tech STACK$

Sean dives back into the world of crypto, talking to Mike Reust, president at Betterment, and Jesse Proudman, Makara CEO, about Betterment's purchase of Makara. They discuss how important crypto has become to portfolios and Makara’s future plans.

Once the domain of the ultra-rich, alternative investments are now a hot item in wealth management as technology lowers entry minimums and placements open up for a larger number of investors. Alts have skyrocketed in popularity, with sales topping $31.7 billion in the first half of last year, and that’s only expected to continue. Antique musical instruments, muscle cars and even handbags have seen their values increase over the past decade, and the latest platforms offer rare Japanese whiskey and fine art from the Harlem Renaissance. Nick King, CEO of the wine investment platform Vint, and Yieldstreet’s Rebecca Fine break down some of the niche alt investments available to clients.

Charles Schwab, Ally and others have come under fire recently for their use of cash sweeps in their free robo-platforms. The practice of holding significant portions of client portfolios in cash so that the firms can collect revenue on the interest in lieu of charging a fee is not illegal, but the ethics are blurry. The large cash positions deprive clients of potential gains from the market, and many clients don't understand the mechanisms. David Goldstone from Backend Benchmarking and Laura Varas from Hearts & Wallets join Sean to break it down

Nicole and Sean attended their first in-person conference and what a way to send it! Featuring conversations with Anthony Scaramucci, Kevin O'Leary of Shark Tank fame, Matthew Hougan, and Sarah Kunst, this episode focuses on what was top of mind for everyone at the SALT conference: crypto.

For years the relationship between investors and risk could be defined as complicated. Clients want to understand their risks to make better investment decisions, advisers need to understand their client's reasoning but are often worried getting it wrong could cost them business. The race to offer risk assessment to clients has taken center stage, thanks in no small part to the pandemic that created almost unprecedented market conditions. Dr. Daniel Crosby of Orion, Aaron Klein of Riskalyze and Jeff Schwantz of Morningstar look at risk assessment from all angles in a discussion with Nicole and Sean.

The popularity of alternative assets is on the rise with AUM expected to hit $11.8 trillion this year and increase to $17.2 trillion by 2025. But accessing alternatives, like private equity or venture capital, hedge funds, real estate, or even art and antiques, has been a struggle for retail investors and advisers -- that is, until technology stepped in….

Wealth management businesses are easy targets for ransomware attacks, and if they're hacked, firms could end up having to pay ransom to free their data and avoid reputational risk and even more trouble. Nicole and Sean ask two experts what financial advisers need to do to protect their businesses from costly attacks and what regulators expect from advice firms. With the rate of ransomware scams increasing by 300% in 2020, is your firm prepared?

Non-fungible tokens have taken the financial world by storm with massive sales spiking the news headlines. Nicole and Sean bring together three guests with a variety of NFT experience to break it down. With a 299% raise in transaction value over the last year, clients will be asking if NFTs are right for them. Will you have an educated answer?

A major new development in our industry’s quest for financial literacy has been the explosion of new users moving to online investing platforms. Novice investors are learning the wrong lessons about finance — how can advisers help?

Famous TikTok influencer Humphrey Yang and Twitter savvy adviser Doug Boneparth join rising CFP Jacqueline Schadeck, an Instagram savant, to discuss with Nicole and Sean how social media can lead to exponential business growth. This is a detailed look at how advisers can choose a platform that suits them to show the world their authentic selves. One of our guests sees an 85% capture rate from their social media work -- proving this is not just a marketing gimmick.