August Update for the Ezra Group WealthTech Integration Scores

Welcome to the August Update for the Ezra Group WealthTech Integration Scores.   

We added a bunch of new applications this month (as always) but the big news is that we have completed our annual research refresh!  All products in our database (524) have been reviewed and their scores updated.  

Our integration research team did a tremendous amount of work the past two months to complete this effort which included tweaking the scoring methodology to make it more accurate, which we explain below.

The following list of updates is important for software vendors since it explains how their integration scores may be changed.

1. BREADTH CRITERIA CHANGES:  When we launched our WealthTech Integration Score research in August 2022, there were fewer than 400 applications on the Advisortech map.  In the two years since, we’ve added over 125 applications and 12 more categories!  This impacts the breadth criteria since it is calculated by comparing the number of integrations for each application with the others in its category.  This means changes to categorization (i.e. moving applications from one category into a new one or combining categories) will impact the Breadth score of other applications in the same category. 
2. METHODOLOGY ADJUSTMENTS:  Our scoring methodology has gone through a significant overhaul as well.  The initial weights for depth, breadth, and usability were  60%/25%/15%.  A shift in ideology, fairness and transparency for all vendors in the program prompted a change in the breakdown to 50%/25%/25%, giving more weight to API usability.  You can learn more about the scoring methodology here.
3. EXPANDED USABILITY QUESTIONS:  Usability is critical to determine whether a vendor’s APIs are properly supported. Without robust documentation, sample code, a developer sandbox and other tools, it can be difficult to impossible to get much out of the APIs. Therefore, we added questions to identify how easy it is for other vendors to integrate with the application.  We added questions regarding developer platforms, documentation, etc.  Note answers to these questions are generally not found on vendor’s websites, so we highly recommend that all vendors with APIs complete our Vendor Scoring Survey to ensure your score is up to date.  
4. KEY APPLICATION CHANGES:  The list of Key Applications was created to encourage vendors to build integrations to the products that are most used in the wealth management space. The list includes applications that have at least 5% market share according to one or more technology surveys (T3 or Kitces). We recently refreshed the list to reflect the latest survey updatesAny product that integrates with one or more key applications will see their score change slightly.  The latest Key Application listing (which includes the “Big 3” RIA custodians) is (* means recently added):
   1. AdvisorEngine CRM (formerly Junxure)*
   2. Advyzon*
   3. Albridge
   4. Black Diamond
   5. Docupace*
   6. DocuSign
   7. eMoney Advisor
   8. Fidelity (National Financial)
   9. iRebal
   10. Kwanti*
   11. LaserApp
   12. MoneyGuide
   13. Morningstar Advisor Workstation
   14. Nitrogen Wealth
   15. Orion Advisor Services
   16. Pershing
   17. PreciseFP
   18. Redtail
   19. RightCapital
   20. Salesforce
   21. Schwab
   22. Tamarac
   23. Wealthbox
   24. YCharts*

   *Recently added applications

5. KEY APPLICATION INTEGRATION DOCUMENTATION CHANGES: Additionally, for the key applications only, we are documenting the integrations verified (either through their website or a completed survey) and correlating those integrations to the corresponding applications, regardless if the data is available on corresponding application’s’ website (or if they have not completed a survey).  Many of the smaller applications that have integrations with the Key Applications, but do not show those integrations on their websites may see their scores increase.  This feature does not affect the scores for the key applications.
6. ZAPIER:  Zapier integrations will now be included in scoring.  For vendors that integrate with Zapier, your integration depth will be a 2.

There may be slight variations to your score over the next couple of months as vendors respond to the new scores and/or complete new surveys.  Actions that could positively impact your scores:

1. We encourage you to complete a survey if you have not done so within the last 6 months.
2. If you have more integrations than listed on the survey, please complete the ‘additional integrations’ spreadsheet as well or contact us at:  Integrations@ezragroupllc.com. 
3. Ezra Group provides services to assist firms in improving their integration capabilities.  You can reach us here to make an appointment.

We hope you are as impressed with our new research capabilities as we are.  Over the next year we intend to enhance the program by: 

1. Launching a vendor portal so you can update your own integration data directly into our database.
2. Enhance our WealthTech Integration Score Recognition Program by adding the ability to display marketing text and graphics on the scores page.  The program is for vendors with applications that score 6.0 or higher.  For more information click here.