Welcome to the September 2023 challenge of the Newest Information in Monetary #AdvisorTech – the place we take a look at the massive information, bulletins, and underlying tendencies and developments which might be rising on this planet of expertise options for monetary advisors!
This month’s version kicks off with the information that WiserAdvisor, one of many longest-running lead technology providers within the business, has acquired IndyFin, a startup advisor ranking platform that had aspired to be the ‘Yelp for Advisors’ – which on the one hand gives WiserAdvisor with a chance to leap into the enterprise of consumer opinions and scores (which has garnered vital curiosity from a number of AdvisorTech startups hoping to advertise such providers within the wake of the SEC’s new Advertising Rule permitting consumer testimonials), however then again, raises questions on how a lot demand there actually is for a standalone advisor ranking software, since few advisors are more likely to accumulate sufficient scores from present or former purchasers to really attract new purchasers (and advisors with sufficient purchasers to get a crucial mass of opinions doubtless have sufficient purchasers that they’ll simply depend on consumer referrals… or do not even want so as to add new purchasers anymore?).
From there, the most recent highlights additionally function various different fascinating advisor expertise bulletins, together with:
- Former United Capital Companions founder/CEO Joe Duran is reportedly exploring the launch of a brand new RIA 4 years after promoting his agency to Goldman Sachs, with a reported emphasis on offering lead technology alternatives for advisors on its platform – which if profitable, might present a brand new mannequin for reinforcing natural development with out the excessive price of outsourcing to a third-party lead technology service or counting on inorganic development through mergers & acquisitions.
- Onramp Make investments, the platform that aimed to resolve the challenges of cryptocurrency investing for monetary advisors, was acquired by Securitize, a platform specializing in blockchain-based tokenization of personal market investments, suggesting that advisors’ curiosity in recommending digital belongings for his or her purchasers – already restricted throughout earlier rallies within the value of Bitcoin and different cryptocurrencies – has declined additional amid the value crash and ensuing scandals which have occurred within the year-plus since
- Wealthtender, a lead technology and advisor ranking service, has introduced a partnership with custodial account supplier UNest to deliver its find-an-advisor expertise to UNest’s buyer base of fogeys opening funding accounts for his or her youngsters – which, whereas increasing Wealthtender’s footprint within the aggressive lead technology market, raises questions on how giant of a possible buyer base UNest can present (and whether or not Wealthtender will be capable to safe any bigger enterprise partnerships that may assist it safe a spot because the “One and solely” advisor ranking service)
Learn the evaluation about these bulletins on this month’s column, and a dialogue of extra tendencies in advisor expertise, together with:
- With AI expertise proliferating within the monetary providers business, regulators are more and more involved about potential conflicts of curiosity if the expertise could be manipulated to advocate an organization’s merchandise and options over others (regardless of being underneath a technological veneer of ‘objectivity’), as highlighted most just lately by the SEC issuing proposed laws for RIAs for evaluating and eliminating conflicts of curiosity of their expertise, and Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin sending a request for six firms from completely different areas of the business to element their use of AI of their enterprise practices
- Over the past 10–15 years, various AdvisorTech suppliers have gained the vast majority of market share in sure core classes like monetary planning and CRM; however as the newest Kitces Analysis on AdvisorTech has discovered, a brand new crop of instruments has arisen in newer years that has garnered increased satisfaction scores than the incumbents, and have been steadily gaining market share – suggesting that the normal advisor tech stack may ultimately be upended and changed by a brand new ‘next-generation’ tech stack that displays the rising shift of advisors into deeper monetary planning and non-AUM charge fashions
And make certain to learn to the top, the place we now have offered an replace to our well-liked “Monetary AdvisorTech Options Map” (and likewise added the modifications to our AdvisorTech Listing) as effectively!
*And for #AdvisorTech firms who wish to submit their tech bulletins for consideration in future points, please undergo TechNews@kitces.com!
