Page 40 - Investment Advisor September 2022

number of female advisors stepping into ownership roles. ing that earlier this year it had over 2 billion impressions,
Most of all, PPC Loan was able to put much needed resources 3 million-plus visits to the website, over 2,300 participating
into the hands of advisors who otherwise would not be able in the directory, and more than 300,000 ZIP Code searches
to engage with consultants or fund transactions on their on the directory.
own,” it added.
Smart
Prospera Financial Services Smart, a global retirement technology
Over the past year, Prospera Financial provider, works with financial institu-
Services’ team members have worked togeth- tions (including broker-dealers and RIAs) and advisors “to
er “to build new systems and programs to help deliver retirement savings and income solutions that are digi-
meet the ultimate goal of making life easier for financial advi- tal, customized and cost-efficient,” it said.
sors. As such, two new programs created in the past year truly In April, it formed a partnership with Finhabits to utilize
stand out,” the firm explained. Finhabits’ financial wellness platform and “integrate its retire-
The first is the APEX (Advisor Practice Exchange) Program, ment technology within the app to help Latino small business
an interactive process and resource designed to assist owners and their workers gain access to a one-stop location
Prospera’s advisors interested in either growing their busi- for retirement savings plans,” according to Smart. There are
nesses by acquiring another practice or creating succession 4.65 million Latino-owned businesses in the U.S., and this
plans through a sale. The second is the Protect Engagement effort aims to bring retirement plans to those businesses with
Score, a report and dashboard updated weekly that lets advi- seamless onboarding and the delivery of an end-to-end retire-
sors gauge where they stand from a compliance perspective. ment plan experience, it added.
“Advisors can see where they can directly make improvements
to their score, and Prospera staff get a comprehensive view of SMArtX Advisory Solutions
who is at risk,” it said. SMArtX aimed to find “a better way to
educate advisors on these strategies and
Raymond James the role they could play in their portfolios. There was just
Raymond James says that it one problem: reaching advisors to talk about it,” the firm
has worked “to implement an approachable, scalable tech- explained. It then introduced the SMArtX Virtual Awards
nology education program that enhances advisor opportu- Program & Podcast.
nities and reaches a broad audience when and where they The 2022 Awards show took place virtually and included
need it. Advisors now have easy access to a complete tech- celebrity guests such as Kenny G, David Hasselhoff, Don
nology education experience that helps them best serve Johnson, Michael Rapaport and Anthony Anderson, “dis-
their clients.” tinguishing it from most fintech awards shows,” the firm
For instance, the firm provides customized education to its said. SMArtX also produced 12 webinars, 12 articles and
advisors. Its programs — including Tech Orientation, Power 12 podcasts, which it shared via email and on social media.
Ups, Tech Essentials, Tech Forward and Tech Savvy — “offer Themes included “emerging strategies such as cryptocurrency,
a range of training that spans live instructor-led sessions, ESG, SRI, impact investing, tax efficiency, as well as tradi-
hands-on interactive experiences, self-guided digital compo- tional growth and value added strategies, direct indices, and
nents and opportunities for one-on-one office hours with an approaches to asset allocation,” it said.
educational specialist. … We provide a solid knowledge base to
make technology a fluid part of their day-to-day operations,” Snappy Kraken
the firm explained. Recently, Snappy Kraken hosted “the
industry’s first financial-services market-
Schwab Advisor Services ing conference,” it said — which it called “Jolt!” The event
According to Schwab Advisor Services, “The aimed to teach advisors “how to build a predictable and prof-
Independent Difference Campaign is a multi- itable marketing system” and showcase some of “the bright-
million-dollar investment that educates est marketing minds from inside and outside the financial
investors about the RIA difference through industry, bringing them together on one stage with one mis-
national advertising to showcase that Schwab supports and sion: to deliver fresh insights that equipped advisors with an
believes in the importance of independent financial advi- implementation plan before they left the event.” The three-day
sors.” The campaign “teaches investors about why the RIA event included 21 sessions and had nearly 500 attendees who
model could be right for them [and] offers a vast level of became “raving fans,” a term Snappy Kraken CEO Robert Sofia
educational resources, tools, community connections, and uses to describe what the firm would like prospects to become.
information to turn interest into action,” the firm adds, not- It plans to host Jolt! again next year.

36 INVESTMENT ADVISOR SEPTEMBER 2022 | ThinkAdvisor.com