In a sign that advisory tech giant Envestnet is for real continuing to develop and consolidate its technology groupthe firm announced a number of developments, updates and new features to its platform this week.

WHEREAS Envestnet announced that Bain Capital was acquiring it in Julythe tech firm has continued to break down data silos, consolidate technology from the many acquisitions it has made, and automate much of that technology over the past two years.

Evidence of the latter is the enhancements announced to Envestnet BillFin, the cloud-based advisory billing software for RIAs that resulted from acquisition of Redi2 Technologies in 2022.

BillFin offers RIA firms a comprehensive billing solution, from the calculation of advisory fees (flat, tiered or banded AUM). It can be matched with most of the ways a firm already bills its customers – in advance or in arrears – based on some parameters such as the end of the period, with the flows or the average daily balance. There's also self-service on board, the ability to fully customize your invoices and set asset exclusions by family, account, asset class or individual security, among other features.

Envestnet also announced Workplace for RIAs, a suite of technology tools and product offerings aimed at making it easier for advisory firms to enter or expand their retirement planning efforts through Envestnet's Retirement Marketplace (one of several rolled out over the years).

Within this package is a loyalty proposal generation and ongoing recordkeeping toolset called Envestnet Retire Complete that was built in partnership with Empower. These tools, according to the firm, provide a cost-effective retirement solution for wealth advisors looking to enter the retirement space or work with small and medium-sized businesses that do not have access to a retirement plan. This is part of Envestnet's Data Solutions business, which in turn provides access to data collection tools, as well as a dashboard for workplace management, among other features.

Another important part of the announcement is about developments in a The collaboration and partnership was first announced in June. On October 1, Envestnet RIA clients will be able to access fund strategists' portfolios of ETFs and mutual funds managed by Envestnet Asset Managers | PMC, BlackRock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton and State Street Global Advisers through Envestnet's RIA Marketplace.

While it is designed to help advisors offer managed accounts to their end clients at scale from those asset managers with no platform fee, Envestnet disclosed that they are receiving compensation (“RIA Marketplace Offers Advisors Access to Portfolios of Fund Strategies managed by third parties Asset managers that have entered into a strategic partnership with Envestnet, in connection with this relationship, Envestnet is compensated by third party asset managers based on the value of the assets invested in the models participating in this program, which creates a conflict of interest.

Several other announcements were made, including a new customer portal that presents a single consolidated view of a customer's accounts in one interface and the introduction of a mobile app to access it, which is available as on both Android and Apple iOS operating systems.

Other announcements, including Envestnet RIA Trading now available as a standalone product and being fully integrated with reporting and providing the ability to manage UMA sleeve allocations, will be covered in a separate story.

D1g1t Completes Billing

The RIA advisory technology sector continues to address the need for better and better integrated billing technology.

In addition to Envestnet's announcement this week, d1g1t (pronounced “digital”), a Canada-based advisory technology platform provider serving the US advisory market, has introduced its own set of extensive invoicing features within its platform. its wealth management.

It is powered by a multi-currency, scalable rate calculation engine and supports complex billing scenarios that include arrears or upfront, tiered or fixed rate plans. It also offers flexible fee exemptions, different asset calculation methods, sales taxes and payment redirection.

Vise announces advisors and leadership additions

Larry Raffone, current chairman and former CEO of Edelman Financial Engines, has joined Vise as an executive advisor focusing on distribution and partnerships.

Another well-known industry name, Chip Roame, founder of Tiburon Strategic Advisors and former chairman of Envestnet, will serve as a strategic advisor to Vise, assisting the firm in finding new strategic partnerships.

Accommodating this addition is the company's newly stated mission –published in a blog post this week— to partner with aggregator advisory industry firms and help them centralize investment management and operations.

Vise can support the integration of an RIA aggregator's investment models that include advisor and home office strategies and provides a unified workflow.

The firm also announced that Andrew Waisburd, PhD, former head of Invesco's Global Indexing business and Global Head of Portfolio Management, has joined Vise in the role of co-chief investment officer of Vise alongside Travis Fairchild, on previously a partner and portfolio manager at O' Shaughnessy Asset Management.