Welcome to the last Word on WealthTech of 2023! The headlines over the past few weeks haven’t slowed down—with executive transitions, new solution launches and company partnerships—we’ve had plenty to talk about around our virtual watercooler. We chose these five big WealthTech headlines to wrap 2023:
Dan Zitting took the reins of Nitrogen this month as Aaron Klein decided it was time for a “scaler” to run the company. Founders frequently are not the right people to scale and grow firms and being able to put ego aside and know when to bring in an expert is a commendable skill. We’re looking forward to seeing where Dan takes Nitrogen and what Aaron decides to sink his teeth into next.
Wealthspire is the latest RIA to partner with Pontera to serve its clients more holistically by being able to manage their 401(k) assets. Pontera’s technology is cool because it gives advisors the opportunity not only to provide a more holistic client experience, but to charge a fee on it as well. It’s like found money for advisors and we like the value proposition it offers.
LPL is offering a new advisor affiliation model for advisors focused on serving high-net-worth clients. We applaud the news because it shows LPL is ready to increase market share. Our question is, have they fully thought through their strategy and approach? Because other custodians are already doing very advanced work in that space and if they’re jumping into it now with an old, basic solution, they’ve lost an opportunity. They have the right people, the right technology, the right money so we have faith that they’ll get there. We just haven’t seen it to be able to say whether it’s the same level of maturity of their peers.
(Full disclosure: Liz and I are investors in Bento). Bento’s ability to automate delivering appropriate, compliant content fills a significant hole in how advisors can prepare their clients for retirement. The fact that FMG, which helps advisors build marketing and client communication campaigns can partner with Bento is a tremendous tool for both Bento and advisors to help them do a better job communicating with clients and providing rich, actionable content. That’s a win for the industry.
For SS&C Black Diamond, this is getting up to speed. CRM was the biggest missing piece in its toolkit. It will make life a lot harder for Tamarac. Now they’re coming to market with a CRM in late 2023 so the number of firms that don’t already have a CRM (Salesforce, Redtail, WealthBox ,or Wealth Hub) is closing…so is the SS&C CRM aiming to replace CRMs? Looking for firms that just don’t have a CRM? Organically finding new firms when people move to the SS&C platform as a breakaway? These are open questions.
We hope you’ve enjoyed our perspective on these and all the headlines we’ve covered this year. Happy New Year and we’ll see you with even more insight in 2024.
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