Adopting Fintech Solutions for Year-Round Tax-Smart Investment Management, Avoiding Digital Client Prospecting Compliance Risks and Should Breakaway Advisors Go IAR versus RIA?
To My Fellow WSR Community Members:
It’s the time of year when we take a few days to celebrate our accomplishments and examine missed opportunities, making New Year’s resolutions to change and improve across our personal lives and – importantly – our businesses.
Some of our resolutions emerge from the back burner – problems we knew we should have addressed but neglected in the shuffle of priorities.
This week’s articles highlight a couple of neglected areas that are ripe for weaving into our businesses from the top of the year: For example, how easily could your business onboard a potential client who demands year-round tax-smart investment management?
Or separately, are you adopting new digital client prospecting tools that contain hidden – but very significant – compliance threats?
And what are some of the top wealthtech, regtech and cybersecurity forces that are reshaping fintech for wealth management firms and financial advisors that I should be more closely watching?
This Week’s Issue
Consistent with some of these big questions, here’s what we have on tap for you with this week’s issue:
- In our Digital Domain section, Michael Madden, Contributing Editor & Research Analyst, talks with Mitch Avnet, Founder and Managing Partner of Compliance Risk Concepts, about the risks of digital client prospecting tools, reminding us that regulations governing client marketing and outreach still apply to digital strategies, and using mass-market prospecting solutions could lead to a knock on the door from regulators.
- We are also thrilled to share in our Investment Solutions & Gatekeepers section the most recent Investment Solutions Roundtable. For this month, WSR Roundtable Chair Allison Pratt spotlights how the very best tax-smart investment strategies must occur throughout the year, versus on a last-minute basis in December. Towards this end, we’re privileged to hear from Dexter McAuley, Executive Director, Enterprise Business Development of fintech firm 55ip; Michael Pescatore, Senior Vice President and Overlay Services Director at Envestnet | PMC; and Richard Oring, President of New Jersey-based New Century Financial Group.
- Wirehouse advisors considering a breakaway in 2022 will take a keen interest in this week’s Upmarket section, where Charles Shapiro, a Founding Partner and Chief Development Officer of Stratos Wealth Partners, busts the build-your-own-RIA myth for breakaway wirehouse advisors, demonstrating that the IAR route is often the better choice because it frees advisors to focus on their areas of expertise without the distractions and uncertainties of building and operating an RIA.
- With the latest Newsmakers Roundup, we are responding to the demand by many of our WSR community members to introduce a wealthtech-focused recurring clips roundup, where we bring you some of the latest fintech, wealthtech and regtech deals and initiatives over the past couple months on a recurring basis – Where we not only summarize the news, but discuss how each item ladders up to a broader industry theme or trend that may be of importance to you, our readers.
WSR Growth & Innovation Awards Deadline Extended to End of February 2022
Please note that we will be extending our submission deadline for our inaugural WSR Growth & Innovation Awards to February 28!
As a reminder, we will be running our award program on a quarterly basis, with specific categories that align with each quarter. For the first quarter of 2021, we will recognize one winner and three honorable mentions for each of these categories:
- Independent Financial Advisor Group of the Year: Open to hybrid RIA firms, Super-OSJ groups and independent branches that recruit, retain and help grow the businesses of independent financial advisors.
- Business Development Leader of the Year: Open to senior in-house executives at independent wealth management firms of all business models whose responsibilities include oversight or leadership of financial advisor recruiting.
If you don’t see the category you’re hoping for, please let us know! And again, we will be introducing new categories on an ongoing basis, each quarter.
My New Year’s Resolution
Thanks to community members who have given feedback for our 2022 editorial calendar. If you haven’t yet, it’s not too late – we’d love to hear from you!
Your suggestions – whether for the editorial calendar or other topic ideas, emerging trends or important issues to your firm or business – ensure that we continue to deliver our best by keeping your needs and growth at the center of everything we do.
That’s my resolution for 2022 – that we grow WSR in step with your growth.
Your engagement through our website, social media, direct communications and content sharing keeps us excited and motivated!
Cheers!
Larry Roth, CEO
Wealth Solutions Report
