Borrowing some notorious investor words, it’s always different this time around, but it’s never really all that different.
We say that because there is some evidence that we might be in a rare period of rational exuberance—where sentiment across the financial industry seems to be broadly positive, outside of the usual critical and cynical stalwarts—but it’s kind of a cautious positivity.
History has taught us that such a period, if we are really in one, should not last very long.
Welcome to a mid-year Advisor Tech Talk, where we’ve dug deep to find a good deal of financial advisor technology news for you despite the holiday week, and before we run down those headlines, we’re going to talk about some of the recent market commentary since it is the season for mid-year outlooks. And we’ve had a bunch of them published in recent days—AllianceBernstein, J.P. Morgan, First American, Citizens, BlackRock, to name a few.
While firms differ on tactical positioning, there is striking consensus regarding the structural drivers shaping markets during the remainder of the year. Nearly every outlook identifies artificial intelligence investment, infrastructure spending, geopolitical uncertainty and monetary policy as the dominant forces likely to influence returns—and nearly every outlook was positive, with a catch.
Most of these outlooks devoted increased attention to portfolio resilience rather than aggressive tactical positioning. Gold, infrastructure, private markets, quality equities and higher-quality fixed income appear frequently across recommendations. The underlying message from these outlooks, to us, is to hedge one’s bets for the second half of 2026.
Of course, we’ve never been ones to take popular market commentary too seriously. Everyone has cracks in their crystal ball.
Anyway, looking around at some of the wealthtech goings-on this week, we see some signs of a maturing wealth management industry outlook towards AI. Rather than announcing standalone chatbots, FactSet is moving to automate complete advisor workflows. A new strategic partnership with Google Cloud will embed Gemini models throughout FactSet’s workstation while jointly developing workflow-specific AI agents for portfolio management, investment research and corporate finance, with an emphasis on traceability, auditability and regulatory compliance—features increasingly demanded by institutional wealth managers.
At the same time, Vestmark is opening a dedicated Boston Center for AI Research and Development focused on portfolio management, trading, tax optimization and advisor workflow automation. TaxStatus is introducing Planning Observations, which automatically reviews IRS-derived client data to surface planning opportunities that previously required extensive manual analysis. WealthFeed is expanding enterprise deployment through its agreement with The Mather Group.
By all accounts, these are not superficial, novelty applications of AI, but impactful partnerships, serious long-term initiatives and deep, integrated deployments of new technologies intended to create measurable efficiency gains over time.
Now, let’s get to our headlines…
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Acrisure
Acrisure, a global fintech leader, today launches Asero Insurance Services (“Asero”), a specialty managing general agency (“MGA”) that unifies several Acrisure-owned program administrators under a common brand in the United States.
Each program administrator within Asero brings specialized underwriting expertise backed by the Asero platform’s data and analytics, actuarial, and technology capabilities, with the ability to write difficult-to-place risks. The platform is further supported by Acrisure’s centralized legal, regulatory, finance, accounting, HR, and other enterprise functions. Acrisure owns 13 US-based MGAs that collectively underwrite over $1 billion of premium, of which six will be initially branded as Asero with more to follow.
Asero’s experienced underwriters operate under delegated authority agreements with unaffiliated insurance carriers, whereby Asero underwrites and issues policies on carriers’ behalf. Products are distributed by independent retail agents, independent wholesalers, and alternative distribution.
Arch
Arch, an AI-powered platform for managing, monitoring, and unlocking insights on private markets portfolios, today announced the appointment of Keith Soura as Chief Technology Officer (CTO). In this role, Soura will oversee the technical vision and end-to-end development of Arch’s platform, spanning architecture, engineering, and product delivery for a client base of banks, investment advisors, accounting firms, family offices, and institutional allocators.
As private markets make up a larger share of portfolios, the cost and oversight required to manage them has grown too, driven by manual processes, fragmented portals, and technology that hasn’t kept pace. The result is outdated and labor-intensive workflows, with a single private equity fund requiring over 5,500 clicks across its 10-year lifespan. This disconnect makes it imperative that technology evolves in tandem. Soura will build on Arch’s standing as the private markets platform of choice, driving automation across additional private markets workflows, while surfacing the trends, performance drivers, and insights allocators need. With a goal of driving down the cost of managing alternative investments and powering better decisions, Soura will also help Arch put novel and secure AI tools in the hands of customers, who are clamoring for advantages as they navigate private markets.
Soura has spent his career building and scaling platform infrastructure and engineering teams through periods of rapid growth. He joins Arch from mortgage fintech Better.com, where he led engineering, and previously served as CTO of proptech firm VERO. A recognized technology leader, Soura is a frequent speaker on AI and engineering and was named a 2025 HousingWire Tech Trendsetter for his work advancing AI-powered financial infrastructure. He brings that experience to lead Arch’s product and engineering teams, with a focus on making private markets more transparent and simpler to navigate.
EisnerAmper
The partners and staff of Sherwood Partners, Inc., are joining global business advisor EisnerAmper in a combination expected to close in July 2026.
Founded in 1992 and headquartered in Santa Clara, CA—in the heart of Silicon Valley—Sherwood Partners also has offices in Los Angeles and New York City. The firm’s 30 professionals provide assignments for the benefit of creditors (ABCs), corporate restructuring, receiverships, managed liquidations, intellectual property monetization, distressed asset management, and financial advisory services. It services multiple sectors, including technology, life sciences, fintech, cleantech, consumer products, retail, manufacturing, and professional services. Sherwood also works closely with venture capital, private equity, and financial and legal institutions.
Empower
Empower and Milliman, Inc. today announced they have entered into a definitive agreement for Empower to acquire Milliman’s retirement administration business. The acquisition will add significant expertise, broader capabilities and an expanded workplace solutions portfolio to Empower’s existing business.
Milliman is retaining its retirement and healthcare actuarial consulting business and expects to enter a strategic partnership with Empower following the close of the transaction.
Subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions, Empower will acquire the business for a total consideration of $340 million.
FactSet
FactSet, a leading global data and AI solutions provider to the financial markets, today announced a multi-faceted strategic partnership with Google Cloud to create a new generation of AI-powered solutions for the financial industry. The collaboration addresses a growing demand from financial firms for workflow-specific agentic solutions that are powered by trusted data and fully sourced, auditable, and defensible in regulated environments. The partnership supports FactSet’s broader AI vision by delivering agentic experiences across the investment and deal-making lifecycles.
FactSet AI enhanced with Gemini models: FactSet is embedding Google’s enterprise Search and Gemini model capabilities in its Workstation via Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform to launch the next generation of agents for finance. The partnership will accelerate the development of new Workstation products with deep research functionality and multi-modal experiences, leveraging Google Cloud’s broad range of AI capabilities. Direct integration with Google grounding will supplement FactSet’s financial data and improve both the breadth and depth of FactSet’s AI-enhanced insights.
Deeper financial intelligence in Gemini Enterprise: Building on the previously announced collaboration with Google DeepMind, FactSet’s MCP and agent sharing functionality will deepen the financial intelligence in Gemini Enterprise – Google Cloud’s AI platform for building, governing, and deploying agents. Through this integration, financial professionals will benefit from seamless interoperability between the FactSet Workstation and Gemini Enterprise.
Feathery
Feathery, the AI operating system for wealth management, today announced that firms using its advisor transitions platform transitioned more than $2 billion in assets under management (AUM) during the first quarter of 2026 alone, underscoring growing demand for modern infrastructure that helps wealth management firms execute advisor transitions faster and with greater operational confidence.
The milestone comes as advisor transitions become increasingly complex. Firms must manage data spread across custodians, CRMs, spreadsheets, documents and legacy systems while simultaneously preparing accounts, onboarding clients and generating revenue as quickly as possible.
Feathery’s advisor transitions platform helps RIAs and broker-dealers ingest and validate transition data, connect custodians and CRMs and bulk repaper client accounts. The goal is simple: help firms become transition-ready before day one so accounts can be ready to send as soon as advisors join.
FINNY AI
FINNY AI Inc. (“FINNY”), the AI-powered growth and marketing platform built exclusively for financial advisors, today announced a comprehensive brand refresh, debuting an updated logo, refined wordmark, and a new signature color palette. The rebrand was developed in partnership with Little Plains, a creative agency known for building purposeful brand identities.
At the heart of the refresh is FINNY’s iconic shark fin mark, now modernized with a cleaner silhouette and a deeper indigo that reflects the company’s focus on modernization and precision. Paired with a complementary set of tones, the new palette both reflects FINNY’s ability to be entrenched without being staid, and contemporary without being gauche. The updated wordmark rounds out the refresh, lending the brand a cleaner, more balanced feel across digital and print surfaces.
Since launch, FINNY has emerged as a leading growth platform for financial advisors, garnering accolades from industry awards, and financial backing from many of the top investors in fintech. In April, 2026, FINNY released Hunter, the AI Chief Growth Officer, and in June, 2026, FINNY announced their enterprise product, FINNY for Enterprise Teams.
Future Proof
Future Proof, the wealth management industry’s largest community and event platform, today announced the launch of Future Proof Connect, a virtual one-to-one meetings-only event taking place November 18–19, 2026. Future Proof Connect takes the most sought-after experience at every Future Proof event – its Breakthru Meetings Program – and opens it to the entire wealth management ecosystem, without anyone having to get on a plane.
The event is expected to bring together more than 2,000 participants and facilitate over 20,000 double-opt-in, pre-scheduled 15-minute meetings across financial advisors, RIAs and wealth managers, family offices and Limited Partners, asset and investment managers, fintechs and wealthtechs, financial services firms, and other service providers that serve them.
Unlike traditional virtual events, Future Proof Connect features no speakers and no content tracks. It runs entirely on the same proprietary Breakthru Meetings technology that has powered more than 100,000 double-opt-in meetings at Future Proof events since 2023, with meetings satisfaction rates consistently above 95%. Every meeting is mutually requested: participants build a detailed profile, receive AI-powered recommendations of the most relevant people to meet, and only meet with counterparts who have opted in as well. There are no blind matches and no automatic assignments, and over 3 hours across 2 days, each participant can hold up to 20 fifteen-minute video meetings with people they actively chose to meet.
Integrity
Integrity, LLC (“Integrity”), a leading distributor of life and health insurance, and provider of wealth management and retirement planning solutions, today announced it has partnered with Dependable Life Solutions, an independent marketing organization based in Miami, Florida, and led by William Kemp. Financial details of the partnership were not disclosed.
Dependable Life Solutions distinguishes itself through a collaborative, team-driven environment where agents receive hands-on mentorship to grow into confident leaders. With a steadfast focus on putting every client in a stronger, more secure position, the firm delivers life insurance products to families and individuals nationwide. A culture rooted in ongoing support, partnership and recognition drives excellence and fosters unity among the agency’s close-knit team.
An Integrity partnership offers the Dependable Life Solutions team access to innovative resources that support long-term agent success. Integrity’s transformative platform helps agents scale by proactively meeting client needs, while improving and simplifying processes. IntegrityCONNECT®, Integrity’s industry-leading technology growth engine, streamlines workflows by integrating all aspects of an agent’s business into a cohesive overview that includes on-demand leads, instantaneous quoting and enrollment and simplified plan management. Client relationships can be deepened through Integrity’s AI-driven and voice-activated digital assistant, Ask Integrity®, which surfaces connection points such as coverage recommendations, policy lifecycle reminders and real-time prompts. Additionally, Dependable Life Solutions gains access to a wide range of benefits available exclusively to Integrity partners, including insightful data and analytics, high-caliber leadership guidance and ongoing optimization.
Maple
Maple, an onchain asset manager, today announced the launch of syrupUSDG on Robinhood Chain, a new Syrup asset that brings Maple’s institutional credit strategies to Global Dollar (USDG), the regulated stablecoin issued by Paxos, on behalf of Global Dollar Network. Maple has originated more than $22 billion in loans since 2022, across multiple market cycles.
As part of the launch, Steakhouse Financial, the product’s risk curator, approved Maple’s syrupUSDG as collateral for the vault used in Robinhood Earn, a decentralized lending product available within the Robinhood app. syrupUSDG marks an important step in expanding Maple’s reach into mainstream fintech distribution and across new onchain distribution channels. Institutional credit has historically sat behind institutional walls; syrupUSDG is designed to bring it within reach of fintech platforms and their customers. The launch also brings Maple’s credit infrastructure into the broader Global Dollar Network ecosystem.
syrupUSDG follows Maple’s existing Syrup asset model, including syrupUSDC and syrupUSDT. Syrup assets provide exposure to Maple-originated lending strategies. Maple lends to institutions, with loans secured by collateral valued at more than the loan itself, and the interest those borrowers pay is the source of returns. Maple is the credit engine supporting the strategy, origination, risk management, and transparency reporting.
MDOTM
MDOTM Ltd., the global provider of AI-driven investment solutions for Asset and Wealth Management companies, today announced the close of a $27 million growth equity round led by Expedition Growth Capital.
Founded in London in 2015, MDOTM has grown into one of the leading AI providers for the investment industry, working with major financial institutions, including Morgan Stanley, Amundi and Zurich Bank. The company now serves over 60 financial institutions across the US, UK and Europe as firms increasingly turn to AI to manage portfolio complexity at scale, with Sphere supporting over $100 billion in AUM.
Total investment in the company is now $36.5 million. As part of the round, new board seats were allocated to Steve Twomey, Partner at Expedition Growth Capital, and James Hays, chairman of IFC Advisors. Hays was formerly CEO at Wells Fargo Advisors and has nearly 40 years of industry experience. The new members join CEO Tommaso Migliore, Chief Scientist Federico Mazzorin, and Chief Operating Officer Federico Invernizzi on the board.
Objectway
Objectway, a global wealthtech partner for banking, wealth and asset management firms, today announced the acquisition from FNZ of their Swiss private banking technology business FNZ Switzerland SA (formerly operating as New Access). The business will now be operated under the Objectway Switzerland brand.
Objectway welcomes a team of over 160 professionals, bringing their expertise and professionalism honed in developing innovative, award-winning solutions for over 40 private banks.
The acquisition is a significant step in Objectway’s growth strategy, reinforcing its commitment to expanding its presence in key international wealth hubs such as Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco and the Bahamas, where the newly joined business already serves both domestic and international cross-border clients. The agreement further expands Objectway’s scalable core-to-digital capabilities supporting end-to-end private banking operations, while leveraging an international team and operational footprint across Switzerland, Singapore and Tunisia and includes ongoing collaboration with FNZ on several joint client initiatives.
Orion
Orion today announced it has achieved ISO/IEC 42001 certification, the first international standard for artificial intelligence management systems. The certification, awarded following an independent third-party audit, validates the AI Management System that governs the Denali AI intelligence layer embedded across Orion’s workflows. The achievement places Orion among the first in wealthtech — and the first known portfolio accounting provider — to meet the standard. For the forward-thinking, growth-oriented firms Orion serves, it is independent confirmation that every AI capability Orion delivers is governed, responsible, and built to earn their trust.
ISO 42001 sets requirements for how organizations establish, maintain, and continually improve the way they govern AI across its lifecycle, including risk assessment, transparency, data governance, oversight of third-party AI providers, and human oversight.
The certification comes as advisor demand for trustworthy AI accelerates. In Orion’s 2026 Advisor Wealthtech Survey, advisors named AI and automation the number one force multiplier for firm growth, while only one in ten reported using advanced AI capabilities and nearly a quarter had no AI tools in place.
Parabellum
Parabellum Investments (“Parabellum”), a leading investment firm specializing in enterprise software and fintech, today announced its acquisition of Crux Informatics, Inc. (“Crux”), the industry-leading platform for AI-powered external data management.
In today’s global economy, data is the lifeblood of financial decision-making, yet the sheer volume and complexity of that data often create significant bottlenecks for institutions. Crux is solving this challenge by acting as the critical connective tissue between raw, fragmented data sources and the advanced models that power the world’s leading financial and technology firms.
The acquisition marks a major milestone for both organizations. Combining Crux’s platforms with Parabellum’s operational expertise and long-term growth strategy, the partnership will accelerate product innovation, broaden international reach, and deliver even greater efficiency to Crux’s customer base.
TaxStatus
TaxStatus, the leading provider of IRS-sourced financial data for financial advisors and CPAs, today announced Planning Observations, a new capability that automatically identifies timely advice opportunities and advice gaps from a client’s own tax records. Planning Observations transform raw IRS data and information returns into a prioritized, client-ready roadmap of planning conversations – work that has traditionally required hours of line-by-line manual review for every client and prospect.
Planning Observations power the company’s redesigned Financial Baseline report, a consolidated, client-facing deliverable that compiles a household’s complete financial picture and flags the items that warrant a conversation with their advisory team — all drawn directly from source documents such as IRS data and Forms 1099, W-2, 1065, 1120, 5498, K-1, and more.
Financial advisors and CPAs already hold the data that points to their clients’ most valuable planning moments – a Roth conversion window, an overlooked education credit, an estate exposure, an early retirement-plan withdrawal signaling distress, or quarterly estimates that are chronically over- or under-funded. The problem is volume. Spotting those moments across an entire book of clients and prospects means reading thousands of pages of transcripts and returns, one document at a time. Most opportunities are simply never found, and the advice gap goes unaddressed.
Vanilla
Vanilla, a leading estate planning platform for wealth management firms, today announced a strategic partnership with Callan Family Office, a registered investment advisor serving ultra-high-net-worth families, family offices, foundations, and endowments. The collaboration includes a strategic investment by Callan Family Office in Vanilla and a joint product development and go-to-market agreement, bringing together two organizations with a shared conviction that the ultra-high-net-worth market deserves fundamentally better estate planning technology.
Ultra-high-net-worth families and family offices operate in a different world than most wealth planning software was designed for. Wealthy families typically feature layered entity structures, multigenerational wealth transfer across branches and trusts, complex ownership reporting, and deep integrations across institutional systems of record. Yet purpose-built technology for this market has remained largely underdeveloped.
Joint product development will focus on the capabilities that matter most at the top of the wealth spectrum: consolidated multigenerational planning visualizations and reporting, sophisticated support for complex entity and asset ownership structures, and deeper data connectivity between Vanilla and the broader ecosystem of systems family offices rely on daily.
Vestmark
Vestmark, Inc., a leading provider of wealth management technology and services, today announced the opening of the Vestmark Center for AI Research and Development, known as the CARD, a new Boston-based center dedicated to developing AI-enabled and software solutions for wealth management.
The CARD expands Vestmark’s AI and research and development capabilities by providing a dedicated hub for engineering, product development, experimentation, and team growth. The center is designed to support Vestmark’s expanding advanced R&D team, attract specialized technology talent, and accelerate the development of new capabilities across portfolio management, trading, tax optimization, and advisor workflows.
The opening of the CARD builds on a period of accelerated AI investment at Vestmark. The company recently appointed Freedom Dumlao as Chief AI Officer, expanding his role as Chief Technology Officer, and launched Vestmark Pulse under his leadership.
WealthFeed
WealthFeed, an AI-powered prospecting and organic growth platform for financial advisors, today announced that The Mather Group, LLC (TMG) has named WealthFeed its sole approved enterprise prospecting platform.
Headquartered in Chicago and founded in 2011, TMG is a fee-only, planning-led national wealth manager serving high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth families. The firm advises on approximately $17 billion in client assets, is recognized on Barron’s Top 100 RIA Firms list and has completed more than 20 acquisitions since 2018. The agreement continues WealthFeed’s growth in the RIA space.
Through the partnership, TMG’s approximately 100 advisors across 14 offices will have firm-wide access to WealthFeed’s platform for real-time money-in-motion intelligence, warm introduction paths, data enrichment, compliant outreach and inbound web lead capture. The platform will help advisors identify signals tied to inheritances, liquidity events, business sales, promotions and retirements, while surfacing prospects they may already be connected to.
Webull
Webull (NASDAQ), an online investment platform, hosted its mid-year investor event in New York City yesterday, where it unveiled Vega Portfolio, the next evolution of Vega, Webull’s AI-powered decision partner. The company also showcased its expanding institutional business and previewed a pipeline of new investing and trading capabilities that underscore Webull’s evolution into a comprehensive investing ecosystem.
Vega Portfolio builds on Webull’s existing suite of artificial intelligence-powered investing tools, helping investors research securities, analyze portfolios, understand market events and receive personalized, AI-driven guidance to make more informed investment decisions. The new capability reflects Webull’s broader vision of embedding artificial intelligence throughout the investing experience while keeping investors in control of their financial decisions.
In addition to Vega Portfolio, Webull highlighted the expansion of Webull Institutional, which provides technology infrastructure and trading solutions for financial institutions, developers, and enterprise partners. The company also previewed several new and forthcoming platform enhancements, including managed bond portfolios, expanded access to private markets through Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), automated trading strategies, enhanced options capabilities, and continued international product expansion.
