FEBRUARY 3, 2022

Highlighting the 2021 Awards Winners and
Wealthies Circle Members

CUSTODIANS & DISRUPTORS

RIA Talent Advantage Scholarship Program

Schwab Advisor Services launched the RIA Talent Advantage Scholarship Program with the aim of removing barriers and opening doors for the next generation of diverse talent to engage in and pursue careers in the independent investment advisory profession.

Fintech in Action

In June 2020, Apex spearheaded the founding of Fintech In Action, a coalition of action-oriented companies seeking to increase the pipeline of Black professionals for careers in finance and fintech. The coalition was formed in response to the industry’s need to prioritize racial equity and inclusion.

The Financial Alliance for Racial Equity (FARE)

The Financial Alliance for Racial Equity strives to increase racial diversity, drive greater equity and foster inclusion within the financial services industry and communities served—by being audacious with long term goals and providing frameworks for engagement and consistency.

Future Framework

To provide greater insight into the challenges of the wealth management ecosystem and what that means for firms, Fidelity created a 90-minute, 6-part digital talk, “Framework for the Future,” presented by Michael Durbin, Head of Fidelity Institutional.

Next investor Outlook

Apex has expanded its Apex Next Investor Outlook (ANIO) series—which examines investing trends and stock positions in millions of self-directed accounts of US-based millennial investors—to compare digital investor sentiment across four prominent generations.

Charitable Gift Report

The Annual Charitable Gift Report assesses the planned giving landscape, levels of giving and donor behavior to provide insights, context and benchmarks and provides analytics and observations on charitable gift annuity and charitable remainder trust activity for more than 100 nonprofit organizations.

Talent Resource Center

Talent Resource Center (TRC) is an online platform to help firms develop an effective talent strategy. Consisting of insights, tools, and resources, TRC provides perspectives and thought leadership rooted in industry-leading benchmarking data and extensive experience working with advisors.

Strategic Wealth Services

LPL Strategic Wealth Services (SWS) launched as a new affiliation model designed to support the unique needs of established wirehouse advisors seeking independence. The service provides hands-on, personalized support through business startup and transition by delivering ongoing strategic business management and operational support.

Virtual Client Transitions

When the pandemic hit and travel restrictions were put in place, the BNY Mellon team expanded use of its digital tools such as DocuSign®, Symphony, External MyShare and WebEx, and new processes were developed to replicate on-site support services in a fully virtual environment.

Digital Custody Account Transitioning

FTC fully digitized its RIA custody onboarding, further streamlining the process for FTC and improving the experience for outside RIA advisors and their end-clients. These digital enhancements began pre-pandemic but were quickly accelerated with the imminent need for contactless transactions in early 2020.

Financial Wellness Ecosystem

Envestnet has invested in creating a powerful toolset through its financial wellness ecosystem to deliver financial guidance that empowers the intelligent, connected financial life. Using data as fuel for our technologies, Envestnet powers deeper awareness, engagement and informed decisions in people’s financial lives.

Redefining Wealth Planning

Merrill has engaged in a multi-year initiative— Merrill Personal Wealth Analysis—to create a modern, digitally-enabled wealth management experience that brings together financial planning, advice, implementation and ongoing reviews in a digital, interactive, end-to-end workflow.

Artificial Intelligence Engine

First Rate developed an artificial intelligence and machine learning engine called ArtIE, designed to ingest and aggregate data from structured and unstructured sources, including PDFs, electronic images, HTML files, scans, regulatory filings, and more using DNN and CNN methods.

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