By Chris Robbins
For the week before the Thanksgiving holiday, there was a lot going on in advisor technology.
Notably, Fidelity Institutional added a new investor insight tool, while Bento Engine added a children and wealth program. UBS has announced a tech partnership with Addepar and Mirador, while the RISA assessment has added a new advisory board.
WIthout further ado, here’s the latest and greatest in financial advisor technology news.
Bento Engine
Bento Engine announced its Children & Wealth program during a Wealthbox webinar on Tuesday, November 22. The Children & Wealth program, which consists of educational, client-ready, age-based financial advice, developed with the assistance of respected experts including Susan Doty and Mac Gardner, is designed to help caring parents introduce their children to the important concepts of money and wealth.
The Children & Wealth program utilizes client relationship management (CRM)-based alerts to provide advisors and their clients with financial advice targeted to specific ages during a child’s formative years, from ages 4 to 18. This new program complements Bento’s existing milestone-related financial guidance opportunities, Life in Numbers and Life Events, which deliver relevant, timely and actionable information based on life milestones and age markers. Examples of these milestones include age 50 catch-up retirement contributions and age 62 Social Security benefits.
Collective Liquidity
Collective Liquidity announced the launch of its innovative liquidity and risk management platform and closing of its Series A Preferred financing. With the closing of the financing, the company has raised approximately $100 million in aggregate debt and equity financing to date. The platform’s unique products finally solve the three biggest problems in the private market today: (1) pricing opacity, (2) over-concentration and (3) illiquidity. Collective transactions can be initiated online in 5 minutes or less.
DPL
DPL Financial Partners, the leading insurance platform for registered investment advisors (RIAs), announced the addition of Corebridge Financial to its carrier lineup with two commission-free Corebridge annuity products geared to fee-only advisors. Corebridge, formerly AIG Life & Retirement, is one of the largest providers of retirement solutions and insurance products in the United States.
Fidelity Institutional
Fidelity Institutional announced the launch of its latest free investor insight tool, FundFinder+ featuring LOGICLY. Designed to mimic the same tool financial advisors use to determine investment products for their clients, it’s a powerful duo that blends sophisticated screening capabilities with the fund selection opportunities of Axos Invest. Self-directed investors now have unfiltered, unbiased, and objective access to detailed fund information, direct from some of the country’s leading asset management companies.
Lumiant
Lumiant announced a strategic partnership with LibertyFi, LLC, a middle-office technology and operations consultancy based in Alabama, that helps growth-oriented registered investment advisors (RIA) drive revenue and scale their businesses. LibertyFi currently supports 24 firms (120 advisors servicing 33,000 accounts) and has $12 billion in assets under administration (AUA). Through this new partnership, the advisors in the LibertyFi network will be able to subscribe to and layer on Lumiant’s advice engagement platform, helping advisors maximize their investment in transformative technology by bringing their intangible value to life.
RISA
The Retirement Income Style Awareness assessment (RISA), a psychology-backed, research-driven income personality assessment transforming retirement income planning, announced today its inaugural industry Advisory Board comprised of thought leaders and innovators in the fintech space. Founded by retirement income authorities Alex Murguia and Wade Pfau, the RISA, a 15-minute assessment for individuals actively planning for or engaging with retirement, helps financial advisors understand the ideal way each client would like to source retirement income, thus enabling advisors to define and implement personalized retirement income planning strategies aligned with individual preferences.
Ubiquity
Ubiquity Retirement + Savings broke its record for new 401(k) plan sales faster than its most aggressive forecasts had projected. The firm anticipates exceeding additional records by year-end, including record-breaking number of plan participants, plan sponsors, TPAs, and financial advisor relationships.
UBS
UBS launched a new offering, in collaboration with Addepar and Mirador, that will provide UBS’s ultra high net worth clients in the US with a consolidated, real-time view of their entire portfolio across assets and liabilities, including traditional, non-traditional and illiquid assets. UBS’s financial advisors will now have access to comprehensive analytics, which will help them more effectively visualize their clients’ investment performance, cash flows, and worth, while assessing the opportunities and risks across their portfolios. UBS launched a new offering, in collaboration with Addepar and Mirador, that will provide UBS’s ultra high net worth clients in the US with a consolidated, real-time view of their entire portfolio across assets and liabilities, including traditional, non-traditional and illiquid assets. UBS’s financial advisors will now have access to comprehensive analytics, which will help them more effectively visualize their clients’ investment performance, cash flows, and worth, while assessing the opportunities and risks across their portfolios.
