Frequently Asked Questions: Technology
Technology allows for us to become more efficient. For a busy tax professional like yourself, it is vital that you be efficient if you are going to be successful at this. For that reason H.D. Vest puts a large emphasis on providing our Advisors with the best technology. You’ll find our Advisor website HDVLink®, online account setup system, VestPlan SolutionsSM financial planning software, Intergrated Broker Workstation, and our Client Marketing System to be extremely useful in building your business. By choosing to partner with us, you will be able to use this technology to be more efficient and therefore more successful.
We do. Our Advisors have access to VestPlan Solutions, which is a comprehensive financial planning software package that helps you analyze and present your recommendations to clients. The core modules are available for free so that you don’t have to spend money obtaining your own software.
For the core modules there is no charge. Most Advisors only find that they need the core modules. If you would like to use the advanced modules, they are available for only $20 per month. Even if you do get the advanced modules, you’ll find it is still cheaper than any other comparable program out there.
HDVLink is our Advisors’ main connection to H.D. Vest. With just a few clicks of the mouse you can read the latest corporate and financial news, set up or view client accounts, access VestPlan Solutions and much more. This site allows you to stay in touch with H.D. Vest and gives you access to the information you need to be successful.
We understand how important it is to have an Internet presence. Therefore we offer our Advisors a free MyHDVest.comSM business website. You can customize your own MyHDVest.com site to market your services to clients and prospects. It also allows you to showcase information about your practice, investment philosophy, photo, directions to your office and more. Clients can use MyHDVest.com to access their accounts, place trades and get financial news.
Work with our preferred vendor, Advisor Square, who specializes in financial services websites. They will help design and build the website, route it through Compliance and get it up and running for the Advisor. Their fee for this service starts at around $300 per year.
Advisors can design and build their websites on their own. Once it is designed, they will need to send it to Compliance for approval and make any changes Compliance requests. The Advisor will also be billed an annual fee for Compliance to review the website.
Due to Compliance concerns, you cannot place information about your financial services on your tax website. Since it is important that you be able to market your financial services via the Internet, you are able to place on your tax website a link to your MyHDVest.com website. You can customize your own MyHDVest.com site to market your services to clients and prospects. It also allows you to showcase information about your practice, investment philosophy, photo, directions to your office and more. Clients can use MyHDVest.com to access their accounts, place trades and get financial news.
Absolutely – in fact we encourage it! Advisors are currently able to set up both brokerage and direct fund accounts online for our Advisors’ most popular fund companies. This helps you become more efficient by saving you time and reducing the paperwork mistakes.
You aren’t; however we do impose a $20 service fee if you don’t set up the account online. If the account you are setting up is not able to be done online, the service charge does not apply.