Maximizing human capital
The delivery of TD's practice management solution is provided through one-on-one interactions with senior relationship managers or practice management consultants, third-party vendors, Web tools, webinars, regional conferences and workshops and national conferences. Some gaps TD feels it needs to improve in its offering are providing better customer intimacy and being able to gather better analytical information to provide more customized firm benchmarking. Most important, TD is working on being able to provide more accurate metrics around the support they provide. They would like to be able to give an advisor using one-on-one practice management consulting solutions, for example, a scorecard of how much better or worse the firm is doing by implementing the recommendations made.
Shannon Eusey is the president and founder of Beacon Point Advisors in Newport Beach, Calif., overseeing $4 billion for both private clients and nonprofits. Eusey says she sat on the TD Ameritrade Advisor Panel for a couple of years and was exposed to TD's practice management solutions. "We didn't have a CRM a couple of years ago, so we implemented one with TD's help, we improved our e-mail archiving, implemented LaserApp software and created client portals to give clients access to a secure site for report viewing." Eusey says Beacon Point implements much of TD's research but still needs a back-office and even front-office assessment.
"While running the business, we don't always see areas we can improve upon, so feedback from someone not involved in the business day to day is very helpful." She says technology help is also needed since technology is always changing. "TD Ameritrade is in our office quite a bit. Every time we leave a meeting with them we come away with something we can employ in the business."
Tony Mazzali runs CG Financial Services in Haslett, Mich., providing traditional wealth management services to clients over four to five states with more than $500 million under management. "We integrate tax services with wealth management," says Mazzali, "doing tax preparation and bookkeeping, in-house estate planning, etc. Our unique proposition that we're a one-stop shop."
Mazzali says CG has reached out to TD and mostly used its technology consulting services. "We leaned on TD for support in establishing a CRM and portfolio management system, for data clearing services, for storage and security. When searching for a portfolio management system, TD gave us five to seven vendors and provided us with industry reports and their own pros and cons so I could choose one."
Mazzali notes his firm could use help in developing a "metric system" to blueprint his business. "In the past, we've submitted input to industry studies performed by Moss Adams and we're using the output of those studies, such as ratio analysis, to help pinpoint our own firm's strengths and weaknesses."
Mazzali knows he also needs more help integrating tax services into the firm, whether by acquisition or partnership. "We would see TD's role as facilitating strategies and concepts and putting feelers out to accounting firms that would like to partner with individual advisors. The third area where we need help is benchmarking-not only financial metrics, but what strategies are effectively working out there," he explains. "I get lots of marketing and other ideas thrown at me at meetings but I don't have [a benchmark] to track whether an idea works once implemented. TD could help decipher and work with firms on this."
Jeff Powell, founder of Polaris Equity Management in San Francisco, manages $225 million with seven employees for about 300 clients. "We left Bear Stearns for TD about six years ago," Powell says. "We got involved with their myriad of practice management services early on in working with them."
Powell describes their involvement in a strategic relationship formed with John Bowen and CEG. It's "a yearlong pilot program where 25 of us attended quarterly meetings in New Jersey and San Diego that ended up reshaping where my business is," he explains. "We started the program in 2005 with $65 million under management. CEG went through every aspect of running the business and TD helped supplement the cost of the program. We qualified for this because we'd volunteered and because we're a larger firm (although one of the smaller firms participating)."