For my money, the biggest story impacting the world of wealth management technology is the ongoing integration between TD Ameritrade and Charles Schwab Advisor Services.
The company maintains that it is on track to meet its original deadline, and we are likely to learn a lot more in a few weeks at the Schwab IMPACT conference. But the impact of the mega-merger will ripple through the industry in ways that we might not fully grasp for years.
This week, Apex Fintech Solutions lured Jon Patullo away from Schwab to serve as head of product strategy at Apex’s advisory business. This is a big deal, as Patullo is known in the industry as one of the pioneers of TD’s Veo, the open-architecture platform that became a darling of both fintech vendors and helped kickstart hundreds of adviser fintechs, some of which are today’s biggest providers.
Veo’s support of fintech startups also made it a beloved platform for smaller advisers who wanted to find next-generation technology that could work on their budgets. Smaller custodians like Apex hope to win over some of these small advisers who feel left out by the Schwab merger. Bring aboard someone with Patullo’s experience with product could go a long way in achieving that goal.
Are you considering alternative custodians in the wake of the TD-Schwab merger? Let me know with an email or on Twitter.
In the meantime, here are some of the other fintech headlines you may have missed this week.
Speaking at Microsoft’s Ignite conference, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman discussed a project his company is developing for Morgan Stanley financial advisers and their clients. Over time, the companies hope the project will help advisers more efficiently access the information produced by Morgan Stanley’s research analysts, product experts and portfolio managers.
Altman called the work “potentially revolutionary” in the artificial general intelligence space, but this isn’t the first time Morgan Stanley has pushed to bring AI into wealth management. Years ago, I wrote for InvestmentNews about Morgan Stanley’s “next best action” engine, which is now in use by its advisers. The firm continues to show that the industry doesn’t have to be behind the curve if it takes investing in technology seriously.
Cloud-based digital operations fintech Docupace announced Lori Hardwick, an industry veteran who has held leadership roles at Envestnet and BNY Mellon Pershing, is the new chair of its board of directors. Hardwick also sits on a variety of boards in the industry, including Cetera Financial Group, Orion Advisor Solutions, Cerity Partners, Vestwell (where she is also chair).
Hardwick’s hire comes as Docupace rapidly expands its executive leadership team, but it’s hard to understand the gravitas that a hire like Hardwick brings to any fintech company. Not only does she have the experience, she has a vast network of connections -- including with the private equity world due to her position on Genstar Capital’s strategic advisory board. It’s a big win for Docupace, but I just wonder how Hardwick has enough hours in her day.
To enhance the goals optimization engine on the AdvisorEngine wealth fintech platform with tax-efficient planning and income sourcing, Franklin Templeton has a new partnership with fintech company LifeYield. The integration will let financial advisers using AdvisorEngine to optimize client goals, primarily in the decumulation phase.
My esteemed colleague Mary Beth Franklin has called figuring out what do with accumulated wealth in retirement “the great challenge facing the wealth management industry.” LifeYield’s automation can help advisers with the challenge, and is already integrated within a number of large wealth management technology platforms.
Fintech provider Broadridge Financial Solutions announced it will start using data aggregation and automation from MX to give financial advisers a more holistic view into an investor’s financial life. MX will also provide Broadridge with a secure money management platform and automated financial health insights.
Broadridge is best known for providing infrastructure for proxy voting but has made a significant investment to expand its footprint in wealth management. Cetera announced in September it would start using Broadridge’s communication tech, and earlier this week Schwab announced it would use Broadridge to give shareholders more of a say in proxy voting.
Bitwage, which helps companies provider payroll in Bitcoin and other digital currencies, announced a partnership with ForUsAll, a digital 401(k) provider, to create a one-stop shop for employees to automatically contribute a portion of their paycheck to crypto. Retirement contributions can be pre-tax or Roth, and ForUsAll monitors allocations and alerts employees when allocation to crypto exceeds 5%.
On the one hand, easy access to receiving payment in Bitcoin is a huge step towards making a more valuable, useful currency for everyday consumers. However, if companies still need to urge caution that investors don’t allocate more than 5% to this volatile asset -- as Betterment recently did with its robo-adviser -- why is the industry continuing to push it so hard?
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