I had trouble figuring out where the numbers that fed into the long-term care module came from, so I clicked on the context-sensitive help button. I was told that the numbers came from either the insurance or assets screen in the Clients section. Unfortunately, there was no Long Term Care data entry screen under the insurance tab, and it wasn't under assets either (I still haven't figured that one out). The help screen also contained a description of LTC insurance that might be helpful to a consumer or a novice planner, but which is totally useless to everyone else.
I also experienced numerous browser-related problems. I spend a good deal of time on the Web navigating professional sites, and I haven't experienced anything nearly as serious in a number of years. The first time I entered the site, I received an error message. Tech support insisted that it was generated by "spyware" on my test machine, but I have serious doubts about that. Nevertheless, I temporarily removed the offending file, and the error message disappeared.
The problems did not end there, however. I crashed Internet Explorer on a regular basis. It appears that the problem manifests itself primarily when trying to navigate through certain pages before they are fully loaded. I tried accessing the site on multiple systems with differing configurations, and the results were the same, so I feel quite confident that my problems were not related to a single computer. I even tried accessing the site with Opera (another Web browser), but that didn't work. Based on my limited interaction with them, I'm a little worried about the firm's tech support.
In summary, there are three fundamental flaws with the AdvisorVision offering for independents. First, independents have different needs than AdviceAmerica's enterprise customers. The enterprise buyers may want to severely limit a user's options, either because they do not have the technical expertise or because they value speed over customization. Independents value speed, but for them the ability to customize is essential. Unfortunately, it is difficult to customize either the recommendations or the client deliverables within AdvisorVision.
Second, AdvisorVision does not offer sufficient transparency. Independents want to know where the recommendations are coming from and how they are arrived at. Finally, the program is buggy. It crashed way too many times on too many computers for it to be a coincidence. Some of the problems may be attributable to the recent introduction of Windows SP2, but there is definitely a problem.
Does this mean that I think AdvisorVision is without merit? Not at all; if the bugs are fixed, AdvisorVision may provide a means of offering reasonably priced generic plans to those who could not otherwise afford one. Enterprise users will benefit from tight integration and account aggregation. For the typical independent planner serving high-net-worth or quasi-high-net-worth individuals, however, AdvisorVision has limited appeal.
Joel P. Bruckenstein, publisher of Virtual Office News (www.virtualofficenews.), is a leader applied technology for the financial service professional. Contact him at [email protected].