Orion Advisor Services LLC is a firm that seemingly flies under the radar of many financial advisors. Perhaps this is because of its Midwestern roots (the firm is headquartered in Omaha, Neb.) or its low-key style, but behind the firm's mild-mannered exterior lies the heart of an innovator.

Orion's journey from a service bureau start-up to technology innovator has been anything but typical. Back in 1989, the fee-only RIA firm that Orion grew out of was faced with a problem: The advisors there were not happy with their portfolio management system. The firm surveyed the market in the hopes of finding an alternative vendor to whom it could outsource portfolio management accounting, data consolidation and client servicing. In essence, these advisors were looking for a portfolio management solution but also a service bureau that could offer them data reconciliation, performance reports, client invoicing and a high level of customer service.

The firm never found a suitable vendor, so it decided to start one of its own. The new technology business began operations in 1999, and it is known today as Orion. Since its early days, the firm has operated as a separate entity, offering a portfolio management system and service bureau to both the original firm and the RIA community at large.
Today, most advisors familiar with Orion think of it for its portfolio accounting and related services. Orion certainly offers these services. The firm has a robust, competitively priced portfolio management and accounting platform that includes, among other things, custom reporting capabilities, client portals, billing, rebalancing and trade order management. All of these tools are solid, but by no means unique.

But some of Orion's more cutting-edge initiatives are less well known and underappreciated.

Custom Advisor Mobile Apps
Earlier this year, Orion rolled out custom mobile apps for advisors. The firm currently offers one app for Android and another for iPhone/iPad users. Although many technology firms serving advisors have rolled out similar apps, Orion goes a step further: Orion will private brand the app for its advisors at no charge and help secure placement in the appropriate app store or marketplace.

The appeal of custom apps should be obvious: The advisor controls the client's smartphone and tablet desktop, so the client receives market news and commentary from the advisor. So when a client accesses the app, it's the advisor's name out in front, not a third party's. The app also makes the advisor more accessible to clients, since clients take their phones everywhere.

Once the client has downloaded the app, he can use the same credentials he uses to log on to his portal. The Orion apps make use of navigation elements customized for the iOS or Android OS, but the content is delivered through HTML 5 technology. This framework allows Orion to store the data on its servers and deliver it over the Web on demand, eliminating the need to store data on the device itself in order to minimize security risks.

Orion gives advisors control over what the mobile app can and can't do. For example, the advisor can limit the type of data clients can view, while giving the advisor a full view of holdings, performance, etc. Advisors can allow their clients to access client statements through the mobile app and then save the statements as PDF files. For enhanced security, advisors have the option of suppressing certain information on the statements, such as account numbers, in case a client loses a phone with the PDF statements on it.

The mobile app can leverage push technology, allowing advisors to send alerts to clients' phones. For example, if there is a big market drop, an advisor could send an alert to clients with links to the advisor's audio market update. The mobile app also allows the advisor to deliver custom slide shows and even video directly to the client's mobile device.

In addition, the app gives advisors handy access to client CRM information. When you click on a client phone number, the app will make a phone call to the client. Click on the client's address, and you'll see a map with directions to the client's office. The app also provides clients with your information, so they can call or e-mail you by tapping a hot link. Clicking on your address will launch a map and driving directions to your office.

Video Market Commentaries
Orion believes that video can be more powerful than the printed word in delivering quarterly reports to clients. Video also helps advisors build their business while creating a more "sticky" relationship between the advisor and Orion.

The firm has even established production facilities and a production team to help advisors create effective messaging. The videos generally run two to three minutes. Orion has found that client attention wanes after about three minutes.

Orion does the preproduction work, including video coaching for the advisor, should the advisor wish to appear in the video. The firm will also do the video recording, supplying actors and animation if necessary, as well as the postproduction work. And the firm will host the videos and provide a thorough analysis of the results.

The prices are surprisingly affordable. Those who commit to quarterly video market commentaries are charged $800 per quarter for actor-only videos. For advisor videos produced in the Orion studio, the cost is $1,000 per quarter.

Once you create your videos, Orion will help you make the most of them. The firm will show you how to use the video as an introductory tool and a client retention tool, as well as demonstrate how to use the videos in the client-acquisition process.
For example, Orion can help advisors create "smart tags." These can be attached to a client statement, a prospect brochure or even a business card. The tag can then be pointed to a video, so the client or prospect is taken to the clip you want them to see.
Since the location that the tag points to can be changed through the Web site, you can have one tag on your business card but change the video it points to later. Advisors who have taken advantage of video market commentaries have so far been pleased with the results.

"Video market commentaries can fundamentally change your business," says Steve Biermann, the chief marketing officer at Orion's parent company, NorthStar Financial Services Group LLC.

EProfile Template
Orion has long offered an optional module to clients called the "eProfile." This module was designed to gather demographic data. Once the data is in the system, it can be used to output risk scores (which can then be linked to a model portfolio), custodial paperwork, investment advisor agreements, investment policy statements, and more. This feature has proved popular with larger firms, but until recently Orion had to do the programming to create each advisory firm's profile, so the average cost was approximately $10,000. The price discouraged some advisors from taking advantage of this powerful technology.

Then in May 2011, Orion rolled out an eProfile template that allows each firm to create its own eProfile module at no charge by simply following a wizard. For the most part, it requires checking boxes or making selections from drop-down lists. If you want to automatically link scores on risk profiles to model portfolios, you need to supply that information.

Risk questionnaires can be uploaded as PDF files, but it is more effective to create them using HTML 5 so you can include graphs, hot links and other elements. Since this task may be beyond the capabilities of some advisors, Orion can perform this task for an hourly fee. Generally speaking, the work can be completed in five hours or less at a modest cost.

Once the template is completed, it can be used to complete and store risk profiles. These profiles can be used to automatically create client asset allocations and an investment policy statement. In addition, the information will automatically complete all advisor intake forms, as well as all required and optional custodial forms.

Orion recently inked a deal with TD Ameritrade that allows advisors to complete TD's forms within eProfile and send them to the client for an electronic signature using DocuSign. Once the client electronically signs the paperwork, it is forwarded to TD for immediate processing with a copy to the advisor. Since TD has agreed to cover the DocuSign fee for all its paperwork, there is no charge to advisors who custody with the brokerage. Orion hopes to soon offer the same digital signature capabilities through all custodians, but fees may apply if and when the service becomes available.

Salesforce Integration
According to Orion President Eric Clarke, client relationship management is the "hub" of most advisory businesses. Virtually all Orion clients use one of three CRM systems: Salesforce, Redtail or Junxure. Initially, Orion has set out to create a high level of integration with Salesforce.

To accelerate development, Orion chose to initially develop on top of the AppCrown version of Salesforce, one that has already been customized for the financial advisor community. This has allowed Orion to leverage the custom fields, workflows and reports developed by AppCrown and concentrate on building the Orion features into Salesforce. As a result, much of Orion's core functionality is already available within AppCrown Salesforce.

For example, you can access household, client and account information. You can even drill down to individual holdings. You can even run Orion reports from within Salesforce. What you cannot do yet is create trades, rebalance or set up fee billing. These additional functions are expected to be available in December.

What's even more intriguing is Orion's plans for the future. By January 2013, Orion plans to have its own version of Salesforce. This will alleviate the need for its advisors to purchase the AppCrown version. Furthermore, Orion expects to have ALL of its functionality built into Salesforce, so Salesforce will, in effect, be able to function as the Orion app. That would be true integration!

Since Orion partners closely with TD Ameritrade, the firm plans to make the same level of integration available to advisors who prefer to use the soon-to-be-released TD Ameritrade version of Salesforce. Orion is also open to melding with the Schwab version of Salesforce when it goes live, as long as Schwab opens its version to Orion, something the brokerage has not done yet.

Redtail and Junxure Integration
Clarke hopes to offer the same seamless integration within Redtail and Junxure's cloud that Orion now offers through Salesforce, but says it requires cooperation and resources from both firms. At the recent Orion conference, attended by Redtail CEO/CTO Brian McLaughlin, the two companies met to discuss integration initiatives. According to McLaughlin: "Redtail is committed to deeply integrating our application with Orion's." Presumably, deep integration with Junxure will move forward when its cloud version launches next year.

Dropbox Integration
While many firms, including Orion, currently offer "client vaults," Orion is the first firm in the industry that we know of building an integration with Dropbox, a service that offers online storage, file sharing and file synchronization across multiple computing platforms. This means that you can synchronize files in a Dropbox folder and have seamless access to those files from PCs, Macs and mobile devices. The ability to save to Dropbox is built into many iPad, iPhone and Android applications.

Dropbox offers many advantages. The first 2 gigabytes of storage per user are free, so advisors can set up client storage vaults for their clients at no charge. Second, the Dropbox interface is familiar to many clients, so they won't need to learn a new system. In fact, Orion will be able to link to an existing client Dropbox with the client's permission. Third, Dropbox has a notification system alerting users to changes to their Dropbox account. In addition, Dropbox includes an "events" section that keeps track of changes to your Dropbox.

Once the integration is complete, advisors will be able to batch-load Orion reports to client Dropbox folders. They will also be able to use the folders to store other types of client documents. In addition, advisors will be able to securely communicate with clients by posting notes to the Dropbox folders. This same functionality will allow advisors to communicate with Orion via Dropbox.

The Dropbox initiative is not without controversy, however. A number of blogs have raised concerns about Dropbox's security. Orion appears to be comfortable with it, but if advisors want additional protection, the firm plans to offer integration with one or more third-party providers of multi-factor authentication. In addition, Clarke has said that once the Dropbox programming is completed, Orion should be able to use the same framework to connect with other services (Box.net and SpiderOak come to mind).

An Impressive Burst of Innovation
With all these services, Orion is blazing a trail of rapid innovation that should greatly benefit existing users. These innovations should also attract plenty of new advisors who would benefit greatly from what the firm is developing.

Although Orion is not as widely known as some of its competitors, the firm's latest innovations are sure to spur more interest in its core portfolio management and reporting businesses, as well as the many innovative "extras" that it makes available to its clients.