Whiskey&WealthTech

First Rate sits down with co-owner of Andalusia Whiskey Co, Ty Phelps, to discuss picking our very own single malt whiskey barrel that we can share and enjoy with our clients, co-workers and community. We discussed the fermenting, distilling, and aging process that the Andalusia Whiskey Co. goes through to make their ‘Irish-Style’ Single Malt in the unique Texas Hill Country environment. 

In our latest episode of Whiskey and WealthTech, we sat down with ESG expert and CEO of OWL ESG to discuss the challenges of ESG data and the evolution of how that data has been processed and reported over time.  Listen to our full podcast to learn how OWL ESG and First Rate have created a strategic partnership to leverage innovation and wealthtech to increase efficiency, enhance transparency, and improve the overall quality of the data.

Jason Yule from WTax joins us in our latest episode to discuss how WealthTech, AI, Machine Learning, and other industry partnerships, such as First Rate are used to help reclaim foreign and withheld taxes for wealth management firms to add value to their clients’ investment performance.

We sat down with First Rate Ventures Managing Director, and Ventures in WealthTech Podcast host Marshall Smith to discuss our latest First Rate Global Expansion. We are excited to discuss our acquisition of Finantech, now First Rate Chile, and our strategic objective to impact the community and serve the unique market of Latin America. 

First Rate’s LGSE’s (/ˈleɡəsē/) Podcast host and First Rate Chaplain, Blake Miller, joins us to discuss how our host of the Whiskey&WealthTech Podcast and Managing Director of First Rate Wealth, Alex Serman, CIPM, is leaving a legacy in his community by being inducted into Arlington, TX’ 40 Under 40 through his impact in the community and innovative business strategies. 

From back office processes, to complying with industry regulations and meeting client expectations, the static nature of the wealth management industry is coming to an end. However, when it comes to the future of digitization, client facing enhancements are the biggest priorities for most firms. Clients are asking for firms to scale personalization and deliver client reporting at their fingertips. Listen to our latest podcast as we interview industry expert Emil Polito sharing where the industry has come from, its current struggles adopting new technology, and the future of digitization in wealth management.  

For years, investment advisors have relied on an outdated system of rules when it comes to governing advertisements, endorsements, solicitations, and other methods to expand and promote their business. On December 22, 2020, the U.S Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments that consolidated Rule 206(4)-1 (“Advertising Rule”) and Rule 206(4)-3 (“Solicitation Rule”) with intentions to modernize the framework for investment advisor advertising. Listen to our latest podcast with guest Jonathan Boersma, Practice Lead for GIPS and Performance Regulation at Meradia to learn everything you need to know about the new rule and how to strategically prepare your firm for compliance. 

In order to build the right AI Model, Deep Domain Expertise and Horizontal Business Knowledge are needed. At First Rate, we understand the economics behind the data and believe that signals are more important than just developing complex technical solutions/algorithms. Furthermore, we follow the “Law of Parsimony" and keep the dataset size close to the minimally appropriate, which is crucial.

Having more data is not necessarily a good thing if data is not properly stored, cleaned, managed, crunched, and, last but not least, understood. It is mainly a matter of process and business know-how. We are a data-driven organization where the whole wealth management process is empowered by the data life cycle. 

We have invited our very first guest Mary Kopczynski to join us today to taste one of her favorite whiskeys, High West’s Rendezvous Rye, distilled in Park City, UT. We will be discussing our partnership with her firm Regalytics and dive deeper into understanding the newest SEC marketing regulation and how firms can prepare for the new regulatory shift about to take effect on November 4th, 2022.