WealthTech on Deck

Wealth management has long been focused on investment products – stocks, bonds, and mutual funds – but there is a shift taking place in the industry. A growing number of wealth management firms are seeing the value in shifting their focus from investment products to investment processes. 

In this episode, Jack Sharry talks with Randy Bullard, Global Head of Wealth at Charles River Development. Before joining Charles River Development, Randy served as General Manager of Wealth Management at SigFig. At Charles River, Randy leads the Charles River Wealth Management business globally. He is responsible for the firm's wealth product strategy and growth of the business with a heavy focus on client satisfaction. 

Randy talks with Jack about the secular shift from investment products to the investment process in wealth management. He also speaks about the current state of wealth management in the digital age, the future of comprehensive advice platforms, and coordinating wealthtech capabilities.

Key Takeaways

Quotes

[13:32] - "Direct indexing, hyper-personalization, increased focus on tax optimization, and ESG application at an individual investor level are all manifestations of this transition from product to process, which we're undergoing in the industry right now." ~ Randy Bullard

[16:08] - "UMH is a process. It's a way of collecting disconnected things and making decisions at a client level that span all the stuff the client has. And so it's a process, not a product." ~ Randy Bullard

[26:08] - "Most asset managers are not doing well in this transition from an investment product to an investment process. We have to find ways to turn their value add and value proposition into data and information they can sell." ~ Randy Bullard

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Attracted by the city's educated workforce and growing reputation as a hub for tech and entrepreneurship, many innovative companies have made Hartford their home. With the city's rich insurance history and a center for many resources, how can a new generation of insurtech talent find the best resources, mentorship, and networking opportunities to thrive in the city?

In this episode, Jack talks with Laura Dinan Haber, Innovation Program Manager at Nassau Financial Group, and Paul Tyler, Chief Marketing Officer at Nassau Financial Group. In their roles, Laura and Paul work with startups and scale-ups worldwide. They help foster connections, make introductions, and open doors for the new generation of insurtech talent to the city and state.

Dedicated to accelerating insurtech innovation, Laura and Paul talk with Jack about Hartford as a hub for innovation, the exciting projects they are working on, and where the world is going regarding technology and solutions.

Key Takeaways

Quotes

[13:12] - "We want to be a place for people to come up with their ideas and stories, and we want to help tell those things. I like to think of us as day 91, where we can help you figure out what's next and be there for you." ~ Laura Dinan Haber

[17:58] - "Watching people progress, not only as founders but as leaders themselves, and then watching their work become more fundamental to our bottom line and helping our team out, has been exciting. And it's fun to see what we can find next." ~ Laura Dinan Haber

[24:01] - "Whatever place you're at in business or life, surround yourself with a community, whether online or in person, where you can be authentic, engage, and share messages." ~ Laura Dinan Haber

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Today, we're seeing three major trends shaping the financial services industry - the retirement of baby boomers, taxes, and the popularity of financial advice platforms. As these trends significantly impact how financial services companies deliver their products and services, what do these trends mean for the future of investors and the industry?

In this episode, we flip the script as Matt Nollman, VP of Marketing at LifeYield, takes the host chair to talk with Jack Sharry as the guest. As Jack speaks with industry leaders on what they're working on to move the industry forward and their businesses weekly, he assesses the top trends in the financial services industry.

Jack talks with Matt about his takeaways from his conversations with industry leaders and the top three trends shaping financial services today. Jack speaks about how retirement has changed over time, why financial services place so much emphasis on tax alpha, and how financial advice platforms are increasingly becoming customized.

Key Takeaways

Quotes

[03:33] - "The increased inflation and market volatility, plus the threat of higher taxes, have caused many people who are considering retiring to become unsettled and insecure about when and how to retire." ~ Jack Sharry

[07:23] - "The most prominent issue in light of tough markets and inflation concerns are taxes. Taxes are the biggest cost investors incur and are more than their expenses combined." ~ Jack Sharry   

[07:55] - "Tax efficient asset management is the cornerstone of a successful retirement accumulation and de-accumulation plan. The more efficiency that you can obtain, the better." ~ Jack Sharry

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Data is at the heart of every organization, and the ability to effectively collect, store, and analyze data is critical to success. Yet, for many financial firms, data is scattered across different silos, making it difficult to get a comprehensive view of their customers and business operations. While data can only be useful if properly organized and accessible, how can financial services integrate data to power applications, analytics, and decision-making?

In this episode, Jack talks with Kyle Van Pelt, Chief Executive Officer at Milemarker. Kyle joined Milemarker through Skience, where he was the Executive Vice President of Sales. Before his role at Skience, Kyle was a Solutions Manager at SS&C Advent and the Vice President of Partnerships at Riskalyze. His wealth of knowledge in the financial services industry and his passion for technology position him as the right leader to take Milemarker into its next era of growth and development.

Kyle talks with Jack about how he developed expertise in financial services, what sets Milemarker apart from other advisory platforms, and how to make multi-account unified managed households a reality.

Key Takeaways

Quotes

[08:13] - "I have a thirst for learning about things. I have an addictive personality, and once something gets into my brain, I have to know as much about it as possible. And that's the DNA inside of me." ~ Kyle Van Pelt

[09:29] - "There's about 80% that every firm shares in common. And then there's this 20% of an advisory firm's business that makes the firm unique." ~ Kyle Van Pelt

[20:20] - "You can't have personalization without proper data. If the data are in different silos and all over the place, it's hard to do any level of personalization." ~ Kyle Van Pelt

[24:04] - "The best thing that can happen for unified managed household, personalization, etc., is for people to pick their core competency, the thing they’re really great at, the part of the stack they want to own, and own it.” ~ Kyle Van Pelt

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As the world of wealthtech continues to evolve, so do the products and services financial advisors use to manage their client's portfolios. The multi-account unified managed account is one of the exciting developments in the industry. While UMAs are the backbone of the wealth management industry, what does it take to implement multi-account UMAs?

In this episode, Jack talks with LifeYield colleague Harry Bartle. Harry is the Executive Vice President of Enterprise Sales. In his role, Harry helps enterprises build complete household wealth management platforms. Having seen all the positives and negatives of piecing together a new wealthtech platform, Harry has become a resource for current and future clients looking to build household wealthtech platforms.

Harry talks with Jack about improving financial outcomes and increasing overall tax efficiency at the household level. He also discusses the evolution of the unified managed account (UMA), how the multi-account UMA came to be, and what it takes to implement multi-account UMAs.

Key Takeaways

Quotes

[06:30] - "You can't do tax management effectively unless you're doing it across all your accounts in concert with each other." - Harry Bartle

[16:27] - "Anybody that's ever gone from a single account system to UMA knows how painful that process is. It's very painful, very expensive, and has years of work." - Harry Bartle

[20:45] - "Everybody's talking about multi-account management and multi-account implementation household. You don't need to replace UMA. You can create household multi-account implementation capabilities while still having the backbone of your firm." - Harry Bartle

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According to Alliance for Lifetime Income research, The Peak 65 Generation: Creating a New Retirement Security Framework, "With the U.S. experiencing the greatest retirement surge in its history, the country's public and private sector retirement systems have become obsolete. The old metaphor of the three-legged stool of retirement planning — employer pensions, personal savings, and Social Security — no longer holds. These demographic changes will have major implications for the country's fiscal finances and the retirement security for the boomer generation and the generations that follow."

In this episode, Jack talks with Jason Fichtner, Vice President and Chief Economist at Bipartisan Policy Center and Senior Research Fellow at Alliance for Lifetime Income. Jason's research focuses on Social Security, federal tax policy, federal budget policy, retirement security, and policy proposals to increase savings and investment.

Jason talks with Jack about the Alliance for Lifetime Income research, The Peak 65 Generation: Creating a New Retirement Security Framework, how the demographic trends impact the retirement industry, and why now is the time to adopt a new retirement security framework. 

Key Takeaways

Quotes

[04:59] - "Retirement is not a one size fits all model. The idea that my parents and grandparents, who worked primarily for one job, one company, their entire life, turned 65, got the gold watch and retired isn't necessarily the standard model anymore. " - Jason Fichtner

[05:42] - "Social security is technically OASI, the Old Age and Survivor's Insurance program. It is an insurance program. It is not designed to be a retirement program. It was designed to insure you against old age." - Jason Fichtner

[06:17] - "The three-legged stool is now wobbly. The social security trust funds are projected to be insolvent around the mid-2030s, 2034 for OASI, and if you include DI, the Disability Insurance program, it's 2035. So that's kind of shaky. And if we don't do anything to support it, benefits could get cut by the 25%." -Jason Fichtner

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Technology has transformed the financial advisory industry in recent years. Financial advisers now have access to a range of tools and platforms to help them provide a better service to their clients. While adopting new technologies is not always easy, the advantages of doing so are clear. 

In today's episode, Jack talks with Evan Rapoport, Founder and CEO of SMArtX Advisory Solutions. Building on years of experience in the institutional asset management segment, Evan pioneered managed accounts technology that allows wealth managers of all types to access the same strategies typically only available to the largest investors. Before forming SMArtX, Evan created a comprehensive financial data marketplace for hedge funds, HedgeCo.Net, which still exists today.

Evan talks with Jack about how SMArtX Advisory Solutions helps to redefine managed accounts technology and how it integrates technology to bring the financial advisory industry into the modern day.

Key Takeaways

Quotes

[03:14] - "As a broker, it is tough to do two things well: raise money and manage money." - Evan Rapoport

[10:47] - "The opportunity with Morningstar is not only working with great people and great culture but also a tremendous business opportunity for us strategically in both powering their TAMP and now building out their direct indexing platform, which they've gone live in beta." - Evan Rapoport

[20:40] - "We are more focused on expanding the general integrations within SMArtX and creating those partnerships more broadly. We let the advisor come to SMArtX and choose what they want, not just tell us what they have." - Evan Rapoport

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Advisors are constantly looking for ways to best serve their clients. However, with the fast-paced and ever-changing landscape of the industry, it can be difficult to keep up.  Advisors are expected to deliver the highest level of client experience while growing their business and managing time-consuming tasks.

In this episode, Jack talks with Natalie Wolfsen, Chief Executive Officer at AssetMark. Prior to AssetMark, Natalie held product management and marketing roles in firms such as First Eagle Investment Management, Pershing, Charles Schwab, and American Express. She took the reins at AssetMark a year ago and has spearheaded the company’s strategic direction, which encompasses its platform of curated investment and technology solutions, business consulting and operations support, and strategic acquisitions that serve the best interests of financial advisors and their investors.

Natalie talks with Jack about what AssetMark offers advisors, how asset management and planning are integrated into its distribution model, and why outsourcing is key to helping advisors serve their clients better.

Key Takeaways

Quotes

[04:08] - "In the pandemic, we all became much more reliant on technology. And also, the benefits of technology became so clear to so many for the first time. As a result, demands for advice and technology have changed. And one important way it's changed is personalization." - Natalie Wolfsen

[08:15] - "From my perspective, what financial wellness ultimately does is it brings together the goals, dreams, and aspirations that live in a financial plan with the investments that advisors and their clients make to bring that financial plan to life." - Natalie Wolfsen

[14:11] - "Financial wellness is the combination of ongoing communications between the advisor, their clients, goal setting, goal management, risk management, and investments." - Natalie Wolfsen

[20:16] - "One of the reasons that AssetMark advisors grow so quickly and at the heart of that is a concept of outsourcing. If you outsource your investment management, if you outsource your technology, or if you outsource key parts of your operational processes, your number of clients grows, your revenue grows, your profitability grows as does your client satisfaction and your own quality of life." - Natalie Wolfsen

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As the demographics of investors continue to change, the wealth management industry is starting to pay attention to inclusion and diversity. Many firms hire, prepare, and advance underrepresented talents throughout the financial services industry and create programs to best serve an increasingly diverse clientele. This positive trend leads to more equitable and representative services for all investors.

In this episode, Jack talks with Craig Pfeiffer, President and CEO of Money Management Institute (MMI). Craig is a senior financial services executive, following 29 years with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and its predecessor firms. He transitioned from MSSB in 2012, where he was Vice Chairman and a member of the Executive Committee. From 2003 to 2011, he held a progression of senior positions, including the National Sales Group, responsible for marketing strategy and client communications, desktop technology, and brokerage-based banking. Additionally, Craig has been responsible for businesses, including retirement services and corporate equity solutions.

Craig talks with Jack about his current projects and programs, why diversity and inclusion are becoming an area of focus in wealth management, and his outlook on where wealth management is headed in the future.

Key Takeaways

Quotes

[03:54] - "For the last number of years, there have been challenges around dealing with accumulated wealth and retirement assets, not only the income but doing so smartly around taxes, risk around location, etc." - Craig Pfeiffer

[07:04] - "We have to go outside our industry, find people of color, and bring them into middle-level jobs. Fill out that sophomore, junior class, so the freshmen have an aspiration." - Craig Pfeiffer

[22:06] - "There was no opponent to the SMA business other than a lack of awareness. You can't come to an MMI event without putting your gun down. You're coming to share best practices. You're coming to share ideas. You're coming to learn. And people have had that structural fiber that allows people to enjoy it." - Craig Pfeiffer

[25:36] - "Being a leader in this business is rewarding. But you're only a leader if you have followers, and followers will only follow if they think they're listened to." - Craig Pfeiffer

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In a recent study by Franklin Templeton, U.S. workers are re-evaluating their relationship with their employers and the benefits they receive at work. The study found that workers are increasingly interested in non-traditional benefits and the need across the full spectrum of financial resources. 

In this episode, Jack talks with Jacquelyn Reardon, Head of Retirement & Insurance Marketing at Franklin Templeton. In her role, Jacquelyn manages a team of marketing specialists to implement strategies for distribution channels associated with U.S. retirement and insurance businesses.  She also deploys resources that drive marketing results while reinforcing process best practices, developing talent, and managing the budget.

Jacquelyn talks with Jack about Franklin Templeton's Voice of the American Worker survey, its outcome, and how the company responded to its results.

Key Takeaways

Quotes

[06:16] - "Fifty-five percent of people have said it's not just that they've left or considered leaving, but seeing other colleagues consider leaving or leaving has made them reassess what they want from employers." - Jacquelyn Reardon

[18:13] - "Seventy-six percent of people, as it relates to student loan debt, said that they would've made different educational choices if they had realized how much debt they would get into." - Jacquelyn Reardon

[20:30] - "There's an opportunity for employers to take that holistic view of wellbeing and put some incentives and resources in place." - Jacquelyn Reardon

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