I recently caught up with Right Capital co-founder Shuang Chen, CFA, to get an update on new developments at his firm. In short, I liked what I heard. Since its inception in 2015, Right Capital has sought to create a solution capable of addressing comprehensive, and often complex financial planning needs without making the software overly complex to use. In addition, they have strived to present the plan output in a way that is easy for clients to understand.

While I’ve generally been positive on the software, as a new product, it did have some holes when I last viewed it. Perhaps the most obvious and troubling one in the past was its lack of integration partners. More recently, they have begun addressing the integration issue in a meaningful way. They now have a   significant list of integration partners including Albridge, Orion, and Redtail, and they are adding more at a rapid pace.

NEW FEATURES INCLUDE INNOVATIVE MEDICARE MODULE

They have also added a host of new features that advisors will welcome. These include a more sophisticated model for restricted stock and employee stock options planning and an innovative Medicare module that addresses not only when to claim Medicare, but also helps clients select the plan most appropriate to their needs.

Right Capital has also expanded its scenario planning capabilities. Previously, you could compare two plans side by side. Now, you can compare and contrast multiple plans and strategies. In addition, the new interface, which bears a striking resemblance to the eMoney Decision Center, allows advisors to tweak plan/scenario settings on the fly in a highly efficient manner.

The tax planning abilities of Right Capital are more robust than ever. For example, advisors can illustrate various retirement distribution strategies with clients, showing the full impact of taxes on multiple scenarios.

TASK MANAGEMENT MODULE COMPLIMENTS CRM

Even though most advisors have CRM software, Chen says that his advisor clients requested task management within Right Capital, so the software now offers it. Tasks can be assigned to both advisors and their clients. So, for example, if an advisor wants to set a reminder to review a client’s plan at a future date, they can create a task, and they will be reminded to do so. If desired, and email alert can be triggered to the advisor at the appropriate time. Tasks can also be assigned to clients. Tasks will be visible to the client in the client portal. An alert can be automatically sent to the client reminding them to log on and complete the task.

Right Capital currently provides a basic debt management module, but they are in the process of building out a much more comprehensive, integrated debt module that will help address planning issues, particularly those around student debt.

THE RIGHT STUFF

Although we don’t read much about Right Capital in the industry press, Right Capital continues to impress. While their user base was limited at the time of the 2017 Software Survey and Analysis from Inside Information, Advisor Perspectives/AP Viewpoint and T3, they scored the highest user satisfaction rating of any financial planning software in the survey, and they continue to grow at a reasonable rate, with over 1,300 current users.

It seems that Right Capital is, for more and more financial planners, “the right stuff.”