Spent a year in wealth and technology management. Big names changed roles, many new technologies were launched, companies merged and new players entered the market. This month's headlines show that the industry is closing out 2024 strong, and we have a lot to look forward to in 2025. Here are the five December headlines we're most excited about.
This app category is one of the new branches of AI that helps advisors take customer conversations and incorporate them as follow-up actions, tasks and CRM integration, a customer communication co-pilot if you will. The kind of technology that Zeplyn represents is the most obvious near-term benefit that F2 has seen advisors derive from artificial intelligence. So if you are looking for an AI project, this one works very well. It has been proven in our industry and by the top RIA accounts we have spoken to, saving very expensive resources many hours per week.
Through this new integration, advisors who use Pontera to manage their clients' 401(k) accounts can streamline their billing. We think this enhancement and integration demonstrates Pontera's flexibility and ability to target, expand its usefulness to advisors, and integrate with other data sources.
The news about the increase in RISR is very positive for advisors. RISR gives them the tools to evaluate a client's business as wealth and part of their total wealth. This is beneficial to serve wealth creators and business owners and can help advisors grow this area of their business.
Ryan Beach, former president of Orion Wealth Management, will succeed co-founder Doug Fritz as CEO, who will transition to the role of executive chairman and focus on strategic initiatives and client engagements. Beach's experience driving strategic growth and expanding service offerings while emphasizing team development and fostering a culture of empowerment, collaboration and accountability is exactly what F2 needs during its next phase of evolution.
Through this acquisition, SEI will offer real-time, automated unified managed capabilities in a cost-effective, fully packaged overlay solution, providing the industry with the ability to view all account records and implement a holistic financial plan to best optimize post-tax returns. The acquisition will accelerate its competitiveness by at least a decade. It follows a trend of custodial players partnering with UMA providers. Fidelity and Envestnet announced a partnership agreement earlier this year.
We wish you a Happy New Year and look forward to sharing more of our industry perspectives with you in 2025.