TD Ameritrade Launches Tech Awards With a Twist

2) iMar Learning Solutions. This Van Alstyne, Texas-based firm was nominated for Plan-It, a financial literacy application that links client accounts with financial literacy education based on their spending habits and patterns. The app can "create a new group of investors, who can relate to the significant benefits of advisors," said Dario.

3) Dynamic Wealth Solutions. This Southfield, Michigan-based company was nominated for RIA Genie, a voice-activated "assistant" for RIA firms that uses AI natural language processing to "develop a cost-effective voice-activated workflow assistant that reduces or eliminates the need for low-end administrative workers and empowers advisors to be more productive." This app, Dario said, allows advisors to improve the client experience by applying the voice activation technology that "we've seen in other parts of our lives," said Dario, such as with Amazon's Alexa.

The genesis of the IQ awards came from TDAI's realization that "it was important to go out to our constituents—advisors and tech entrepreneurs; students; educational professionals…the whole industry" to understand what RIAs and their clients needed to succeed in the near future, Dario said.

The themes that arose from all those entries, he said, included the need to "incorporate machine learning and artificial intelligence; cybersecurity—that's paramount in the minds of many submitters" to improve the client experience and to serve the next generation of investors. That last theme reflected the "importance of financial education and planning" to serve a "larger population [of clients]  now and the next generation as well," he said.

To win the grand prize, the finalists' submissions will need to "come alive on the LINC stage," Dario said, during TDAI's national conference in San Diego on Thursday, Feb. 7 through a demonstration and a prepared video. The LINC audience will help choose the winning submission that will be announced on the last day of the conference, Feb. 8.

The IQ awards help to demonstrate, Dario said, that the use of technology "doesn't replace" the advisor-client relationship but rather "supplements it," allowing advisors to focus on higher-value service offerings.

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