Denver-based advisor reputation management platform Testimonial IQ announced that three new capabilities would be rolled out on its platform later this month.
The upgrades, collectively called PulseArc, will be unveiled at the Technology Tools for Today (T3) Conference, set for Jan. 22 to 25 in Las Vegas.
According to the company, advisors using Testimonial IQ will soon be able to survey clients directly from within the platform, access AI-based competitor analysis and automate their own client engagement through CRM and email integrations.
Testimonial IQ helps generate and share Google Reviews and testimonials compliant with FINRA and SEC regulations. These include the SEC’s marketing rule, which gave advisors the ability to solicit client reviews and recommendations—and direct prospects to them. For years before this change in 2021, advisor testimonials were forbidden. Since this regulatory shift, several similar platforms have flourished, including Amplify Reviews, Indyfin and Wealthtender. A risk alert published by the SEC last year reiterated they will be looking for “reasonably designed” policies from firms using testimonials in marketing and diving more deeply at times into reviews searching for “ineligible persons” and whether reviewers were clients, compensated or had conflicts.
Smartleaf Asset Management Collaborates With Clearstead Advisors
Boston-based Smartleaf Asset Management revealed a collaboration with Cleveland-based Clearstead Advisors.
The partnership will allow Clearstead Advisors’ clients to have greater access to direct indexing options. Smartleaf Asset Management will act as a subadvisor for Clearstead Advisors.
Smartleaf, which has been around for years, has long been known for its trading and rebalancing technology in addition to its latest efforts in direct indexing. In January 2023, the global active investing firm Principal Asset Management collaborated with fixed income technology platform YieldX and Smartleaf Asset Management. First rolled out in 2022, Principal’s model portfolio (also built in partnership with Smartleaf), incorporates individual bonds.
Clearstead Advisors, a registered investment advisor that serves high-net-worth and institutional clients, was founded in 1989. The firm has over 150 employees and has approximately $30 billion in AUA. In March 2023, Clearstead Advisors acquired Avalon Trust, a wealth management firm based in Santa Fe, N.M., with additional offices in Ridgewood, N.J., and Portland, Ore. The acquisition added to Clearstead’s trust capabilities and represented its second deal since private equity firm Flexpoint Ford invested in the RIA in February 2022.
Retirement Assets in State Automated Savings Programs Reach $1 Billion Milestone
Cumulative account assets in automated retirement savings programs across the seven states currently with them topped $1 billion in November 2023, according to a recent report by Pew Charitable Trusts. The state of Oregon launched a pilot for its OregonSaves program in 2017 through a partnership with Vestwell, the employer and individual savings platform.
And in September 2023, New Jersey became the seventh state to partner with Vestwell in rolling out its Secure Choice Savings Program. In August 2023, Vestwell revealed they were set to administer the nation’s first multi-state retirement program, using Colorado's existing auto-IRA functionality as the framework for Maine.
The partner states in the multi-state retirement program hope to reduce administrative costs and increase total AUM, according to Pew. Maine is now in a soft launch mode and plans to officially launch the full program later this month. The Delaware EARNS board approved a collaboration with the Colorado partnership in December 2023 and plans to launch that state’s program this year. Programs in Hawaii, New Jersey, New York and Vermont are in the early stages of development and are likely to launch by 2025.
