning? The 2012 Influencer Award winners.

In light of looming changes in industry regulations and advances in current technology, advisors need to act now when it comes to making data and document management electronic, Timothy Welsh of Nexus Strategy, said at FPA Experience in San Antonio on Sunday.

With the financial crisis as the backdrop and the fiscal cliff and regulatory changes on the horizon, "you know that how you manage your practice is not going to get easier," said Bill Winterberg, of FPPad.com.

Known for its cutting edge use of technology, Putnam Investments released a new technology-focused blog specifically for financial advisors on Monday.

A survey from the Oechsli Institute reveals that advisors are underusing the personal aspects of social media to build client rapport.

Savvy financial advisors are using social sites to differentiate themselves from the competition and to build trust and credibility. Perhaps the biggest reason for financial advisors to get involved in social marketing can be summed up in four words: Your customers are there.