Welcome to the February 2023 issue of the Latest News in Financial #AdvisorTech – where we look at the big news, announcements, and underlying trends and developments that are emerging in the world of technology solutions for financial advisors!
This month’s edition kicks off with the news that the “financial monitoring software” platform Elements has raised $5 million in a seed-extension funding round as it seeks to establish a foothold in the rapidly growing AdvisorTech category of “advice engagement” tools designed to draw clients further into the ongoing (not just upfront) financial planning process. Because as the focus of financial advice shifts from “The Plan” that is created initially and then only periodically updated every few years, to a year-round process of ongoing “planning”, the demand has grown for more tools that help advisors connect and engage with their clients more frequently (while also giving them actionable information to actually engage about). For which Elements has positioned itself as an early leader that is now gaining momentum.
From there, the latest highlights also feature a number of other interesting advisor technology announcements, including:
- TradingFront, the white-label “robo advisor for advisors” is shutting down amid broader struggles among B2B robo advisor platforms to convince advisors to pay for better digital onboarding that they expect their custodians to provide (and improve upon) for ‘free’
- Zoe Financial launches a new TAMP for advisors in its lead-generation network to make it easier to onboard and serve the smaller (below-traditional-minimums) clients that Zoe is bringing to them
- Advisor360° buys onboarding software platform Agreement Express to deepen its own middle- and back-office automation capabilities and expand its opportunities with enterprise (insurance broker-dealer) clients
Read the analysis about these announcements in this month’s column, and a discussion of more trends in advisor technology, including:
- BridgeFT launches a new custodial data warehousing and integration solution called WealthTech API, to give larger advisory firms (and even other AdvisorTech providers) more ability to build their own custom software without having to download, reconcile, and store the data themselves
- Kwanti unveils a new fund Screener feature to its investment analytics platform, making it easier for advisors to find the next new addition or improvement to their existing model portfolios.
And be certain to read to the end, where we have provided an update to our popular “Financial AdvisorTech Solutions Map” (and also added the changes to our AdvisorTech Directory) as well!
*And for #AdvisorTech companies who want to submit their tech announcements for consideration in future issues, please submit to TechNews@kitces.com!
