In their first release since coming under the Envestnet umbrella, MoneyGuide is about to launch a new digital marketing feature specifically designed for independent RIAs.
The underlying basis of the feature, a simple underlying URL, is nothing revolutionary, but the execution of the workflow and the user experience are ideal for advisors looking to grow their businesses.
MyBlocks Digital Marketing is a new feature that has been added to MyBlocks, MoneyGuide’s digital client experience. MyBlocks is a financial wellness ecosystem consisting of an online client financial wellness portal that contains activity "blocks." When you mouse over any block, it tells you what the block does and about how long it will take to complete it. One block, for example, helps illustrate how inflation impacts your finances and takes two minutes or less to complete. Others, like creating a plan to pay off credit card debt, might take five minutes. All the blocks take seven minutes or less, but more may be created that take longer.
The portal’s look and feel are similar to that of Amazon Prime Video and Netflix, so any investor who has used one of these services should feel right at home. Blocks are grouped under headings, as videos are on the video sites, to make navigating the site and identifying the block you need more intuitive. For example, under the heading of “Protect Your Family,” there are block for determining life insurance needs and for income protection. Under “Important Retirement Topics,” there are blocks for things like Social Security planning, planning for health-care costs in retirement, and a life expectancy block to help investors understand how to determine a reasonable planning period for one’s retirement.
There are 25 blocks and more on the way. Future blocks are likely to include content from third-party providers such as CRM software and portfolio management software developers. So clients could, for example, be able to display the content of a portfolio management portal or report within a block.
There are blocks that deal with investor education, retirement expectations, retirement concerns, setting financial goals, Social Security planning, long-term-care insurance, income protection, paying off loans, among others. There are also five Yodlee account aggregation blocks that include linking accounts, account summary, transactions, budgeting and expense analysis. The combination of blocks capable of addressing all common financial issues, plus the intuitive portal, will allow prospects and clients to get their full financial picture in unified digital experience that is like no other in the industry.
MyBlocks Digital Marketing, which is included in the price of MyBlocks, is a unique URL that is included with each advisor's MyBlocks license. The URL takes prospects and clients to a self-registration page, where they can register to open a MyBlocks account.
As part of the registration process, visitors supply contact information, age, marital status and gender information. They can also register a spouse or partner and supply their basic information. Since the investor is registering through a specific advisor’s URL, MoneyGuide knows which investor to link with which advisor. The information entered by the investor, and any information they enter into a block in the future, is stored on the MoneyGuide servers.
Although MyBlocks can be used as a stand-alone tool, it is more powerful when used in conjunction with MoneyGuidePro or MoneyGuideElite, the new premium version of MoneyGuide. As investors enter information, the data necessary to create a comprehensive financial plan is gathered over time. When appropriate, the advisor can use the stored data to populate a full MoneyGuide financial plan.
What’s attractive about MyBlocks Digital Marketing is that the unique URL can be used in many ways. Advisors can share it in email marketing and e-newsletters they send to clients and prospects. They can place it on their website. It can be included in blog posts. It can be distributed through social media.