Over the past few weeks I've been discussing some new technology I've added and how it all integrates (see my April 13 post, Why You Must Invest in Good Technology). In this post, I'll expand on this and reveal a few surprises I've had along the way.
When I first heard the term integration several years ago, I had a particular view of what it meant. As I have learned more about it, the reality is a little different from my perception. Here's a list of what we'll discuss:
- TradePMR
- eMoney
- Morningstar Advisor Workstation (MAW)
- Redtail CMS (Coming Soon)
TradePMR
TradePMR is my custodian but all client accounts are held at First Clearing Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo. I started the process by creating a new client record in eMoney. Next, I linked the client's investment accounts with the client record I created in eMoney. Once this was complete, all relevant information about the securities held, such as market value, number of shares, price per share, total account value, etc., updates daily. There is no integration between TradePMR and Morningstar Advisor Workstation (MAW). However, I can export client accounts individually, by group, or all at once as an XML file and easily import them into MAW. Redtail has some level of integration with TradePMR and once I subscribe, account data will flow into Redtail (for more, see Redtail below).
eMoney
Beyond the eMoney integration mentioned above, it also receives data from Redtail. Once you establish the eMoney integration, basic contact data, account information, notes and activities are linked between the two programs. In general, the data flows in one direction, from Redtail to eMoney, with one notable exception. If you change a client's contact information in one program, it will automatically update in the other.
There is also an integration between eMoney and MAW. In my situation client account data is already linked from TradePMR to eMoney so this holds no benefit for me. However, I can export accounts from eMoney to an XML file, just as I can from TradePMR, and import them to MAW. Finally, eMoney subscribers can generate a few MS reports from within the program.
