Is BlackRock-Envestnet Deal a Tipping Point for Lite Financial Planning?
What’s the best way to get financial planning functionality into the hands of more advisors? Standalone applications, like MoneyGuide Pro and eMoney Advisor, or “lite”financial planning functionality built directly into wealth management platforms? This tug-of-war has been going on for the past few years and it looks as though we might have reached a tipping point. BlackRock […]
Is AdvisorEngine Building a Tamarac Killer?
How much do you need to spend to build a wealth management platform that is able to compete with the established market leaders? Around $60 million, based on the total investments gathered by upstart wealthtech vendor AdvisorEngine. This is how much cash the firm has grabbed since 2014, when it was launched by Rich Cancro, who […]
FundFire: Wells Fargo Data Leak Shows Risk Goes Beyond Hackers
(This article was originally posted on Fundfire) By Danielle Verbrigghe July 31, 2017 Wells Fargo’s inadvertent release of sensitive client and advisor information last week illustrates the risks that financial firms can face from accidental data loss. Cybersecurity has become a growing concern for the wealth and asset management industry, as regulators have put the issue in […]
Robo-Advisors Shakeout: Who Will Be The Last One Standing?
It wasn’t supposed to be this way The robo-advisor concept began as an idea that could disrupt the wealth management industry. It started moving through a series of phases that are common to disruptive ideas and technology. Disruptors like Amazon, Apple and Uber all went through these phases with their products and services. New business models rose up […]
Can Client-Directed UMA’s Help Defend Against Robo-Advisors?
“Without change there is no innovation, creativity, or incentive for improvement. Those who initiate change will have a better opportunity to manage the change that is inevitable.” — William Pollard, Physicist The rate of change and innovation in the wealth management industry has been tremendous over the past few years. Technology-heavy, online registered investment advisors […]
FolioDynamix Snapped Up for $200 Million in Cash
In one of the most unusual transactions that I have seen in wealth management, a firm with zero industry footprint has laid out a boatload of cash to buy a rising star platform provider. As reported in an article (What Latest Turnkey Acquisition Means for Industry) in FundFire: Actua Corporation, a publicly traded firm which […]
How a Cold Call Led to a Deal with Scottrade for ASI’s Rebalancing Software
It was an idea born of convenience. Neal Ringquist, President and Chief Operating Officer of Advisor Software Inc., was planning a trip to St. Louis to meet with one of their clients, EverBank. He knew that Scottrade® Advisor Services was also headquartered there. The thought seemed natural to him to give them a call and […]
FolioDynamix Making Waves in Bank Trust Market
Fundfire featured an article yesterday about FolioDynamix adding a new client in the bank trust space. They called me for comments on how the company has positioned themselves to increase bank trust market share and if their platform provides an opportunity for asset managers to sell more product. The article is by Danielle Verbrigghe, who recently […]
