I’m not exaggerating when I say it was, once again, a busy week in wealthtech, with plenty of juicy headlines to share with you. With no holiday or inauguration disruption, and the slower start-of-year stretch in the past, the news spigot was wide open.
It was a busy week in wealth management in general, though the number of big mergers and acquisitions, as well as major hires, sagged a little from recent weeks. Many publicly traded wealth management providers reported their Q4 2024 earnings—and it was mostly positive news across the board.
Sequoia Financial Group made a big acquisition with the addition of $3.8 billion AUM Carlson Capital Management. Osaic added Navy Federal Investment Services to its institutional channel. Dynasty Financial Partners helped take $6.5 billion SageSpring Wealth Partners and $1.6 billion AUM TritonPoint independent. Mission Wealth added $400 million of assets via a merger with Logic Capital Management. Family office specialist Pitcairn launched one RIA as they acquired another.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg, friends.
Before we get to our advisor technology headlines, we’d like to return to the advisor—and wealth management industry—headcount question, which we dwelled on a bit last week in light of a CFP Board study that may signal some acceleration in industry consolidation.
It’s very difficult to know whether the big are really getting bigger, or whether the industry is growing or contracting in terms of number of people employed, or whether it will do so in the future.
Of course, one of the reasons for this is that headcount is always in flux, and no one has a crystal ball to see exactly what is going to happen moving forward, but increasingly, the biggest companies in the wealth management industry and financial services in general are making it more difficult for us to understand what exactly is happening because they are declining the report headcounts, particularly for financial advisors.
Just last month, Raymond James joined most of the wirehouses and several other big wealth management providers in declining to report advisor headcounts moving forward. Increasingly, then, the wealth management industry is operating in a black box.
It’s almost as if they don’t want us to know for sure what’s happening in regards to headcount. Why would we want to trust companies that can’t be forthcoming about their hiring and retention to manage our money? Why would we trust them as investments?
There have been conflicting studies and reports in the recent past—while the number of advisors working at RIAs seems to still be on the rise, there are also some indications that headcount across industry channels is stagnant or shrinking, meaning that fewer people overall are offering wealth management services.
There are conflicting forces at work that are going to impact the future advisor headcount—demographics is one that most of us are by now aware of, as the average age of financial advisors remains far higher than the average age of the U.S. population. There are many efforts to combat the demographic trends by recruiting and educating new advisors. At the same time, technology is increasingly capable of automating wealth management tasks that once required a human touch, including many client-facing tasks.
It’s hard to say for sure how this will all play out, but it should go without saying it would be much easier to follow the trends if the industry’s big employers were honest and transparent about their numbers. If they have nothing to hide, they should publish the information.
Let’s get to your headlines.
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Arteria AI
Award-winning enterprise digital documentation infrastructure leader Arteria AI is thrilled to announce the creation of Arteria Café, a dedicated research arm focused on advancing generative and agentic artificial intelligence technologies in financial services documentation use cases.
Alongside this announcement, Arteria is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Amir Hajian as Chief Science Officer, who will lead this important initiative.
Dr. Hajian, who joined Arteria AI in early 2021 as Vice President of Data Science, brings a wealth of experience to his new role. With a Ph.D. in Astrophysics, years of research experience at Princeton University and the University of Toronto, and a background that includes leadership positions at Thomson Reuters and Scribd, Dr. Hajian is well-equipped to drive Arteria’s ambitious AI research agenda.
Cache
Cache, a pioneering fintech company that offers specialized products for managing large, concentrated stock positions for individuals and their advisors, today announced that it has crossed $300 million in assets under management (AUM). Reached within just ten months of their launch, the milestone reflects Cache’s rapid growth and commitment to democratizing access to advanced financial instruments, starting with its modern exchange funds.
Launched in March 2024, Cache Exchange Funds have gained significant traction by broadening access, lowering fees and minimums, and providing faster, more efficient diversification.
Cache’s modern exchange funds were created to tackle the challenges of equity concentration by enabling investors to diversify their holdings without triggering immediate capital gains taxes. Traditionally, exchange funds were reserved for the ultra-wealthy, requiring significant minimums and high fees. Cache has reimagined this antiquated model with lower minimums, competitive fees, and a direct-to-consumer approach, which has attracted a diverse client base that includes early-career professionals, C-suite executives, and family offices.
DACFP
Twenty-four percent of financial advisors report that more than half their clients now own digital assets, marking a 25% increase from the previous quarter, according to the latest Advisor Pulse Survey conducted by the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals (DACFP) and sponsored by Franklin Templeton Digital Assets.
The survey also reveals that 20% of advisors now recommend crypto to all their clients – nearly double the percentage reported in Q3 2024. Additionally, 65% of advisors have recommended crypto to 10% or more of their clients, with more than a third (35%) recommending it to at least half of their clients.
Among advisors who recommend crypto, the most common allocation remains 2% of assets, recommended by almost a third of advisors (30%). Another 20% recommend a 5% allocation, while advisors recommending larger allocations of 10%-14% increased by 3% since Q3.
Darktrace
Darktrace, a global leader in AI for cybersecurity, today announced that Aviso, one of Canada’s leading wealth services suppliers, has selected the Darktrace ActiveAI Security Platform™ to secure its organization’s digital ecosystem.
With over CAN$140 billion in assets under administration and management, Aviso is a leading wealth services supplier for the Canadian financial industry. The organization provides services to nearly all credit unions across Canada and to a wide range of portfolio managers, investment dealers, insurance and trust companies and introducing brokers. Seeing digital transformation and modernization as strategic opportunities to differentiate and drive growth, Aviso is focused on building a technology-enabled, client-centric wealth management ecosystem. Implementing a robust, modern cybersecurity strategy that keeps networks, systems, people and data secure is vital for excellent client service and Aviso’s overall growth journey.
Financial services organizations are often a top target for cyber-criminals, with this industry subject to attacks from a broad range of threat actors ranging from organized and well-funded cyber-criminal groups with financial motivations to hacktivist groups seeking to cause disruption and wreak havoc in the markets.
Docupace
Docupace, the trailblazer in back-office automation software for wealth management enterprises, today announces the promotion of Elizabeth Pavlik to Chief Product Officer (CPO). Pavlik is the first individual to hold this role at Docupace and will report directly to Chief Operating Officer Mike Zebrowski.
Pavlik’s promotion reflects her exceptional leadership, strategic vision and proven ability to elevate Docupace’s product strategy, aligning it with market demands and technological innovation.
Pavlik joined Docupace in 2014, following successful tenures at New York Life and ESI, where she sharpened her expertise in compliance, operations and product innovation. Over her decade-long tenure at Docupace, Pavlik has guided the product team through transformative projects, spearheaded the evolution of Docupace, and delivered innovative solutions that address the unique challenges of the wealth management industry.
Eton Solutions
Eton Solutions, a leading WealthTech platform for Family Offices powered by AI, will be the exclusive technology partner of Trigen Wealth, a newly launched multi-family office in India. Prime Trigen Wealth Limited is a full-stack wealth solutions provider offering comprehensive multi-family office services and is a 100% subsidiary of Prime Securities Limited, a publicly listed and SEBI Registered Category-I Merchant Banker, with a distinguished legacy of delivering exceptional financial services in India. This strategic collaboration is set to redefine wealth management for Ultra-High-Net-Worth (UHNW) and High-Net-Worth (HNW) families across the country.
This partnership underscores Eton’s commitment to offering an integrated and innovative ERP platform for UHNW and HNW families and individuals across India. Eton Solutions has had a presence in the country for the past 5 years with over 375 employees working at their Global Technology Center in Bengaluru supporting clients globally. The emergence of India as a financial powerhouse with the 3rd largest concentration of billionaires in the world after the USA and China, fits squarely with Eton Solutions’ international expansion plans.
AFO™ offers clients a single integrated web and mobile application, providing complete visibility into their wealth portfolios, seamless management of investments, and tracking of private assets — all within the secure, high-quality data infrastructure of AtlasFive®. Combined with Eton’s suite of services, family offices can eliminate the need for outsourcing middle and back-office operations, creating an entirely digital and client-centric experience, from investment reporting to accounting and document management to tax support services.
FinTech Automation
FinTech Automation, LLC (FTA) announces the launch of its DeFi Exchange clearing & settlement service (DEX Clearing) in partnership with Austin Capital Trust Company, LLC (Austin Capital). Using FTA’s UniFi CORE system, Austin Capital will provide custody and agent services to DEX Clearing.
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) has emerged as a transformative force in the financial sector, enabling trustless transactions, enhanced transparency, and broad accessibility. However, one significant challenge to its mass adoption lies in the integration of fiat currencies with cryptocurrencies, particularly in the realms of clearing and settlement. In traditional finance, there are clearing and settlement entities such as the Federal Reserve, DTCC for securities, and Card Networks. In DeFi, however, the absence of such centralized entities creates a need for innovative solutions to ensure trust, efficiency, and transparency.
To bridge this gap, DEX Clearing offers a clearing and settlement gateway for DeFi companies and financial institutions to bridge banking with DeFi. Austin Capital is now the first trust bank utilizing the DEX gateway and provides DeFi companies and other financial institutions the ability to offer clearing and settlement services to facilitate seamless interaction between fiat and DeFi.
Guidewire
Guidewire (NYSE: GWRE) today announced that it appointed Jeff Sloan to its Board of Directors effective January 21, 2025.
Jeff Sloan served as chief executive officer of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN), a leading worldwide provider of payment technology and software solutions, through June 2023. Prior to that, he was Global Payment’s president from 2010 to 2013 and was a partner at Goldman Sachs through 2010. During his tenure, he oversaw Global Payment’s ascension to the Fortune 500 as the leading technology-enabled, software-driven payments business worldwide. Since 2013, he has served on the board of directors of Corpay (NYSE: CPAY), a global leader in corporate payments.
Hexure
Hexure, a provider of sales and regulatory automation solutions for the life and annuity industry, today announced the integration of its FireLight offering with The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) Insurance & Retirement Services (I&RS) Producer Authorization (PAR) service. By integrating Hexure’s FireLight with DTCC’s PAR, firms benefit from the standardized delivery of can-sell API messaging directly within FireLight, enabling real-time and efficient verification of producers’ credentials and providing authorization to sell insurance products.
To ensure compliance and efficiency for distributors and carriers, users must validate an advisor’s credentials and authorization to sell a specific product in a particular jurisdiction in real-time. Hexure’s FireLight allows distributors to take advantage of a standardized process within one comprehensive end-to-end digital solution across various carriers through a single data source, thereby simplifying processes and eliminating the need for multiple licensing and appointment check systems. DTCC’s PAR service provides API messaging capabilities that create an immediate response using reason codes within FireLight. By automating the can-sell check process with DTCC’s PAR, firms can confirm if an advisor meets licensing, appointment, registrations and training requirements at the point of sale. This allows clients to improve in-good-order application submissions, while increasing operational efficiencies and enhancing the overall client and advisor experience.
Implementing these rules allows advisors to proceed, enforce soft stops with in-time appointment capabilities and corrective actions, and hard stops based on the advisor’s authorization and credential status.
Holborn Assets
Holborn Assets, a leading global financial services provider, unveiled its new app designed to optimize and simplify wealth management.
The Holborn App provides users with an all-in-one financial management solution. Users can view a breakdown of their portfolio, monitor and track investment performance, manage insurance policies and read the latest market news and insights.
One of the app’s stand-out features is its ability to track residency and citizenship by investment applications. Clients can stay up-to-date with their active applications, including what stage they are at currently and what will happen next. This feature will provide greater transparency and further enhance the client experience.
iCapital
iCapital1, the global fintech platform driving the world’s alternative investment marketplace for the wealth and asset management industries, announced a series of new enhancements to its award-winning2 portfolio construction tool, iCapital Architect. The new toolkit arms financial advisors with robust education and cutting-edge analytics and also provides the iCapital Architect technology as a scalable, customizable infrastructure for alternative asset managers to reach and serve the private wealth investor audience.
First launched in February 2024 for iCapital platform clients, Architect is the innovative portfolio construction tool that helps advisors evaluate alternative investments and structured investments alongside traditional assets and design portfolios that align with clients’ return objectives and risk profiles.
Apollo Allocation Pro, powered by iCapital Architect, enables users to create and compare illustrative public and private index portfolio allocations interactively. The tool allows for evaluating historical risk/return metrics and running allocations through a range of past market events.
Intention.ly
Intention.ly, a leading growth consultancy and marketing firm for fintech and financial services companies, is proud to announce the next evolution of its service offering under the leadership of Randy Lambert, EVP of RIA Solutions. In collaboration with RIA COO veteran Jason Mirabella, Lambert will spearhead the launch of Deliver Advice, a proprietary growth operating framework tailored to the unique needs and challenges of RIAs.
Jump
Jump, a leading provider of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for financial advisors and other financial services providers, today announced the successful completion of a $20 million Series A funding round, led by Battery Ventures, with additional participation from Citi Ventures and existing investors Sorenson Capital and Pelion Ventures Partners. This investment underscores the rapidly growing demand for advisor-specific AI tools that streamline administrative tasks and empower financial professionals to elevate the advisor and client experience.
Founded by repeat fintech entrepreneurs, Jump has quickly established itself as an indispensable productivity tool to advisory firms of all sizes – from solo practitioners to enterprise-level registered investment advisors (RIAs) and independent broker dealers (IBDs). The firm has raised $24.6 million capital to date, and this latest funding will advance its mission to empower financial advisors and their clients to thrive in the age of AI. With this funding, Jump plans to accelerate product innovation, building out an ever growing suite of advisor specific AI workflows and agentic AI work outputs. Jump will also expand sales and support to meet intense market demand, deepening industry partnerships.
Jump’s AI assistant integrates seamlessly into advisors’ workflows, automating critical tasks like meeting preparation, notetaking, compliance documentation, CRM updates, handling financial planning data and client follow-ups. Jump is deeply customizable depending on advisor preferences; it also integrates with existing advisor tools, including Zoom, Teams, Salesforce, Wealthbox, Redtail and more. Jump also provides extensive enterprise controls that allow compliance teams to configure Jump to their specific policy requirements.
Lowe Group
Lowe Group, one of the investment industry’s top financial PR and digital marketing agencies, today announced a rebranding including the redesign and launch of a new website. Lowecom.com showcases the firm’s role in raising the awareness and visibility of asset managers, ETF issuers, wealth managers and wealthtech/advisortech firms.
Anchored by the tagline Further.Faster: Financial PR and digital strategy at the speed of you, the site supports investment communications executives’ exploration and consideration of Lowe Group’s suite of public and media relations, digital marketing and content services.
Lowe Group Head of Digital Pat Allen led the project, partnering with Pressley Johnson Design, design; Scott Paulus Photography; and DigiSage, web development.
Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley at Work announced a series of technology enhancements that continue to deliver automation and intuitive user experiences across its range of workplace benefits platforms—including equity compensation, retirement and executive services, as well as savings and giving programs.
Together, Morgan Stanley at Work platforms Equity Edge Online® (EEO) and Shareworks serve roughly 40% of the S&P 500 in the US.
OneVest
OneVest, a comprehensive wealth management technology platform, today announced the closure of a $20 million USD Series B equity funding round. The round was led by Salesforce Ventures, with participation from new investors, Allianz Life Ventures and TIAA Ventures. Returning investors include OMERS Ventures, Deloitte Ventures, Fin Capital, Luge Capital, and Pivot Investment Partners.
The wealth management market is undergoing unprecedented change. An estimated $84 trillion will be transferred from Baby Boomers to their Gen X and Millennial heirs over the coming decades, and OneVest’s innovative platform is uniquely positioned to help enterprises adapt to these seismic shifts.
OneVest’s cutting-edge platform is designed modularly and flexibly, allowing firms to roll out their full end-to-end solution, while large enterprises—including banks, Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs), asset management firms, and insurance companies—are able to pick and choose specific modules to modernize their wealth programs. Customers can save implementation time and cut down significantly on the cost of using various legacy vendors and manual processes. Additionally, the platform is highly configurable, enabling customers to offer tailored hybrid experiences for investors, and empower advisors to gain greater control and insights over their books of business.
Orion
Pontera™, the fintech company enabling retirement savers to get 401(k) management from their trusted advisor, and Orion, the premier provider of transformative wealthtech solutions for financial advisors and the enterprise firms that serve them, have built a new integration that allows advisors to connect into Pontera directly from Orion Trading.
Advisors, centralized trading teams, and OCIOs leveraging Orion Trading for investment management can now seamlessly integrate clients’ 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and other held-away accounts. This new capability enables users to perform household-level, tax-efficient, and compliant rebalancing—optimized within the constraints of retirement plans—all while ensuring portfolios remain aligned with clients’ objectives.
Orion Trading combines tax-efficient trading and rebalancing with a proprietary order management system. The integration will empower financial advisors to deliver higher levels of investment management to their clients. With the ability to unify, manage, and trade model portfolios on a single platform, Orion and Pontera bring a scalable solution that also includes clients’ held-away assets—such as 401(k)s and other workplace retirement accounts—under one comprehensive strategy.
Sycamore
Leading wealthtech firm The Sycamore Company (“Sycamore”) today announced the release of a cutting-edge surveillance platform for broker-dealers that enables them to more effectively surveil, detect and monitor advisor activity within their organizations.
By rigorously monitoring and analyzing transaction and commission data across advisors and accounts, Sycamore’s cost-effective, cloud-based surveillance platform makes it easier for compliance teams to aggregate relevant data, surface critical insights and increase accuracy and efficiency. The offering comes as many broker-dealers wrestle with ineffective legacy systems that struggle to keep up with increasingly massive datasets and evolving regulations.
With Sycamore’s surveillance platform, compliance teams can aggregate and normalize their data all in one place, mine that data for anomalous records or patterns and generate reports for the firm’s management team, business units and regulators as needed. The platform can collect and normalize millions of records into a consistent format across data sources in a highly configurable and efficient way.
TradePMR
TradePMR, a technology and custodial services provider for registered investment advisors (RIAs), today announced the launch of “RIA Reflections,” the wealth management industry’s first publication dedicated to personal stories within the RIA community. The new publication is designed to provide a media platform for wealth management professionals to share their personal experiences, background stories and unique insights with the industry. Featuring compelling first-person narratives from financial advisors, executives and thought leaders, “RIA Reflections” offers a unique window into the lives of those in wealth management and financial planning. It aims to foster a deeper connection within the industry by bringing forward the diverse perspectives that shape the RIA landscape.
Along with the Synergize podcast, “RIA Reflections” reflects TradePMR’s long-standing commitment to advocating for RIAs and helping them grow and better serve their clients.
The launch of “RIA Reflections” builds on exciting momentum for TradePMR. Late last year, the firm introduced Fusion SYNC and its new account opening capabilities, which followed closely on the announcement of four industry veteran hires to bolster its technology offerings for advisors and their clients.
