Advisor Tech Talk (Week of 12/2/25)

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I love my family’s wealth manager—but they might not be my family’s wealth manager for the long haul. 

And wealthtech is part of the reason. 

Welcome to an Advisor Tech Talk that covers the Thanksgiving week of news, so it is a little thinner than usual. But there’s still plenty to talk about. 

My family has been in a stable, wonderful relationship with a major financial company for decades—nigh a century if one ignores events like mergers, acquisitions and re-brands. This relationship has lasted generations through all sorts of market conditions and decisions, good and bad. 

I’m not taking a survey, but from personal experience, I think a lot of families with a little long-term wealth have these kinds of relationships. There’s a lot of inertia in old wealth, and most families beneath the family office level with multi-generational wealth probably still have at least some kind of account with a wirehouse firm, and a relationship with an advisor working with that firm. 

This relationship probably pre-dates some of the family antiques in their living rooms. When it started, face-to-face meetings happened once a year, and information on accounts flowed on an annual basis, typically delivered by hand across a desk or in a room in the family home, sometimes arriving from the post office. General information on markets and investments, if it came at all, was in the morning paper or in weekly or monthly periodicals. 

For decades, that was an acceptable level of contact. Any changes required phone calls and consultation, perhaps more face-to-face meetings and signatures. And our parents and grandparents were fine with that, too. 

But for the last three or four decades, information has flowed in real time to those of us with computers and the ability to get online. We can know exactly what financial markets are doing at any given time—any time we want. For the last two decades or so, we’ve been able to watch what our investments and accounts are doing in real time and, for those of us who are investing on our own, react and respond in real time if we wanted to—whether it was good for us or not. 

Technology sped everything up years ago, but wealth management took a long time to catch back up. Now, many firms, especially larger ones, are successfully blending traditional advice with technologically driven high-touch self-service and automation. 

But today’s technology is doing something different that industries like wealth management have yet to account for. Instead of delivering data to us in real time, our financial technology is capable of delivering recommendations, insight and predictions. 

Many of us now go into our family meetings armed with more up-to-date knowledge about financial markets—and our investments—than our traditional wealth managers. 

Technology is doing the job, at a fraction of the cost of a legacy wealth management relationship. 

Is that enough to break our inertia? 

Let’s get to your headlines. 

Are you and your firm AI-Ready?  Join AICFP today and receive education certification for financial professionals and more – click here for more info!


Ask Hank 

Serving Canada and the United States, November 20, 2025. Ask Hank™, a first-of-its-kind digital companion for money and life decisions, officially launches today across Canada and the United States. 

Created by Dr. Hank J. Svec, a retired psychologist, investor, and naturalist, Ask Hank™ distills more than 40 years of behavioral, clinical, and financial experience into what Svec calls “my cloned brain in an app.” 

Ask Hank™ (www.AskHank.ai) brings a calm, trustworthy voice to personal finance -combining practical investing guidance with behavioral insights that help users make clearer, more confident decisions about their money and their lives. 

BetaNXT 

BetaNXT, a leading provider of wealth management technology solutions with real-time data capabilities and an enhanced advisor experience, announced today that it is expanding its investment in AI to drive ongoing product innovation. This latest milestone builds on the success of BetaNXT’s existing AI-powered solutions and the momentum of its recently launched DataXChange platform. 

Over the past year, BetaNXT has deployed advanced AI models to transform how complex regulatory and investor-facing materials—including proxy statements, prospectuses, fund reports and corporate action communications—are processed. These models extract, classify, normalize and validate information at scale, drastically reducing manual review, accelerating downstream workflows, and delivering more accurate and timely information to advisors and investors. 

The expanded commitment to AI-driven product development will address use cases from across the wealth management lifecycle, benefiting operations teams, advisors and investors alike. Innovation efforts will focus on four key areas. 

Binance 

Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume and users, today announced the launch of Binance Prestige, a bespoke service designed to support the traditional finance (TradFi) affluent segment as they take their first steps into cryptocurrency. Encompassing onboarding, fiat services, financing and more, Binance Prestige addresses the specific needs of family offices, private funds and other asset allocators seeking a high-touch, professional approach to digital asset management. 

Crypto remains a relatively new asset class, and many TradFi affluent investors are unsure about how to proceed after deciding to allocate capital. These investors require tailored solutions to navigate and guide them through the unique complexities of crypto effectively. Binance Prestige fills this gap by providing comprehensive, step-by-step support aligned with the rigorous compliance and operational standards expected by this growing market segment. 

The Alternative Investment Management Association found over half (55%) of traditional hedge funds now have exposure to digital assets in 2025, up from 47% in 2024, with 71% planning to increase their crypto exposure in the near term.[1] 54% of wealth management professionals now see digital assets as key for client engagement, up from 44% last year, according to an Avaloq survey. 

BlackRock 

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK) and AccessFintech (AFT), a leading data and workflow collaboration network for financial markets, today announced a strategic partnership. Through Aladdin®, BlackRock’s technology platform that unifies the investment management process, the firms will aim to deliver bilateral connectivity and real-time post-trade collaboration between the global buy-side Aladdin platform community, and the 250+ capital markets and asset servicing institutions already connected to AccessFintech’s Synergy Network. 

Sell-side participants and asset servicers gain a powerful new channel to engage with the global network of buy-side firms on the Aladdin platform, enabling faster resolution and prevention of exceptions and providing transparency for better decision-making to improve client outcomes. 

BlackRock has separately made a strategic capital investment in AccessFintech designed to support the company’s next phase of growth, including product innovation, global expansion, and deeper ecosystem integration. The investment reflects a shared commitment to a more connected, data-driven capital markets infrastructure. 

bQuest 

First Rate Ventures, the corporate venture arm of First Rate, Inc., today announced it has led the seed round in bQuest, a Denver-based Care Intelligence Platform purpose-built for financial advisors and their clients navigating aging, end-of-life, and after-loss transitions. 

The partnership will embed bQuest’s AI Care Agents directly into advisor workflows, combining intelligent automation with human concierge support to guide families through aging, end-of-life, and after-loss transitions. 

bQuest equips advisory firms with an integrated platform, a vetted national provider network, and white-glove assistance. This enables advisors to guide clients through life’s most complex transitions, helping protect relationships and assets when they’re most at risk. 

CFP Board 

Artificial intelligence (AI) is redefining the future of financial planning, transforming how professionals deliver advice, connect with clients and build trust in an increasingly data-driven world. As part of its ongoing work to lead the profession through technological change, CFP Board has released a new report, Leading the Future: Harnessing AI in the Financial Planning Profession, offering strategic foresight and practical guidance for key stakeholders across the financial planning ecosystem. 

Advanced under the leadership of CFP Board Chair Liz Miller, CFP®, CFA® and led by COO K. Dane Snowden, the report draws on insights from CFP Board’s AI Working Group, a diverse team of experts from within and beyond the financial planning profession, who help inform CFP Board’s perspective on AI and its potential impact. 

The report provides strategic and practical guidance for stakeholders across the financial planning ecosystem, including CFP® professionals, candidates for CFP® certification and CFP Board Registered Programs. For CFP® professionals, AI offers opportunities to improve efficiency, enhance client insights and strengthen service delivery, while differentiating themselves through technical expertise and uniquely human skills such as empathy and behavioral coaching. For candidates preparing for CFP® certification, future success will hinge on mastering both the ethical use of AI tools and the interpersonal skills that technology cannot replace. For CFP Board Registered Programs, curricula must integrate AI application while reinforcing ethics and human-centered competencies. 

Envestnet 

Tax efficiency and access to advanced tax management capabilities continues to be one of the benefits investors value most in working with a financial advisor – especially as their wealth grows. To ensure broader and more seamless access to these important solutions, Envestnet announces that asset managers participating in its Fund Strategist Tax Management (FSTM) Advantage program will join in covering the cost of service for tax management capabilities on the Envestnet platform – removing a cost hurdle for this value-added service. 

Designed to reduce tax exposure while improving after-tax returns, Envestnet launched this program to give advisors the tools they need to help mitigate capital gains taxes for clients. These taxes can be a portfolio’s largest expense. Advisors whose clients invest in Fund Strategist Portfolios can choose to utilize an optional tax service to help manage their portfolios in accordance with tax sensitivity factors – so that capital gains in portfolios are also managed to stay in line with an investor’s tax preferences. 

By adding Envestnet’s Fund Strategist Tax Management Advantage service to either an existing or new portfolio, advisors can better manage tax consequences for their clients. Advisors have the option to select a desired level of Tax Sensitivity for the portfolio from three options: Very High, High, or Moderate. This selection, personalized for the individual investor, can have a significant impact on the tax savings investors may experience if they are willing to accept more deviation from the Fund Strategist portfolio manager’s model. As the manager makes changes, Envestnet will evaluate the tax cost of executing those changes, subsequently making different trades than the model if needed for tax optimization. The optimization process balances the tax cost of adhering to the model, versus the risk incurred by deviating from the model year-round, with the goal of delivering better after-tax performance. 

GNOMI 

GNOMI, the AI platform redefining how people access and act on real-time information, today unveiled Finance Mode – the first agentic AI experience for live, multilingual global market coverage. The system lets users join earnings calls as they happen, access instant transcripts, and receive conversational insights across more than 50 markets. By combining live data, generative reasoning, and natural dialogue, GNOMI brings institutional-grade market intelligence to everyone. 

Finance Mode doesn’t just show the numbers; it interprets them. Powered by GNOMI’s agentic AI, it listens to live earnings calls, analyzes market sentiment, and connects macro events in real time. The result is clear, contextual insight that helps users act faster – without spreadsheets, dashboards, or noise. 

Finance Mode isn’t just a feature – it’s the next layer of GNOMI’s core intelligence. The company’s AI News Agent redefines how global news is understood, and now, Finance Mode extends that mission to markets. By combining multilingual comprehension, verified sourcing, and real-time reasoning, GNOMI turns complexity into clarity – giving retail investors and professionals a conversational way to interpret the world’s financial pulse. Through partnerships with Quartr, Fiscal.ai, TakoViz, FMP, and ElevenLabs, GNOMI integrates live audio, verified data, and generative reasoning – delivering the first AI news agent that thinks like a financial strategist. 

GReminders 

GReminders, a leading end-to-end meeting and automation management platform for financial advisors, announces the launch of AI Document Access, a significant enhancement to its flagship Do Anything Assistant. This industry-first innovation makes GReminders the only provider to enable compliant, intelligent AI-driven access to documents directly within their workflows, turning static files into actionable client insights. 

Using AI Document Access, advisors can connect their GReminders AI Assistant to key systems including Box, SharePoint, OneDrive, Redtail Documents and Google Drive. The new capability provides AI assistants with access to client performance reports, insurance policies and statements and more, enabling more complete and reliable pre-meeting briefs and an improved client experience. 

This advancement builds on the rapid evolution of GReminders’ AI capabilities. Earlier this year, the company introduced its Ask Anything Assistant, giving advisors the ability to interact with their calendars, CRMs and wealth planning tools using simple, everyday language. That momentum continued with the launch of Do Anything, the industry’s first fully autonomous AI assistant capable of anticipating upcoming meetings, curating relevant information and automating action—without requiring advisor prompts. With AI Document Access, that intelligence becomes even more powerful and contextually aware. 

Model ML 

Model ML, the leading global AI workflow automation platform for financial services, today announced a $75 million Series A financing led by FT Partners, the global leader in FinTech investment banking. The round also includes significant participation from Y Combinator, QED, 13Books, Latitude and LocalGlobe, and comes just six months after the company’s seed raise, led by LocalGlobe, and only twelve months after its launch. 

Founded by brothers and repeat entrepreneurs Chaz and Arnie Englander, Model ML enables financial teams to build AI workflows that automate client-ready Word, PowerPoint, and Excel outputs directly from trusted data, in exact prior formats. This capability is applicable across entire organizations, driving group-wide deployments. It is now in use at several of the world’s largest banks, asset managers and consultancies, including two of the Big Four accounting firms. 

High-stakes deliverables like pitch decks, investment memos, and diligence reports are still built through slow, manual processes that strain teams and stall business momentum. Entire deal teams across all levels of seniority lose time formatting outputs and chasing down inconsistencies across Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. These inefficiencies introduce reputational risk and slow decisions. 

OneVest 

OneVest, a fintech wealth operating system delivering a unified, modular, no-code solution powered by intelligent workflows for wealth managers, RIAs, and banks, today announced the expansion of its multicurrency capabilities designed to help institutions more effectively manage clients with international assets and globally diversified portfolios. This enhancement builds on OneVest’s recent multilingual update and further strengthens the global infrastructure firms rely on to deliver consistent client service across geographies. 

As wealth management professionals increasingly operate across regions, currencies, and regulatory environments, OneVest’s updated multicurrency functionality will provide advisors the tools and flexibility needed to manage complex relationships through a single, integrated platform. 

SS&C 

SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSNC) today announced significant expansion of its European wealth management business with the establishment of SS&C Wealth Services Europe Ltd. The business has been granted authorization under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) by the Central Bank of Ireland. 

The license strengthens SS&C’s ability to serve the European Union’s wealth management sector. The company can now deliver its full suite of technology-enabled wealth management solutions directly from Ireland. The new operation builds on SS&C’s successful U.K. wealth management business, creating a pan-European platform with advanced technology, deep regulatory expertise, and comprehensive servicing capabilities. 

Based in Dublin, the business will focus on helping financial institutions modernize and scale their wealth operations through SS&C’s integrated wealth platform, custody, and back-office services. 

TIFIN 

SS&C ALPS Advisors, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSNC), has partnered with TIFIN Give, part of TIFIN’s ecosystem of wealth technology platforms, to launch an innovative white label donor-advised fund (DAF) program. The solution enables wealth managers, family offices and advisors to redefine the role of philanthropy and gifting within their clients’ investment strategies. The program helps firms evolve in step with their clients and families as the next generation of wealth takes shape. 

Donor-advised funds (DAFs) empower individuals and families to contribute assets with ease, build charitable wealth and shape lasting legacies across generations. For wealth managers, family offices and advisors, DAFs are more than a platform—they are a strategic tool that strengthen client relationships, improve retention and support tax-efficient asset growth. 

This collaboration reflects TIFIN’s ongoing work to bring connected, intelligent capabilities into wealth management in ways that make planning purposeful, personalized and scalable.