This month’s headlines showcase several firms that are taking action to deliver for the wealth management industry. Whether that’s listening to advisors and providing solutions or protecting clients in this era of the data Wild Wild West, we’re happy to see companies push to do more and to do the right thing. Here we present our Word on WealthTech perspective on five November headlines.
CapIntel Joins with FactSet to Increase Advisor Success
FactSet has long brought value to a very niche area of the value proposition, but now it appears the organization is moving toward helping advisors in other areas. By working with CapIntel, which helps advisors take data and talk to clients with it, FactSet can help advisors go beyond looking up information to having better conversations with clients. These partnerships are early stages of FactSet becoming a more material element to the advisor desktop. In our opinion, it’s awesome to see Greg King and his team expanding the value proposition for advisors.
Orion CEO Unveils Timely Advisor Insights on Election, AI and Technology Preferences
Orion’s advisor survey identified key insights on the use and expectations of AI in wealth management, preferences on unbundled versus bundled technology solutions and more. Orion is actively listening to advisors and reporting back to the industry what they need, where they have frustration points, and where the businesses are going and then using that information overtly to drive their innovation. The most impressive thing about this survey is that Orion is sharing it publicly. This is good for the industry.
Cheryl Nash Returns To Role Leading Investcloud’s APL
F2 is seeing a spike in interest in large institutions innovating or swapping out their portfolio management or accounting trading systems going into 2025. A big cohort will be spending money on that in the coming months so for Cheryl Nash to lead the InvestCloud APL is a good move. Cheryl is a phenomenal wealthtech leader, experienced in driving complex technology. She has a tremendous amount of credibility in the industry, and people really trust her to drive results.
Fidelity Intends to Block Third-Party Tools
Fidelity will prohibit unaffiliated advisors and independent practitioners who use it for custody or clearing services from using fintech operations like Pontera to access client 401(k) account data held at the firm. We’re not surprised Fidelity is getting blowback for this, but it has a legal, fiduciary and brand obligation to protect clients against its information being accessed by advisors using tools Fidelity doesn’t understand or can't control. It’s unfortunate for people whose Fidelity accounts no longer appear in their mobile planning app or aggregation platform, but the net downside to not controlling where that data goes is worse. Fidelity may be the first custodian to do this, but this is likely the beginning of a broader trend of large institutions clamping down on where they send data.
Benchmark Report: Wealth Management’s Satisfaction with CRMs
F2 released a report that examined wealth management firms’ satisfaction with their CRM tool. Satisfaction rates are not high. But we believe if you’re dissatisfied, it’s not the tool; it’s you. You haven’t thought enough about how you want that CRM to operate and the experiences you want to create. It’s like going to the grocery store and buying all the top ingredients and throwing them in a pot and wondering why it doesn’t end up being a great recipe. To get the maximum benefit, it takes thoughtfulness and partnering with someone who can customize workflows, integrations and processes based on how your firm operates. We just don’t see enough firms thinking through how to use their CRMs the right way. Remember, it matters not which CRM you’ve got but how thoughtful you were about designing the process.
Just one more month to go! Stay tuned for what we uncover in the final edition of the Word on WealthTech in 2024.
(Editor's note: This article has been updated to accurately reflect how advisors use Pontera. Advisors do not have direct access to client 401(k) plans, nor do they know the client's log-in credentials. While advisors can integrate the data, and initiate account rebalancing via Pontera, they cannot access the money, make disbursements or change beneficiaries, for instance.)
