With the global financial crisis causing many investors to fire their brokers, independent financial advisors are using Web 2.0 technology to attract clients, according to Advisor Products Inc., a leading marketing technology firm to independent advisors.

"Billions if not trillions of dollars are in motion because Wall Street brokers have been discredited in the global financial crisis, and the independent financial advisors that we serve are benefiting from the change," says Andrew Gluck, president and CEO of Advisor Products. "We're seeing growing demand for Web 2.0 products like AdvisorVault, our client vault system."

Gluck says independent advisors are turning to the Advisor Products client vault and its other Web 2.0 tools to differentiate themselves from brokers at wirehouses who don't offer these engaging technology tools. "We're seeing independent financial advisors adopt our most advanced technology tools in larger numbers to seize the marketing advantage over brokers and increase their operational efficiency during this current financial crisis," says Gluck.

AdvisorVault is a secure online lockbox for storing sensitive client documents. Branded to advisory firms, it allows financial advisors and clients to store wills, trust documents, financial plans, and other key information in a secure place on the Web. "By becoming the repository of this information, financial advisors deepen relationships with clients and can access all key data quickly when it's needed," says Gluck. "With financial advisors now moving from websites that are brochure-ware to use the Internet to improve client service, Web 2.0 tools are giving them an advantage in retaining clients and attracting new business, especially during the current financial crisis."

AdvisorVault is integrated with many leading portfolio management systems to allow client access to HTML and PDF portfolio performance reports. Reporting on performance online saves financial advisors from the expense and hassle of mailing portfolio reports.

Financial advisors can monitor whether clients are viewing their portfolio reports. Moreover, portfolio performance statistics are put in perspective because they are typically provided alongside personal financial planning data and articles about a client's long-term financial goals.

Additional professionals, such as an estate planning lawyer or tax accountant, can also be given permission to upload and access documents on a client's vault. In allowing online collaboration among a team of professionals on behalf of a client, AdvisorVault provides an entirely new dimension for independent advisors to manage wealth for high-net-worth individuals.

The secure .NET application is built on Microsoft SharePoint, uses 256-bit encryption, and is hosted at a SAS-70 certified facility with full redundancy. AdvisorVault is fully integrated into an advisory firm's website.

For more information on AdvisorVault and the benefits to independent advisors, visit http://www.advisorproducts.com/advisorvault.

Advisor Products makes websites, client newsletters, brochures, and other marketing services for over 1,800 independent financial advisory firms. The Westbury, N.Y. company, founded in 1996 by veteran financial writer Andrew Gluck, also provides financial advisors with logo design, marketing copy, stationery, and email newsletters. It hosts websites for financial advisors with extensive financial planning content. Many of the nation’s leading Registered Investment Advisers, Independent Registered Representatives, and independent broker/dealers rely on marketing and technology services provided by Advisor Products.