WealthTech on Deck

When it comes to providing financial services, it is important to remember that one size does not fit all. Not only is this important for the advisor-client relationship, but it can also lead to increased business and better outcomes for clients. As the marketplace changes, how can tax-smart investment strategies help both advisors and their clients achieve their financial goals? How can companies stay ahead of the curve when it comes to implementing effective tax strategies into their operations?

In today’s episode, Jack talks with Paul Gamble, CEO at 55ip, a tax-smart investment strategy engine that dramatically improves financial advisors’ efficiency and effectiveness.

With more than 25 years of experience in advisory services, financial technology, investment management, and retirement, Paul has served in various leadership roles with some of the leading asset and wealth management companies.

Paul talks with Jack about how 55ip enables financial advisors to deliver tailored services to clients, why tax management is becoming more important in today’s changing marketplace, and what advisors can do to deliver greater value to clients in the future.

Key Takeaways

Quotes

[4:05] - "Technology can really help wealth management enterprises and financial advisors take advantage of the technology trends and a different way of building relationships with clients." - Paul Gamble

[12:09] - "I really view the push for customization as really powerful because advisors want customization that keeps them in control related to the things they think are important to them from an investment standpoint, like asset allocation manager and diversity in other areas. From a client perspective, taxes may be the most personal thing that they have from tax rates to the tax budget investors are willing to pay." - Paul Gamble

[19:48] - “In running a fintech company, the key is making sure that you're constantly getting feedback from the key personas that you're trying to deliver your products to, making sure you're doing user testing qualitatively and quantitatively and getting that feedback." - Paul Gamble

[21:07] - "Advisors need to feel that the portfolios they are delivering are theirs. Whether they're leveraging a third-party asset manager or a home office, they have a say and they can put their thumbprint on it, they can explain them, and they can demonstrate their value in terms of outcomes." - Paul Gamble

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Risk occurs everywhere in the world of finance, it’s inevitable. As the global business and economic market continue to evolve, so do the risks. With businesses moving forward, how can technology integration in the wealth management industry help mitigate risks?

In today’s episode, Jack talks with Tricia Rothschild, Vice-Chair at the CFA Institute Board of Governors, Board member at Riskalyze, and Advisory Board Member at The TIFIN Group and the Financial Fitness Group.

Over the course of her career, Tricia was an executive at Morningstar in charge of the global software, data, index, and investment research businesses, serving individual investors, financial advisors, and asset managers. In her last role, she was the Chief Product Officer and Co-Head of Global Markets. In her 26 years with Morningstar, Tricia has built a strong leadership team and an innovative business with an enduring impact on investor success.

Jack speaks with Tricia about the risks associated with retail investing, how technology enables asset managers to better understand their clients, and what the future holds for wealth advisory services.

Key Takeaways

Quotes

[11:41] - "I think there is enough advancement at this point in terms of how AI can be applied to understand past behavior, project what is likely the next step, and provide a better kind of foreshadowing or pathway that would help people alleviate or mitigate some of those risks." - Tricia Rothschild

[20:08] - "There is a need for people to have the precision that each individual family situation requires and deserves. I think the industry is moving toward an increased level of personalization." - Tricia Rothschild

[24:17] - "Asset managers need to have a better understanding of the end-user. They became a little distanced from their customer. This investment in technology allows them to more effectively serve the user." - Tricia Rothschild

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Rebalancing is one of the most important tasks performed by financial advisors. But in an increasingly complex world where markets are moving faster, clients are not the only ones who need guidance. Advisors need solutions to overcome roadblocks that impede their ability to provide the best service to their clients. With the right technology, advisory firms are able to reduce the time needed to rebalance portfolios, as well as manage tax and risk more effectively.

In today’s episode, Jack talks with Damon Deru, CEO and Founder at AdvisorPeak and Senior Product Director at Addepar.

Damon started his career as a registered investment advisor where he manually rebalanced and traded hundreds of clients’ portfolios using Excel spreadsheets. Frustrated by the lack of affordable and intuitive options in the market, it was in this role where the idea of a customizable robust portfolio rebalancing system was born. Damon relinquished his role as an investment advisor to focus his efforts on building the most innovative rebalancing software for the financial services industry.

Damon talks with Jack about the evolution of AdvisorPeak, how rebalancing software can be a powerful tool for managing client portfolios, and why it is highly beneficial to the firm, their advisors, and their clients.

Key Takeaways

Quotes

[9:14] - "This is something the software does very well. Once you build in all the rules and the analysis, it can calculate all the information very quickly. A click of a button can rebalance hundreds or thousands of accounts in a matter of a few minutes." - Damon Deru

[21:31] - "If you're not using rebalancing software, you're also probably not looking at things from a unified managed household perspective as well. This is real-world savings that you can bring to your clients by looking at things on a household basis and trading tax efficiently." - Damon Deru

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Technological disruptions have revolutionized the way financial institutions serve their clients. Integrating technology into financial systems not only strengthens product, but also creates a seamless ecosystem across the wealth management spectrum.

In today’s episode, Jack talks with Ben Huneke, Managing Director and Head of the Investments Solutions Group at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.

Ben is the senior executive in charge of all of Morgan Stanley's retail products and platforms for their wealth management business. As the Head of the Investments Solutions Group, he is responsible for the development, marketing, and distribution of investment products. These include annuities and insurance, mutual funds, ETFs, hedge funds, private debt, equity, real estate funds, as well as individual equities, fixed income, and structured products.

Ben and Jack discuss product technology platforms,  how technology is the key driver to delivering value in the advisory business, and why finding partners with specialized capabilities is the best way to grow a business.

Key Takeaways

Quotes

[05:55] - "We believe that financial advice is valuable and is going to continue to be valuable. But we believe that technology is going to be an increasingly important part of how that advice is delivered to clients." - Ben Huneke

[22:47] - "Technology hates inefficiency. So I think there are technologies coming that are going to disrupt a lot of the inefficiencies in this market." - Ben Huneke

[23:15] - "We believe that human advice to wealthy clients is actually valuable and that clients will continue to pay for that advice. We look at technology as a great enabler and a great way to continue to deliver value through advice." - Ben Huneke

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In today’s episode, Jack talks with David Lau, Founder and CEO of DPL Financial Partners. David has been a pioneer in creating products, platforms, and distribution systems that help RIAs implement appropriate annuity products into household portfolios. David’s wealth of experience goes all the way back to his first job as CMO at Telebank, the first internet bank.

David talks with Jack about the impact of telemarketing on RIAs, fee-based vs. commission-based structures, and the integration of low-cost insurance and annuity products in portfolios.

Key Takeaways

Quotes

[03:06] - “The question around annuities was, how do you deliver value? You look at the way annuities are sold and they're so expensive. You're paying massive commissions and you have very high internal distribution costs in terms of wholesaling. The model for distributing annuities is archaic.” - David Lau

[12:12] - “RIAs are never going to have some wholesaler from some insurance company coming into their office every month. There's just no point in it. So I very quickly said we need to change this model to kind of a marketing-driven model. We'll drive awareness through marketing, we'll centralize wholesaling. We’ll have a centralized wholesaling force that basically deals with RIAs through the telephone. It made sense for us, but it also made sense for the market” - David Lau

[21:17] - “DPL was designed to be a fee-based, no-load, commission-free insurance marketplace. For the RIA, the notion is now that you’re more than just an asset manager, you’re a wealth manager, and you’re addressing this broad spectrum of your client’s financial life. It’s hard to do that if you can’t use insurance.” - David Lau

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The choices people make about their financial future are some of the most important decisions in their lives. Knowledge and experience affect decision-making, but so do emotional and cognitive biases. How can people overcome their biases and achieve their financial objectives?

In today’s episode, Jack talks with Jess Liberi, Head of Product at eMoney Advisor, and Michael Liersch, Head of Advice & Planning at Wells Fargo. 

As the Head of Advice & Planning at Wells Fargo, Michael is responsible for the delivery of all comprehensive planning services and sales strategies for clients of Wells Fargo Private Bank and Abbot Downing.

In her role as Head of Product, Jess brings eMoney Advisor’s product vision and strategy to life. She focuses on the evolution and development of eMoney’s robust portfolio of products, creating a powerful user experience across the platform. Working closely with financial advisors and advisory firms, Jess immerses herself in their world to fully understand their needs. 

Jack talks with Jess and Michael about how the partnership between eMoney and Wells Fargo can deliver huge value to clients, why having a deeper human connection can help advisors understand what clients are trying to achieve, and what the next best step is to put financial advice into action.

Key Takeaways

Quotes

[06:48] - "What has been really unique from the beginning is how closely aligned our two organizations are on our views of the value of planning and the criticality of access to planning to more and more people." - Jess Liberi

[18:54] - "I think the first thing that we all need to acknowledge is that to understand the human being, you need to understand their identity and their past because that's idiosyncratic to each human being. That's not a common answer and the question means something different to everybody." - Michael Liersch

[24:22] - "It's oftentimes difficult for people to truly comprehend the small changes that they can make today with substantial impact to their financial future tomorrow. So to the extent that we can help bridge that gap and kind of draw that line and connect today and actions that they take today, to the future, and the possibilities of the future, we've got work to do there, but making headway." - Jess Liberi

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Risk has always been a part of financial advice and strategy. But what does it really entail, both for advisors and for their clients?

In today’s episode, Jack talks with Aaron Klein, Co-Founder & CEO of Riskalyze. Aaron is an innovator in helping advisors and clients understand and manage risk. He started Riskalyze a decade ago with a small team and invented risk solutions like the Risk Number and the Risk Alignment Platform.

Aaron talks with Jack about the evolution of risk solutions, the impact of focused innovation on financial advisors, and the future of a multi-platform world.

Key Takeaways

Quotes

[05:52] - "It took off like a rocket when Riskalyze came out of beta in March of 2013. And here we are 10 years later. We get to serve tens of thousands of financial advisors across the country, and we've delivered over five billion risk numbers to their clients. It's really incredible." - Aaron Klein

[14:54] - "We started from the standpoint of, how can we help advisors better engage with clients at the front end of their process? And we just happened to believe that risk was the right way to engage with clients, that it was the right lens to help clients understand what they were doing and make better decisions that were fearless decisions instead of fearful decisions." - Aaron Klein

[17:13] - "What we are building is a bit of an advisor desktop platform. We really believe in a multi-platform vision. We want to make sure it's really easy for advisors to engage with clients and leverage those tools, and then implement those solutions for clients directly onto the different platforms that they might be on." - Aaron Klein

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In this episode, Jack talks with Christina Townsend, Managing Director and Head of Relationship Management, Consulting, and Platform Strategy at BNY Mellon’s Pershing.

Christina coaches RIA firms on how to make smart technology decisions and how to devise strategies to strengthen their relationships with investors. For more than two decades with Pershing, Christina was able to work directly with clients and was responsible for product management and implementation.

Christina talks with Jack about choosing what goes best in your tech stack, balancing the roles of people and tech in business, and the future of wealthtech.

“The balance between people and technology is different and it doesn't have to be the same. You have to look at where your value proposition is and what you want to differentiate and then apply the people in the technology.” ~ Christina Townsend

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In this episode, Jack continues his conversation with Jasmine Jirele, President and CEO of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America.

A primary component of Jasmine’s approach to her newly appointed CEO role is her focus on building great teams. Having a cross-functional background, she’s seen the benefit of having the right people in the right roles to leverage opportunities appropriately. Jasmine has also pushed forward initiatives to ensure that the right technology is in place to support her teams and clients. 

Jasmine talks with Jack about the hiring process, establishing strong relationships with distribution partners, and how to work with changing regulations and markets to differentiate from competitors. 

“Having the right talent is absolutely critical. Making sure that you're continuously out there learning and pushing your team to make the best use of the technology and the platforms that are out there and then being really agile and flexible to adapt and adjust.” ~ Jasmine Jirele

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In this episode, Jack talks with Jasmine Jirele, President and CEO of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America.

As the head of one of the most successful insurance companies in the country, Jasmine brings a fresh take to the CEO role as she brings the company into its next phase. Jasmine committed much of her career to financial services and eventually landed her dream job as the Chief Growth Officer at Allianz where she was able to coordinate projects within operations, marketing, and product. 

Jasmine talks with Jack about the process of incorporating product and distribution relationships with tech, and the impact of the pandemic and accelerated innovation on the industry’s future.

“Being very deliberate and focused on building all of the enabling capabilities to help us grow - it’s not just product or just distribution - it’s also really important to have a very strong customer experience and to make sure that the digital tools and processes are there to enable our advisors to really serve their clients in ways that are user-friendly and meet their clients’ needs.” ~ Jasmine Jirele

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