#ItzOnWealthTech Ep. 89: When the Whole is Greater Than the Sum of its Parts – March News Roundup

“The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.” A phrase attributed to Aristotle and misquoted by those seeking to understand one of the most mysterious properties of a system: Emergence. [read my exploration into that topic] The phrase is also used to explain the importance of Synergy and the foundations of Gestalt theory. […]
Q&A: WealthTech at the 2020 Crossroads

Talking to a lot of thought leaders in the wealth management industry, most seem to be in a state of evolution, searching for new ideas to maintain revenue while the economy suffers under COVID-19. I recently sat down for a Q&A with some of our biggest clients to discuss current trends behind marketplace disruption, the […]
#ItzOnWealthTech Ep. 54: Now is the Time for the API Economy with Brian Ross

“In the old world of monolithic systems, there are no open APIs and people do not facilitate any rapid integration of best of breed systems. Where there’s a volatile market, you need to be able to move quickly. So I think advisors need to control the user experience and the client experience much more than […]
Is AdvisorEngine Building a Tamarac Killer?

How much do you need to spend to build a wealth management platform that is able to compete with the established market leaders? Around $60 million, based on the total investments gathered by upstart wealthtech vendor AdvisorEngine. This is how much cash the firm has grabbed since 2014, when it was launched by Rich Cancro, who […]
How Banks Are Taking the Lead in Robo Advisor Technology

Banks are traditionally stodgy institutions built on creaky, old infrastructure and usually being the last ones to adopt new technologies. This has been true regarding robo-advisors and digital advice platforms, where broker-dealers and RIA’s have taken the lead over the past few years. But now, it seems that change is coming. While the growth of […]
3 Thoughts on Why Invesco Acquiring Jemstep Was A Smart Move

I’ve been a big fan of Jemstep for quite a while now. I first met their president, Simon Roy, at a T3 conference a few years ago when he was on a panel of robo-platform providers. (See 4 Robo-Platforms Go Head-to-Head at T3 Conference) While Jemstep started out with a short-lived direct to consumer model and then […]
Should RIAs Use Tactical ETF Managers?

The low cost of ownership, high diversification, high liquidity and other general attributes of Exchange Traded Funds (ETF’s) are well known and have helped drive their growth and popularity. So how can a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) take advantage of ETF’s to build diversified investment strategies for their clients? A panel discussion at the Money Management […]