Schwab Plans to Roll out Laser App Integration

Schwab Advisor Services, a leading provider of custodial, operational and trading support for more than 6,000 independent registered investment advisory firms (RIAs), recently announced its plans to roll out Laser App integration to a first set of advisors and make it widely available by the end of the year.

With Laser App advisors will be able to leverage existing data from their Client Relationship Management system (CRM) and the Schwab Advisor Center website to pre-populate forms and applications. As a result, advisors will be able to ensure greater efficiency and accuracy by eliminating redundancy of data entry. The integration helps improve internal processes by reducing the effort and inherent errors associated with manually completing forms.

"We're always looking for ways to help advisors stay focused on maximizing productivity and efficiency," said Steve Hirsch, vice president of Institutional Web Services at Charles Schwab, in a statement. "Laser App integration allows advisors to streamline paperwork so they can spend more time on growth strategies and strengthening client relationships."

"One of my pet peeves is having 15 pieces of data that all have to be reentered every time I do anything. Constantly rekeying data lends to concerns about errors," said Kimberly D. Overman, president and chief executive officer of The Financial Well, Inc. who participated in the pilot program. "Laser App integration increases accuracy by validating account applications before you submit them. Any implementation like this is wonderful--it's what I've needed for a very long time."

"We all know how much paperwork is involved in our industry," said Robert Powell, vice president of Sales & Marketing at Laser App. "And the paperwork is only getting worse. Working with Schwab's development staff, we've added functionality that makes forms filling more intuitive and interactive. In short, Schwab has taken the advisor experience to a whole new level."

Laser App will be available at no cost to advisors who custody with Schwab and will include two years of Laser App support.

Rahul Arora is a TMCnet contributor. He has worked as an editor and freelance writer for several reputed organizations in India. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Rich Steeves