On stage at T3, AdvisorEngine and Ritholtz Wealth told the story behind one of the industry’s most innovative RIAs launching its digital-first wealth management offering

The leaders of AdvisorEngine^®, the financial experience company, and Ritholtz Wealth Management, a national RIA which is home to some of the financial world’s most engaging podcasts, took center stage at The Technology Tools for Today (T3) Conference 2024 to speak publicly for the first time about the success of their strategic partnership. This collaboration emerged following Ritholtz Wealth’s acquisition of BlackRock’s digital advice service, FutureAdvisor, in 2023 and the selection of AdvisorEngine’s Wealth Management Platform as the foundation for its brand-new Good Advice offering.

The two organizations worked together to design and roll out the offering, extending Ritholtz Wealth’s value proposition to a new segment of underserved clients. Under the leadership of CEO Rich Cancro, AdvisorEngine provided crucial support in the technological integration while also overseeing the transition of thousands of accounts onto the new platform. This process involved comprehensive data validation and migration, including historical performance, transactions, billing schedules and investment models.

“When we hired AdvisorEngine, Rich assembled the team we needed, knew the timetables and understood the complexities,” said Ritholtz Wealth Management CEO Joshua Brown. “Most importantly, he knew all the counterparties at BlackRock, Schwab and Fidelity – and it really required the cooperation of everyone to pull the whole thing together. We’re using technology where technology is warranted but it’s a human-driven advisory service that I think represents the future of this industry.”

Brown, Cancro, and Ritholtz Wealth Managing Partner Michael Batnick told the T3 audience that one of the reasons for their collaboration was an alignment on where the wealth management industry is headed – a future where firms must be able to deliver digital-first service and reach new client segments.

The collaboration between Ritholtz Wealth and AdvisorEngine represents a powerful combination of human-driven financial planning and cutting-edge technology, aimed at serving the 'mass affluent' segment – households with $250,000 to $1,000,000 in assets. This historically underserved demographic is set to benefit significantly from Ritholtz Wealth’s distinctive approach, which blends technological innovation with the expertise of CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERS™ and a robust operational infrastructure.

“The industry has often talked about future trends that will impact investment advice, including technological disruption, fee compression and the generational wealth transfer,” Cancro said. “Those trends aren’t in the future anymore, they are happening today, and firms need to make essential changes to meet these challenges, as Ritholtz Wealth Management has done. They saw a major market opportunity, and we are proud to partner with them on this journey.”

Batnick added: “The robo-advisor era is dead, but that doesn't mean firms should ignore digital-first tools and automation. The industry is beginning to realize that firms must make use of technology to better serve clients and create new ways to boost their growth.”

AdvisorEngine continues to focus on industry-leading integrations with key institutions to deliver critical data and powerful tools for advisory firms. It recently announced new enhancements to benefit advisors and their clients utilizing its wealth management platform for digital account opening with Schwab Advisor Services. The company also announced a new integration with Charles Schwab's iRebal^®, one of the most adopted trading and rebalancing tools among registered investment advisors, according to the 2023 T3/Inside Information Software Survey.

For more information on AdvisorEngine, please visit its website.

About AdvisorEngine^®

AdvisorEngine powers financial advice that is personal, scientific, and beautiful. Its wealth management technology platform uses smart automation to modernize the advisor experience (AX), the business operations experience (BX), and the client experience (CX). Capabilities include CRM, a portfolio management suite and a client portal.

Based in New York, NY, and Raleigh, NC, the AdvisorEngine team strives to fulfill six ideals through their work: camaraderie, clarity, curiosity, creativity, crushing it, and celebration.

AdvisorEngine is a wholly owned subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc., a global investment management organization with subsidiaries operating as Franklin Templeton and serving clients in over 150 countries. For more information, please visit advisorengine.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

About Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management is a Registered Investment Adviser based in New York City that offers a full suite of financial planning and asset management services to high-net-worth households, corporate retirement plans, endowments and charitable foundations. The firm's core principle is bringing value-added investment and financial planning help to its clients as a fee-only fiduciary advisor. For more information, please visit ritholtzwealth.com, follow us on X @ritholtzwealth and on YouTube at The Compound.

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