Later this month, data integration and management developer Invent. us will debut Invent Village at EDGE Wealth Management Conference 2024.
The collection of representatives from technology advisory and asset management firms will be available to attendees and exhibitors from May 13-16 at the Diplomat Hotel in Hollywood Beach, Fla.
Invent Village will feature interactive demo stations to showcase the integrations these companies are building using the Invent.us platform.
The developments displayed by the assembled firms range from financial well-being at Envestnetin the digital introduction by Allianz, CRM by Redtail by Orion Advisor Solutions, merchandising from Flyerperformance reporting from GreenHillcommission and fee management by BOSS from The Integra Group, AI generation from ARQAenforcement services from In search AND asset and liability management by Bonsai.
In addition to the demos presented by each company, the development teams behind them will be available to talk to attendees.
The invention was founded in 2019 by Oleg Tishkevich. In 2015, he sold his bona fide financial planning software firm Finance Logix to Envestnet in a stock buyout eventually estimated at $32 million. He stayed there for three years as managing director and chief technology officer of financial planning. According to the company, the Invent platform now has over 20,000 unique users.
Also at the conference, Tishkevich will deliver a keynote address on May 14 titled, “How to Overestimate Your Growth … The Secret Sauce for Entrepreneurial Advisors.”
BlackRock invests in Willow, a startup specializing in training advisors to work with NextGen and women clients
A lot has been written and discussed to date how poorly the human advisor industry is doing overall in reaching women and future investors.
In an effort to help change that, BlackRock has made a minority investment in Willow networka startup that specializes in helping financial advisors better serve those groups.
While financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, osier said in a prepared statement that it will use the funds to launch two new certification programs to help advisors better respond to the unique financial and planning challenges facing this next generation of clients.
Quoting highly veiled intergenerational transfer of wealththe giant asset manager noted that most of these assets will move into the hands of women and younger investors.
Willow has created new educational programs for counselors that will make them eligible for two new certifications: “Counselor for Women” and “Counselor for NextGen.”
Training consists of on-demand continuing education video sessions and live training evaluations (they must also agree to adhere to a set of ethical standards).
Upon completion, advisors will be able to access prospects through Willow's digital marketing platform.
As part of the transaction, BlackRock's head of advisor engagement, Elizabeth Koehler, joins Willow's board of directors, and Anusha Sriram, head of strategic partnerships for Aladdin Wealth at BlackRock, will serve as a board observer.
Betterment For Advisors Expands XYPN Partnership
Automated advice platform, or so-called robo-advisor Betterment now has an expanded partnership with XYPN, a platform for fee-only financial advisors.
XYPN advisors using Betterment already receive an exclusive discount on the platform fee along with no minimum AUM, but they will no longer pay any additional technology fees.
Advisors at XYPN will receive access to Betterment for Advisors' dedicated advisor support, client onboarding, integrations with the rest of the XYPN technology suite, and monthly webinars.
The relationship between Betterment and XYPN stretches back a decade, when the two firms began exploring a partnership. In 2019, Betterment joined select XYPN members in offering free financial advice to government employees affected by the close of that year.
Betterment was launched in 2010 and was led by co-founder and CEO Jon Stein for the first 10 years. Stein resigned in December 2020 and was replaced by Sarah Kirshbaum Levy, former chief operating officer at Viacom Media Networks. In February 2023, Betterment announced that 28 employees were laid off. According to its most recent Form ADV filing, the firm had 532 employees, 32 advisors and about $45.9 billion in AUM.
Launched in April 2014, XYPN had grown to nearly 700 members by early 2018, and today, it includes 1,800 members, most of whom are sole practitioners.
Fusion IQ introduces FIQ Freedom
Woburn, FusionIQ's cloud-based wealth management platform, FusionIQ, has launched the newest addition to its white-label software, FIQ Freedom.
FIQ Freedom is aimed at advisers who are considering breaking away and looking to simplify the transition process.
Digital compliance, client engagement, customizable risk tolerance and the ability to incorporate advisor models and third-party strategies will all be included.
Last month, FusionIQ aka John Phillips as a senior strategic advisor after serving as executive vice president and head of platform sales for Fidelity Institutional and chief operating officer at Gomez Advisors.