What’s the Big Idea? TD Ameritrade Institutional Launches FinTech Competition to Advance RIA Innovation

In the race to deliver meaningful innovation to independent registered investment advisors (RIAs), TD Ameritrade Institutional1 is challenging the best and the brightest to step up to the plate with groundbreaking ideas that will transform the RIA profession.

Introducing Innovation Quest, TD Ameritrade Institutional’s first-ever competition that invites fintech innovators to develop leading-edge technology solutions for RIAs.

The competition will award a total of $100,000: the top three finalists will each receive $25,000, and the winner will take home an additional $25,000. For more information about TD Ameritrade Institutional’s Innovation Quest, including the official rules, and to submit ideas, visit www.tdainstitutional.com/IQ.

Harnessing advanced technology tools is increasingly a critical part of every firm’s future success. RIAs have been increasing technology spending, paying particular attention to technology that improves the client experience, TD Ameritrade Institutional found in a survey earlier this year.2 In a separate TD Ameritrade survey, most individual investors said that one of technology’s top benefits is providing a better investing experience.3

“To meet the demands of the next generation of investors, the RIA industry needs a healthy dose of innovation. And while we’ve developed some of the industry’s best technology tools over the years, we also know that good ideas can come from anywhere,” said Jim Dario, managing director of product management at TD Ameritrade Institutional. “With this competition, the possibilities are endless. I’m excited to learn where the market’s future-thinkers will take us and see their vision for the next generation of this industry.”

TD Ameritrade Institutional, a leading provider of comprehensive brokerage and custody services to more than 6,000 fee-based RIAs and their clients, is known for championing tech innovation in the profession through the launch of the Veo One® advisor dashboard, the iRebal® on Veo investment management tool, the thinkpipes® platform and Model Market CenterTM.

Indeed, throughout its 43-year history, TD Ameritrade has been an innovator, leveling the playing field for individual investors. Beyond elevating RIAs by offering access to better investment tools and technology, the company’s list of “firsts” for investors include: the first to offer touch-tone telephone trading (1988); the first to offer mobile device trading (1999); the first to pioneer digital investment advice with Amerivest4 (2004); the first to integrate real-time Twitter data into stock research (2015); and the first to offer 24-hour trading five days a week (2018).

Participating in Innovation Quest

The next big idea in financial technology could come from you!

Innovation Quest is open to all U.S. residents, 18 years of age and older. Students, entrepreneurs, technology companies, investment advisors – anyone who believes their idea can help propel RIA businesses to the next level is invited to participate. From now through Sept. 15, 2018, interested applicants can find more details and submit their entries at www.tdainstitutional.com/IQ.

Entries will be evaluated based on their ability to demonstrate that their ideas will add value to the lives of RIAs or their clients. This could include innovations that focus on advisor efficiency, cybersecurity, financial planning, client experience, and new ways to deliver financial advice.

The top three finalists will be announced on Oct. 15, 2018. Each finalist will receive $25,000 to develop their ideas, including a video and proof of concept to be presented during TD Ameritrade Institutional’s National LINC conference. The firm will fly finalists to San Diego for the final round, where they will present their ideas, in-person, before the competition’s judges and a live audience of RIAs, on Feb. 7, 2019. Advisors attending National LINC will have the opportunity participate in voting for the winning idea.

The TD Ameritrade Institutional 2019 Innovation Quest winner will be announced at National LINC on Friday, Feb. 8, 2019. The winner will receive an additional $25,000.

“RIAs need game-changing technology to elevate the client experience and run more efficient, scalable businesses,” said Dario. “We hope to open the floodgates on the creativity that’s driving fintech innovation and get behind ideas that can transform the way RIAs do business.”

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. ONLY THE FIRST 300 ENTRIES RECEIVED BY SPONSOR WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR THIS COMPETITION. Sponsored by TD Ameritrade Institutional, a division of TD Ameritrade, Inc., 1 Plaza Four A, Jersey City, NJ 07311. Enter by visiting www.tdainstitutional.com/IQ, following the on-screen instructions, including submitting a Proposal which is a description of at least one (1) idea for a technology that will help advance the RIA profession, transform the RIA client’s experience, and/or help RIAs run more efficient and sustainable businesses. DO NOT SUBMIT ANYTHING THAT YOU WANT TO KEEP CONFIDENTIAL, KEEP CONTROL OVER AND OWNERSHIP OF, OR THAT YOU DO NOT WANT TD AMERITRADE OR OTHERS TO USE. FINALISTS REQUIRED TO TRAVEL TO THE LINC CONFERENCE (Departing 2/6/19), AGREE TO BE VIDEOTAPED AND GRANT SPONSOR THE RIGHT OF FIRST NEGOTIATION TO DEVELOP, INTEGRATE, LICENSE, PURCHASE, OR OTHERWISE USE OR ACQUIRE THE TECHNOLOGY DESCRIBED IN THE PROPOSAL. Open to Individuals, Teams of 2-5 or U.S. legal entities where are those participating are legal residents of/domiciled in any 1 of the 50 United States or D.C. who are at least the age of majority. Void where prohibited by law. This is a 2-stage competition. Each stage is judged by the following criteria and weights: Transformation-the potential that the idea/technology will advance/transform the RIA profession and/or client experience (30%); Efficiency-the amount of efficiency the Proposal will bring (25%); Concept-how well the Proposal addresses the needs of the RIA's, and the degree that the technology's functions will be understandable to RIA's/clients (25%); and Technology-the degree of quality of the technology underlying the Proposal (i.e. user experience and technical design) (20%). Entry Period begins 12:00:00 a.m. ET 7/15/18, and ends 11:59:59 p.m. ET 9/15/2018. Entries with highest three (3) scores become Finalists and must travel to LINC Conference to give a Pitch. Both Judges and attendees will judge the Pitches. The highest scoring Pitch wins the Grand Prize. ARV of each Finalist Prize: $27,500-$30,000, depending on # traveling. ARV of Grand Prize: $25,000. Total ARV: $107,500-$115,000. SUBJECT TO FULL OFFICIAL RULES. All content submitted must comply with the Official Rules, including, without limitation, the “Submission Requirements.”

About TD Ameritrade Institutional
TD Ameritrade Institutional is a leading provider of comprehensive brokerage and custody services to more than 6,000 fee-based, independent RIAs and their clients. Our advanced technology platform, coupled with personal support from our dedicated service teams, allows investment advisors to run their practices more efficiently and effectively while optimizing time with clients. TD Ameritrade Institutional is a division of TD Ameritrade, Inc., a brokerage subsidiary of TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation.

About TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation
TD Ameritrade provides investing services and education to more than 11 million client accounts totaling approximately $1.2 trillion in assets, and custodial services to more than 6,000 registered investment advisors. We are a leader in U.S. retail trading, executing more than 940,000 trades per day for our clients, nearly a quarter of which come from mobile devices. We have a proud history of innovation, dating back to our start in 1975, and today our team of 10,000-strong is committed to carrying it forward. Together, we are leveraging the latest in cutting edge technologies and one-on-one client care to transform lives, and investing, for the better. Learn more by visiting TD Ameritrade’s newsroom at www.amtd.com, or read our stories at Fresh Accounts.

Brokerage services provided by TD Ameritrade, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC.
1 TD Ameritrade Institutional is a division of TD Ameritrade, Inc., a brokerage subsidiary of TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation.
2 TD Ameritrade Institutional, 2018 RIA Sentiment Survey, 2018.
3 TD Ameritrade Individual Investor Survey, 2018.
4 Amerivest Investment Management, LLC, currently TD Ameritrade Investment Management, LLC.

Source: TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation

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