About a year ago, leading up to the Schwab IMPACT Conference, Schwab Advisor Services laid out its technology road map for the future. Since that time, however, the company has been rather quiet about its integration initiatives. This article was written on the eve of the 2011 Schwab IMPACT conference, when the company was expected to announce integration progress on a number of fronts. 

Last year, Schwab announced a multiyear initiative called Schwab Intelligent Integration. The initiative was designed to help increase integration between the disparate systems and work flows in the typical advisor's office. The initiative follows two distinct paths: a turnkey, integrated solution called Schwab OpenView Integrated Office and a more open solution dubbed Schwab OpenView Gateway. Subsequently, to demonstrate the importance of OpenView, Schwab announced the formation of a new business unit, Schwab Intelligent Technologies, to champion its integration initiatives.

According to Schwab, there are four key principles at work in its integration strategy: CRM-centricity, intelligent integration, platform choice and support, and guidance from Schwab. These principles apply to both Schwab OpenView Integrated Office and Schwab OpenView Gateway. Although Schwab is committed to the four principles, the nature of the implementation and the degree to which they can be carried forward will vary by channel. Schwab has more influence and control over the implementation of Schwab OpenView Integrated Office, so it is likely that this channel will, initially at least, offer the deepest integration. We expect the following integration-related issues to be topics of conversation at Schwab IMPACT.

Schwab Salesforce Integration
Schwab's integration with Salesforce, which I tested briefly, demonstrates the four principles. The Salesforce platform makes a good underlying technology base upon which developers can build a truly integrated advisor workstation. In all fairness, Schwab is not the only RIA custodian pursuing this approach in the technology sphere. TD Ameritrade has rolled out a Salesforce solution for its advisors, and Fidelity has Salesforce integration in the works. In addition, Orion has its own Salesforce integration, and it plans to roll out an even more impressive version integrating all the functionality of its desktop solution by the end of 2012. 

Each custodian and each vendor adds its own special "sauce" to make its respective version stand out, and Schwab is no exception. One differentiator is that Salesforce is available through both Schwab OpenView Integrated Office and Schwab OpenView Gateway. So if you purchase an integrated turnkey offering from Schwab, Salesforce will be your CRM software. It will come preconfigured with the Schwab custom version of Salesforce, including the integration with Schwab Portfolio Services and integrated work flows.

If you take the OpenView Gateway approach and purchase Salesforce directly, you will still be able to download the Schwab customization and work flows, and you'll be able to take advantage of the integration with the Schwab back office, but you'll have to go through a one-time integration initialization process. 

According to Brian Shenson, managing director of advisor services technology at Schwab, the Schwab OpenView Integrated Office offering is unique because it is designed specifically for the Schwab advisor. "We tried to take what can be, to some, a complicated product and simplified it in a way that makes sense for our advisors," he says. The idea is to provide all the necessary functionality, without any unnecessary complexities.
One example of this simplified approach is the way that Schwab's Salesforce handles relationships. Out of the box, this CRM system can handle all types of relationships, so advisors can track prospects, clients, vendors, centers of influence, etc. without any additional customization and run their entire business from within Salesforce. The application uses different icons in front of a contact's name to represent the type of relationship, so you can easily distinguish a client from a lead, for example. 

It can also track complex relationships. This means that you can relate an individual, for example, to a household. You can link a lawyer or an accountant to an individual or a household. When dealing with a lawyer, you can track tasks at the individual lawyer level, but you can also track tasks at the law firm level. In addition, if a lawyer happens to become a client of the advisory firm, you can track that relationship as well. If an advisor wants to customize Salesforce to incorporate all of these relationships in an intuitive fashion, the setup might be a challenge, so Schwab provides it. 

Another unique aspect of the Schwab OpenView Integrated Office integration is the out-of-the-box integration with the Schwab back office. Advisors familiar with the Schwab Advisor Services Web site will immediately notice how some of the functionality built into that site is available from within the Schwab version of Salesforce. One example is the alerts, which display in Salesforce much as they do on the Schwab Advisor Web site. Not all the functionality available on the Web site is currently available through Salesforce, but Shenson says that additional functions will be added over time. In the current version, for example, advisors have to use an external link and sign on to the Schwab Web site to open new accounts, but Shenson says this capability will be added in 2012. 

On the household screen, there is a section that lists all of the financial accounts within the household. This list includes account numbers and types (individual accounts, joint accounts, trusts, etc.). Again, all of this data is displayed in a fashion similar to that of the Schwab Advisor Web site. If you click on the link to the OpenGateway data, you are taken to a list containing all the household accounts. If instead, from within the CRM household page (or the household page on the OpenGateway page) you click on an account, you are taken to the individual account view. 

This view is composed of three tabs: "Overview," "Holdings" and "Account Details." The overview page contains pertinent account and demographic details, real-time account balances (for all accounts custodied at Schwab), as well as account-related alerts and transactions. The default view is the last seven days for both alerts and transactions. A drop-down list at the transaction portion of the screen allows you to filter by transaction type (deposits and withdrawals, dividends and reinvestments, trades, security transfers, etc.). The holdings page lists holdings. The data includes total account values, total cash, market values and symbols. Again, a drop-down box allows you to filter by security type, and you can search by symbol, but in my test account I could not sort by column (the market value, the day's change, etc.).

This version of Salesforce reportedly provides deep integration with Schwab Portfolio Services, the Web-based portfolio management and performance-reporting solution that is also part of the Schwab OpenView Integrated Office offering. Though I have not tested that functionality, I did get a brief demonstration. What I previewed looked promising, but I'll have to withhold further comment.

Space does not allow for a detailed reporting of every feature since Salesforce is a comprehensive application and Schwab has done a great deal of customization. Overall, though, my impression is that the underlying design of this Salesforce iteration is well thought out. It may not include every feature yet, but the platform will allow Schwab to add features over time.

Schwab's Integrated Work-Flow Solution
Schwab believes that work flows managed from within the CRM are essential to a firm's efficiency, but each firm has its own work-flow preferences. Schwab thinks it has found a way to get advisors to use the work flows within a CRM but also allow them to customize as they see fit. 

The firm's solution is the Schwab OpenView Workflow Library. Each edition of the library series contains information about how to design a specific work flow for a specific CRM application, using information on best practices compiled by Schwab and third parties. Initially, Schwab will release five papers, each targeting a specific work flow for Salesforce (such as bringing on new clients). This series will later be expanded to cover specifics for Junxure and Microsoft CRM. Others may be added in the future.

Each volume contains guidance for beginners, including diagrams, as well as advanced tips for experienced users looking to refine and improve existing work flows. In addition to the diagrams, these papers provide checklists. Once the work flow has been mapped out, the paper gives specific instructions on how to enter the work flow you've created into the corresponding CRM application. 

The first paper in the series deals with creating a client referral work flow within Salesforce. The paper, 17 pages long, offers detailed instructions in plain English to accomplish the task at hand. Those motivated to create their own work flows will not go wrong relying on the information provided. Those who prefer to delegate the task should have no trouble finding someone capable of performing the task for them.

Turnkey Is Not For Everyone
While Schwab's turnkey solution will appeal to some, it is not for everyone. Advisors who like Salesforce but do not want to purchase a turnkey Schwab solution can purchase their own Salesforce licenses and, assuming they use Schwab Portfolio Services, get essentially the same functions. If they use another portfolio management solution, they will be able to get the back office integration. If the portfolio management software they use is part of Schwab OpenView Gateway solution, they should be able to achieve a high level of integration as well.

It should also be mentioned that not all advisors are going to migrate to Salesforce anytime soon. Currently, Schwab and Junxure CRM share well over 800 common advisor clients. Through Schwab OpenView Gateway, Junxure clients will have access to the same account data that the Schwab Salesforce CRM provides. Junxure, like Salesforce, requires advisors to participate in a simple enrollment process within the program to access the data residing within the Schwab Advisor Web site. This creates a secure connection between Schwab and the advisor's version of Junxure. Advisors can pull data such as holdings, account demographics and alerts from the Schwab system and display them within Junxure, and also get access to functionality like alerts based on the Schwab portfolio holding data. 

Once the data is pulled from the Schwab back office it can be used inside Junxure. For example, an advisor can take action or create a work flow based on one or more Schwab alerts.

Junxure offers an additional work-flow option besides the Schwab OpenView Workflow Library: Junxure Customized Consulting. Junxure has a staff of highly trained professionals that can help you customize the application, take actions and create work flows for your business.

At this point, the integration between Schwab and Junxure feels less than fully developed, but we suspect that this has more to do with Schwab than Junxure. As the data capabilities of the OpenView Gateway platform are expanded, it is a sure bet that a deeper and better integration experience will be coming. 

Schwab, as the leading custodian for independent RIAs, is well aware that sophisticated CRM applications and automated work flows can improve RIA efficiency and ultimately free up time for advisors, who can use that extra time to both serve their current clients and bring in new ones. Will the Schwab tools and technologies spur advisors to take their CRM and work-flow automation to the next level? Only time will tell, but it is definitely a step in the right direction.