WEALTHTECH

It’s an incredible time to be a sports fan. Major Leagues Baseball’s trade deadline is Friday, and there’s already a flurry of top players moving to World Series contenders in exchange for next-generation talent. The National Football League just started training camps, the National Hockey League’s free agency period started this morning, and the National Basketball Association’s draft is tonight.

Oh yeah, and a little thing called the Olympics is going down in Tokyo.

But sports writers aren’t having all the fun. It feels like the world of Wealthtech is back from vacation with its own frenzied period of activity

We’ve had huge fundraising deals rivalling the most exciting free agent signings, such as Vestwell landing $70 million and iCapital Networks scoring an incredible $440 million. Insurance firms are changing their playbooks by turning to wealthtech firms to boost agents’ abilities to provide wealth management and financial planning. Robinhood is officially on the market as of Thursday morning, though the initial response from investors hasn’t been good. And just as the sports world debates Simone Biles’ withdrawal from her events in Tokyo or the problem of “sticky stuff” on baseballs, the battle over cryptocurrencies has made its way to Congress.

Over the coming weeks, we’re going to see some more M&A activity, more venture capital funding and some major talent hires. So buckle up, and subscribe, because the rest of 2021 feels like it’s going to be wild.

Toby Salinger Ryan Neal
Technology Editor, Financial Planning

iCapital receives $4 billion valuation after latest fundraising round

By Ryan W. Neal       3 min read

With $440 million in capital, the alternative investing company plans to expand internationally and make more acquisitions.  Read story →

State Farm taps Invesco-owned fintech to power brokerage business

By Ryan W. Neal       3 min read

With Intelliflo, the insurance giant hopes to expand agents’ ability to offer wealth management and financial planning. Read story →

Fireside chat with Betterment's new CEO, Sarah Levy

Join the newly appointed executive for a look at the changes happening at the online financial services company and broader fintech industry. Read story →

Battle lines over cryptocurrencies being drawn in Congress

By Hannah Lang, Neil Haggerty       5 min read

A Senate hearing highlighted the two parties' starkly different views of digital assets, with Democrats warning of price manipulation and Republicans saying the government should just get out of the way. Read story →

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Robinhood prices IPO at bottom of marketed range

By Crystal Tse, Katie Roof and Annie Massa       3 min read

Investors weren’t clamoring to buy Robinhood’s stock the way they had with some of the year’s hottest offerings. Read story →

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Disrupting the disruptors: Unlocking digital business building trends for small business banking

Thursday, July 29, 2021 4:00 PM EDT

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FP Rising Stars: The tectonic shift in the financial planning & wealth management

Tuesday, August 24, 2021 12:30 PM EDT

Join Financial Planning’s Editor-in-Chief, Chana Schoenberger and industry luminary, Mark Tibergien as they discuss the profound change that the financial advisory sector is currently undergoing. Mark and Chana will explore the catalyst that is driving this transformation and how it will impact the client /advisor relationship of the future. In addition, come and meet Financial Planning’s Rising Stars for 2021. Learn More →

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