Widespread Interest in the Post-Pandemic Return of T3 Reflects Intensifying Demand for All Things WealthTech
Founded by Joel Bruckenstein, T3 holds annual events that have become “must attend” venues for wealth management firms, financial advisors, fintech entrepreneurs, financial services-focused venture capital firms and others to gather, share ideas and form new connections to drive new opportunities.
Having transitioned to an all-virtual approach last year, courtesy of the pandemic, T3 has come roaring back this year, with both the T3 Advisor and T3 Enterprise Conferences being held from Monday, September 27 through Friday, October 1 in the Greater Dallas, Texas area this year.
WSR Survey Results on FinTech Spending Projections
Fintech wealth management continues to occupy an outsized level of attention and interest from firms, advisors and sources of private capital.
According to a recent WSR survey of its registered readers who are C-suite officers within independent broker-dealers, large RIA firms and RIA aggregators:
- In terms of third-party vendors and solutions, 64% intend to spend more on technology than any other single area of the business in 2022, with the sole exception of compliance supervision
- 71% of our survey respondents see regtech and cybersecurity as the primary areas where tech spend will likely increase for their firm
- Just below that, 63% of our respondents are seeking to increase spending on third-party tech solutions that drive scalable prospecting for clients among their firms’ financial advisors
- WSR survey results indicate the single biggest likely drop in technology spending in 2022 compared to this year will be with third-party workflow automation, with one respondent noting “Most of the low hanging fruit has already been harvested for the majority of mid-sized and large IBDs and RIAs at this point.”
With fintech at the top of mind for most players in the wealth management space, Wealth Solutions Report took a moment to connect with Joel Bruckenstein, Founder of T3, on this year’s event, what attendees should expect and the future of fintech.
WSR: Joel, it’s great to see T3’s in-person events come roaring back! What do you see as the key highlights of this year’s T3?
Bruckenstein: It’s a year of firsts, in many respects. For the first time, we are combining the Advisor and Enterprise Conferences into one large event. We will also be hosting Scratchworks for the first time. And, we will be hosting the inaugural edition of WealthTech Devcon in partnership with Invent.us.
As usual, we will have multiple sessions highlighting the latest trends in wealthtech from some of the top firms in the industry, as well as some of the most promising new firms and products.
Keynote speakers will include Jennifer Johnson, President and CEO of Franklin Templeton and Neesha Hathi, Managing Director, Chief Digital Officer, Charles Schwab Corp. A great lineup all around!
WSR: Is the exceptionally high level of interest you’re seeing in this year’s T3 conference driven by pent-up demand for in-person events after the past 16 months, or an escalated demand for fintech innovations and ideas across the wealth management space?
Bruckenstein: It’s both. The pent up demand is obvious. Industry participants derive benefits from networking with each other, and the human element has been missing.
But there’s also a clear demand. I think the rapid shift to remote working due to COVID exposed many weaknesses in advisor tech stacks, so there is a definite rising interest in tech-driven innovation.
WSR: What are the top three things you’d like T3 participants to feel they have achieved by going to your event this year?
Bruckenstein: First, I’d like our participants to have a better appreciation for newer technologies and how they can benefit financial advisors.
Second, participants will have a better awareness of cybersecurity and how to deal with this real threat to our businesses and our clients.
And third, our participants will have the ability to get hands-on experience with well over 100 technology products that will be on display in the T3 Exhibit Hall.
WSR: Any thoughts on the future growth trajectory of fin tech wealth management, and how T3 can help connect the key players in this segment of wealth management?
Bruckenstein: Part of our mission for almost 20 years has been to connect key players in the wealthtech space, and the ecosystem has never been more vibrant!
There are firms leveraging newer technologies in interesting ways. WealthTech DevCon is an attempt to raise the bar of programming skills in the industry and is just one of many ways we seek to raise the bar within the ecosystem.
