Diamond in the Rough: Orion Finds a Financial Planning Gem in Advizr

orion advisor services

“The soul is placed in the body like a rough diamond, and must be polished, or the luster of it will never appear.” ― Daniel Defoe, English writer Orion Advisor Tech (formerly Orion Advisor Services) announced that they are acquiring financial planning software vendor Advizr for an undisclosed amount. I sat down with Randy Lambert, president of […]

Vestmark Adds Option Trading as Defense Against Robo-Advisors

Vestmark Options Trading

The top five robo-advisors have attracted almost $200 billion in AUM and some projections say that this total could hit trillions in a few years. Wealth management firms are looking for ways to help their advisors differentiate themselves from the now ubiquitous robo solutions. As stated in Cerulli’s 2017 US Advisor Metrics Report, money management services are at […]

Beam Me Up, Scotty! Orion Enterprise Warps Into a Next Generation TAMP

Orion Advisor Services

When I first heard the news that NorthStar Financial was acquiring FTJ FundChoice (“FTJ”) and merging it with their subsidiary, Orion Advisor Services, I thought it was a terrific move.  Orion had been slowly moving up the value chain and pitching to larger clients, like broker-dealers and banks, but losing them to market leader Envestnet.  The addition […]

10 Towering Testaments from the T3 Enterprise Conference

T3 Enterprise Conference

The high rollers were out, in Las Vegas last week, laying down their bets and placing wagers on contestants in high stakes games. Except these players were going all in on wealth management technology at the T3 Enterprise Conference, which was held for the second year in a row at the Cosmopolitan Hotel. Keena B Pettijohn on […]

How Banks Are Taking the Lead in Robo Advisor Technology

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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 […]

Envestnet Expands Their TAMP Empire with FolioDynamix Deal

Envestnet FolioDynamix

When the same football team keeps winning the Super Bowl or the same baseball team keeps winning the World Series, everyone gets used to hearing the same teams names mentioned every year. The same might be true for acquisitions in the wealth management technology space.  For the past few years, the name behind much of the […]

RBC Tries to Jumpstart RIA Custody Business with New Platform

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The asset gap between the Big 4 RIA Custodians and the second-tier custodians is as wide as the Grand Canyon. With a combined asset base of over $2.5 trillion, the Big 4 would seem to have nothing to worry about from their small custodian peers. Yet, the many niche RIA custodians don’t seem to be […]