Happy New Year, everyone. After a couple of “light” weeks of covering the biggest and best to come out of wealthtech in 2024, we’re ready to turn our eyes to 2025.
The latest and earliest weeks in the year tend to be a slow time for news, but due to our little holiday break, we’re looking all the way back to the middle of December for our headlines—a virtual eon in technology news—to cover all of the advisor technology happenings.
But as I said in my lead, we’re also here to discuss 2025. I like to think of myself as an amateur futurist, always projecting ahead, sometimes far ahead, to try to translate what today’s news might mean for the years to come. Many of the items I’m most enthusiastic about may take, admittedly, a decade or more to fully come to fruition. Thinking about the 12-month near term requires a little bit more of a conservative perspective.
Let me give you an example—I’m a believer in automation, as it reduces overhead costs to the business and done right it delivers products and services to the end consumer more accurately, in less time, and at a lower cost. Eventually, at some point in the future, most of what we think of as wealth management is going to be automated. Today, most of it already can be automated—but just because it can be, and it will be, doesn’t mean it will be within the next 12 months. Financial advisors, for the most part, can rest easy on the automation question: your jobs are not currently at risk.
Now, just about anyone else working within a wealth management firm may see themselves being displaced, potentially within the next 12 months, by technology. However, financial advisors themselves have the security blanket of ongoing client relationships, and the inertia of incumbency will help them retain most of those clients well into the future.
Embedded finance is another existential threat for wealth managers, and it was one of our major themes for 2024. Wealth management services will continue to pop up in the fintech that consumers use, whether they’re linked to tax prep software like Intuit’s TurboTax, the digital banks where many consumers now hold high-yield savings accounts, or the rapidly growing apps on which many young wealthy people now make investments and buy insurance. That doesn’t mean that next-generation clients are going to be swept into these digitally oriented wealth management services over the next 12 months, it just means that competition will continue to ramp up, and traditional wealth managers will have to watch and think carefully about how they will respond.
Consolidation has been happening in wealth management for some time, even in the face of the movement towards independence and more fiduciary-like services. Smaller firms are combining, bigger firms are buying up smaller advisors, large RIAs are quickly coming to resemble the wirehouses that the independent advisor movement purports to offer an alternative to and clients still don’t really discern between the two anyway. Technology is going to accelerate consolidation. I’ll give you two reasons.
One is the cost of a technology stack is on the increase, not just because of the growing complexity of software that wealth managers are expected to deploy, but also because of rising fees from their existing technology partners.
Two is AI. Smaller firms don’t have the data to adequately train the current generation of AI, mid-sized firms will lack the ability to work with next-generation AI, and neither small- nor mid-sized firms have the headcount to effectively implement and monitor artificial intelligence.
There’s a lot more to talk about for 2025, but for now, let’s get to some headlines.
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Brooklyn Artificial Intelligence
Today, Brooklyn Artificial Intelligence Research (“Brooklyn”) announced the closing of a strategic funding round led by Atypical Ventures, with participation from S&P Global Ventures, the CEO of the Hantz Group, and asset and wealth management executives.
Brooklyn’s innovative multi-asset direct indexing platform enables asset managers and independent RIAs to scale personalization and tax management across equities and fixed income within a single custodian account. The platform is delivered either as a white-label technology solution or as a subadvisory service through Brooklyn Investment Group, LLC, a registered investment adviser.
In September this year, Brooklyn Investment Group and S&P Dow Jones Indices (“S&P DJI”), a division of S&P Global, announced the launch of MyIndex, a customizable version of S&P DJI’s market-leading indices offering, on Brooklyn’s managed accounts platform.
Ric Edelman
Ric Edelman, one of the most influential people in the financial services industry, announced that he’s ending his popular daily podcast so he can focus on several new projects. His podcast is in the top 1% of all podcasts, according to ListenNotes.com, and the last episode will be released Dec. 27.
The three-time winner of the Barron’s ranking as the nation’s #1 Independent Financial Advisor said he’s going to focus on his diagnostic research company, Durin Technologies, whose first test for early detection of a neurodegenerative disease launches early next year, and to providing consulting and advisory services to both entrepreneurs and established companies, including board roles, via his family office, Tiny Orange Capital. Edelman and his wife Jean are also expanding their philanthropic activities, including their support of the Edelman Fossil Park, Edelman Planetarium and Edelman College of Communication and Creative Arts at Rowan University; and to developing financial literacy programs with the Museum of American Finance. Edelman also plans to launch the Museum of Personal Finance in 2026. And through Tiny Orange, Edelman will be expanding his investments in the fintech, expotech and crypto sectors.
To increase his capacity for these new and expanded endeavors, Edelman has named Don Friedman as CEO of two of his companies, the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals (DACFP) and The Truth About Your Future (TheTAYF).
FiscalNote
FiscalNote Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: NOTE) (“FiscalNote”), a leading AI-driven enterprise SaaS technology provider of policy and global intelligence, today announced significant success in supporting customers across the finance industry, including some of the world’s largest banks, AI-powered fintechs, technology-enabled lenders, and more. As institutions across finance, fintech, crypto, and more face increasingly complex regulatory and legislative landscapes, FiscalNote’s innovative policy and regulatory solutions have emerged as critical tools for helping these organizations stay compliant, mitigate risks, and unlock new opportunities.
The global finance industry, which includes banks, investment firms, insurers, data providers and cryptocurrency companies, is among the most highly regulated sectors in the world. Cryptocurrency regulation, particularly, has gained renewed interest driven by the incoming U.S. administration’s stated policy agenda, which would likely lead to a less tightly regulated industry. FiscalNote’s AI-driven technology, real-time data, and expert insights empower finance organizations to monitor, analyze, and respond to policy developments globally. By leveraging FiscalNote’s comprehensive suite of solutions, financial organizations can proactively manage regulatory challenges and make informed decisions to drive business success.
Frec
Frec, the groundbreaking investment platform redefining direct indexing for self-directed investors, today launches its highly anticipated mobile app, underscoring its commitment to simplicity, low fees, and tax efficiency. This launch follows the announcement of the company’s Portfolio Line of Credit product. Frec’s focus on high-net-worth self-directed investors—those who align with the passive, low-cost investment philosophy—differentiates it from competitors that have pivoted toward retail investors or advisor models. With its mobile app, Frec aims to further its mission of empowering this specific segment with tools that simplify sophisticated strategies, enhance tax savings, and optimize returns.
For investors seeking liquidity beyond conventional loans, a portfolio line of credit enables them to borrow against their investments, converting their portfolio (including their direct index) into a ready source of funds. A portfolio line of credit, also known as a margin loan, uses existing securities as collateral, offering investors access to capital without disrupting their long-term investment strategy. On Frec, investors can borrow up to 70% of their investment in the portfolio line of credit. This flexibility serves multiple purposes: investors can use it to establish a new direct index position (for example, by combining 50% cash with 50% borrowed funds), or they can leverage their existing portfolio to increase investments in positions where they expect returns to exceed the current 5.58% borrowing rate.
Frec’s unique approach contrasts with other robo-advisory firms, which have shifted their focus toward broader retail markets. Frec’s strategy avoids distractions by catering specifically to investors who prioritize low fees, simplicity, and tax efficiency — all delivered without reliance on wealth advisors.
Future Capital
Future Capital, a tech-enabled registered investment advisor specializing in personalized retirement solutions, has partnered with AssuredPartners Investment Advisors (“APIA”) to enhance retirement plan services for APIA’s financial professionals. APIA is an affiliate of AssuredPartners, a national investment advisor with in-depth expertise in retirement planning and related investments.
This collaboration gives the financial professionals that APIA serves access to Future Capital’s Construct platform, enabling them to efficiently manage clients’ held-away 401(k) assets, provide truly holistic financial advice, and identify rollover opportunities.
Construct, which was launched in June, gives advisors trade discretion, complete customization of their clients’ portfolios, and the ability to determine their fee structure. Advisors can now tap into new revenue streams and capture a greater share of household wealth by expanding their service offering.
InvestCloud
InvestCloud, a global leader in wealth technology, today unveiled the Private Markets Account™ (PMA), driving a transformation in the wealth management industry through an innovative managed accounts offering that enables easy and convenient management of alternative investments (alts) alongside traditional investments for wealth management firms across the country.
The PMA™ marks a seismic shift in wealth management through a new, fully dedicated sleeve within the managed account structure geared to holding and managing alts for consumers. This breakthrough combines public and private assets in a single managed account platform, allowing for centralized management and seamless integration of alternative investments into portfolios, while enhancing financial goal achievement, expanded portfolio diversification and operational efficiency.
This centralized point for holding, valuing and rebalancing alternative investments will be enabled by the largest platform combining public and private assets and the PMA Network, a connected ecosystem of asset managers, wealth managers, distributors and model creators. Through its industry-leading APL managed accounts platform, InvestCloud currently supports nearly 4 million models.
Leap Financial
Leap Financial today announced a $3.5 million seed raise led by Fuel Venture Capital, with investment in the Miami-based fintech startup coming from Ascendo Venture Capital. Leap provides a seamless service that allows financial and non-financial institutions to participate in cross-border money flows, eliminating inefficiencies and helping immigrants send money home. Leap specializes in embedded remittances and embedded payments, offering AI-enhanced engagement, efficient cross-border transactions, and integrated end-to-end payment solutions.
Leap Financial combines its proprietary X-Border Payments Platform with a Native AI super agent (Lola) and its existing embedded financial banking and payment services infrastructure. Leap is the leading contender in embedded digital remittances, transforming how traditional cross-border transfers work to remove cash from the equation and leverage more secure, compliant and cost-effective digital remittances. While traditional money transmitters average 6-10% on the total cost of remittance, Leap provides remittances under 1% of the cost, leaving the difference for partners to decide the price.
The capital raised will help Leap respond to the growing demand and new customers generated by its strategic partnership with Mastercard and additional business development activity. Leap will also use new resources to acquire talent to boost its AI component, making it easy for any financial or nonfinancial services organization to employ AI agents to provide personalized services.
Opto Investments
Opto Investments (“Opto”), a comprehensive, technology-led solution to simplify private markets investing and servicing for independent investment advisors and family offices, today announced the launch of its new Planner tool. Planner simplifies long-term private markets investing by helping advisors determine appropriate target private markets allocations and develop an investment pacing strategy suited to each client’s needs.
Opto partners with registered investment advisors (“RIAs”) and single- and multi-family offices to build and deliver tailored, proprietary private markets funds on an elegant, user-friendly platform that minimizes the burden of administration.
Its sophisticated technology suite now includes Planner, which empowers advisors to create analytically rigorous, long-term private investment plans. Each plan is customized to the RIAs’ clients’ individual goals and provides clear projections for investments across private markets that reflect their financial plan. Advisors can select target allocations by leveraging their firm’s model portfolios through custom funds crafted in partnership with Opto. They can then create a pacing plan to reach the target and quickly deliver an elegant proposal to clients that clearly communicates the investment plan.
Orion
Orion, the premier provider of transformative wealthtech solutions for financial advisors and the enterprise firms that serve them, announced today a definitive agreement to acquire Summit Wealth Systems, an award-winning advisor technology provider. When the transaction closes in early 2025, Summit’s CEO, Reed Colley, will join Orion as President of Orion Advisor Technology, reporting to Orion CEO Natalie Wolfsen.
With 25 years of deep industry experience, Reed is the co-founder and CEO of Summit Wealth Systems. Prior to launching Summit, Reed founded and served as CEO of Black Diamond Performance Reporting. He founded the company in 2003, creating an innovative wealth platform that was agile and responsive to the advisor with user interface driven, graphical reports. Reed also founded calendar analytics platform Copilot, Do Something Great Today and FlightPath Inc. Reed holds a Bachelor of Science with degrees in Engineering and Economics from Vanderbilt University.
Summit, a software company co-founded by Reed, provides modern, consolidated, and intuitive client reporting and portfolio management to large registered investment advisors (RIAs). Launched in 2019 to elevate technology for modern wealth management advisors who want deeper relationships with their clients, Summit’s award-winning, client-centric portfolio management software aligns clients, advisors and enterprises around a unified, highly personalized experience.
Orion
Orion, a premier provider of transformative wealthtech solutions for financial advisors and the enterprise firms that serve them, today announced a series of enhancements to its Brinker Capital Destinations Trust, incorporating advanced tools designed to improve efficiency, reduce transaction costs, and enhance the overall investor experience. These innovations reflect Orion’s commitment to modernizing mutual funds while preserving their well-known advantages.
Through the introduction of new services from ReFlow, a leader in redemption management solutions, Destinations Funds will now have the ability to benefit from tools that will help minimize cash drag, reduce transaction costs, and mitigate taxable events.
This enhancement of services supports Orion’s broader effort to provide transformative tools that streamline advisor operations, deliver compelling investment solutions, and strengthen the overall client experience. Through these innovations and other solutions offered on the Orion platform, financial advisors will have more time to focus on what’s important: their clients.
Pocketnest
Pocketnest, the woman-founded financial wellness platform, announces its plans to enter the Canadian market, aligning with the country’s financial wellness initiatives.
Canada’s National Financial Literacy Strategy, a 5-year plan, aims to create a more accessible and effective financial literacy ecosystem for all Canadians.1 This strategy emphasizes the role of various stakeholders, including the financial services industry, in bringing its plan to life and achieving its objectives.2
The fintech sets its sights on the Canadian market on the heels of partnering with LPL-supported wealth management group GenWealth Financial Advisors and the fintech’s strategic alliance with CUWealthNext, a credit union service organization holding company.
Psympl
Psympl (pronounced Simple) is proud to announce the official launch of its revolutionary marketing platform powered by “Psychographic AI.” This innovative technology utilizes advanced algorithms to analyze consumer motivations, interests, attitudes, and behavioral data to develop psychographic profiles, allowing businesses to segment and understand their audiences on a deeper level than ever before. Psympl is focusing first on financial services and wealth management to dramatically improve conversions.
Psympl operationalizes psychographics in marketing by integrating these insights directly into campaign workflows through its suite of products. This approach enables businesses in financial services and wealth managers to deliver highly personalized, data-driven campaigns that resonate with their target audiences, enhancing customer experiences and driving sustainable growth.
Psympl’s platform simplifies the complex process of audience segmentation and campaign management, making advanced psychographic insights accessible and actionable. Through its user-friendly interface, marketers can optimize targeting, automate personalized messaging, select the most effective communication channels, and fine-tune message timing to maximize impact.
Republic
Republic, a leading global investment platform at the intersection of finance and technology, is thrilled to announce the appointment of James Newman as General Partner – Fund Manager & Vice President of Operations at Republic.
James Newman brings two decades of expertise spanning traditional finance, venture building, investing and the cutting edge of Web3 & digital assets. His diverse background and exceptional leadership will play a pivotal role in strengthening Republic’s position as a trailblazer in the investment space.
Prior to joining Republic, James has worked extensively across the Brevan Howard and Web3 ecosystem, taking on key roles in investing, business building, and operations. Originally hired at Brevan Howard, his focus was Principal Investing across Crypto, Web3, Fintech, and Frontier Technologies. James was also a founding team member of WebN Group, a renowned incubator for Fintech and Web3 innovation, where over 18 months substantial equity value was created by incubating and scaling early-stage companies such as Twinstake, TruFin, Libre, Geometry, and Soter.
TIFIN
Concurrent, one of the fastest-growing RIA aggregators in the United States, has partnered with TIFIN @Work, an AI-powered workplace growth platform, to deliver a more focused and personalized approach to workplace financial solutions. The partnership combines TIFIN @Work’s AI-driven tools with Concurrent’s advisory expertise to deliver clear, actionable outcomes for employees, employers, and advisors.
TIFIN @Work’s AI technology delivers tailored actions to employees, helping them optimize their financial strategies—whether it’s optimizing paycheck contributions or planning for long-term goals. Concurrent ensures these insights are put to work, providing the expertise needed to make decisions that benefit both employees and their employers.
The integration of TIFIN @Work’s platform with Concurrent’s advisory services provides employers with a streamlined approach to supporting employees. The result is improved engagement, stronger financial confidence, and greater opportunities for advisors.
Vise
Vise, a technology-powered asset management platform that delivers personalized portfolios at scale, today announced that Manhattan West has rejoined its platform. The Los Angeles-based wealth management and alternative investments firm, which manages over $1 billion in assets, serves high-net-worth individuals, families, and institutions.
Manhattan West was an early client and among the first to recognize the potential of Vise’s technology. The renewed relationship follows significant platform improvements by Vise, including enhanced tax transition, tax-loss harvesting, and overall tax management capabilities. These enhancements directly align with Manhattan West’s service approach, focusing on tailored solutions for high-net-worth clients.
This partnership marks a pivotal step in Vise’s mission to transform wealth management by saving advisors countless hours, reducing operating costs, and enabling service to a greater number of clients. Together, Vise and Manhattan West seek to redefine wealth management by combining concierge-level service with cutting-edge technology. With automated portfolio management capabilities all on one platform, we believe advisors are now better positioned than ever to deliver meaningful results for clients in a rapidly evolving landscape.
Wealthfront
Wealthfront, a tech-driven financial platform for young professionals, today announced a new product that combines the performance of the S&P 500® with the added tax benefits of automated tax-loss harvesting for the same price as the most popular ETF that tracks the S&P 500®. Wealthfront’s new S&P 500 Direct portfolio is available for a low 0.09% fee – the same expense ratio as the leading SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust – and investors can get started with $20,000.
Wealthfront’s S&P 500 Direct portfolio offers more tax benefits than investing in a single ETF that tracks the performance of the S&P 500® because it allows clients to directly hold shares of companies in the index, and uses automated Tax-Loss Harvesting to capture losses from daily price movements in those stocks even when the index is up overall. This new portfolio is ideal for investors who want exposure to the S&P 500® and have gains from stock compensation because it is designed to generate enhanced tax savings. Harvested losses can be used to offset capital gains, and any remaining losses can offset up to $3,000 in ordinary income. Any unused losses carry over indefinitely to future years.
Wealthfront’s product-led growth strategy continues to pay off and the company currently oversees nearly $80 billion for over 1 million clients. Today’s launch caps off a year of multiple product expansions, including a first-of-its-kind Automated Bond Ladder that makes it easy to invest in a ladder of US Treasuries and lock in a competitive yield with zero state taxes. The company also recently made available free, instant withdrawals and removed wire fees for its award-winning Cash Account offering 4.25% APY and up to $8M FDIC insurance, on deposits through partner banks. For more information on Wealthfront’s S&P 500 Direct portfolio visit www.wealthfront.com/sp500-direct.
