At its LINC 2019 conference for RIAs, TD Ameritrade Institutional revealed enhancements to its existing tech tools and platforms for advisors and their clients and introduced a new “virtual agent” designed to improve advisor efficiency. Employing the unique input of attendees and celebrity judges, during the conference the custodian also awarded $100,000 to three entrepreneurs whose ideas might change advisors’ business lives in the future and—dare we say it—improve society.
Jon Patullo, managing director, institutional technology solutions, related the changes to its Veo platform, a “built from scratch” remake of its AdvisorClient site for end clients and the introduction of the AI-powered virtual agent in an interview during LINC, which ran from Feb. 6-8 in San Diego.
AdvisorClient, which was built in only six months using TDAI’s agile software, has a cleaner interface and streamlined navigation, Patullo said, which makes it easier for end clients to quickly and easily access the information they want when using the site. The site prominently features three tabs that should provide “everything clients” normally look for, he said, will provide better authentication for clients, and will more easily allow them to opt into electronic versions of standard documents like statements and confirms. Taking advantage of the agile architecture of the site will also allow TDAI to update the site more frequently—even weekly—to better meet the evolving information and security needs of advisors and clients, Patullo said.
TD Ameritrade’s Veo One platform is coming of age, with Patullo saying that all advisors new to TDAI are automatically placed on the now four-year-old platform, while all advisors who have been using the legacy Veo platform will be moved to Veo Open Access over the next year. In addition to the 28 third-party tech vendors integrated into the platform, Veo One also includes now industry-wide practice management data provided by FA Insight, the advisor research and analysis firm led by Dan Inveen and Eliza De Pardo that TDAI acquired in 2016. That data, presented as a dashboard, will allow individual advisory firms to see how well they “stack up” with other firms across the industry; the platform will also provide complementary educational resources to help firms improve their performance.