Schwab Integrates With Salesforce Financial Services Cloud

Schwab Advisor Services is developing a new app integration with the Salesforce Financial Services Cloud for RIAs that it said Thursday will give independent advisors access to Schwab data and enable them to perform workflows directly from Salesforce’s client relationship management platform once the integration goes live in the current quarter ending June 30.

The end-to-end integration is being done via an application programming interface and will enable independent advisors using Schwab’s platform to create a differentiated client experience, helping to drive growth at their firms, according to the company.

The new app will replace the existing Schwab app but continue to support advisors using the older Salesforce Sales Cloud CRM offering, according to Schwab.

“The latest integration is a replacement for the current Gateway for Salesforce app that will work with Salesforce Financial Services Cloud while continuing to work with the current Sales Cloud Salesforce offers, so existing users of Gateway for Salesforce do not have to upgrade,” Schwab explained in a statement provided too ThinkAdvisor on Friday.

“This new app will allow a broader set of advisors to access Schwab capabilities via our FSC app. We are always looking for ways to expand the breadth and depth of our third-party integration especially when it is an offer that advisors have been asking about for some time,” the company added.

Financial Services Cloud includes all the core Sales Cloud features but adds newer custom fields and objects modeling financial accounts, assets, liabilities and goals for individual clients and across entire households, according to Salesforce. “This means advisors no longer have to spend time and money customizing their CRM to speak the language of their firm,” Salesforce says at its website.

Schwab’s announcement was made two days after Orion Advisor Solutions said it reached a deal to acquire Salesforce CRM rival Redtail Technology.

Through the new integration, advisors on Schwab’s platform will now be able to: initiate digital onboarding, including account opening, and change of address; view and incorporate real-time data on client account profiles, balances and positions; and access status and receive alerts from Schwab Advisor Center on various actions, including move money, account open and service requests, it said.

More capabilities will be made available to advisors on an ongoing basis after the launch, Schwab said.

“Independent advisors who custody with Schwab have been actively requesting this integration, so it’s an important milestone on our roadmap when it comes to third-party technology,” according to Kartik Srinivasan, director, third-party integration at Schwab Digital Advisor Solutions.

“Our efforts here demonstrate the breadth and depth of our integration capabilities, letting advisors build and operate tech stacks that make most sense for their firms and their clients,” he said in a statement.

Not immediately clear was why Schwab waited until now to integrate with Salesforce Financial Services Cloud, which launched in early 2016 and features insights generated via artificial intelligence.

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