The integration of Wealthminder will strengthen AdvisorEngine's unique platform. ""Wealthminder's mission is to make financial planning simpler for financial firms and their clients. We're excited to provide AdvisorEngine clients a more robust, yet easy-to-use solution for delivering advice, executing on that advice, and monitoring the client's progress,"" said Wealthminder founder and CEO Rich Ellinger, who will join AdvisorEngine.

""When Rich Ellinger and I began talking, it was clear we shared similar philosophies about helping advisors connect with and serve clients,"" said AdvisorEngine founder and CEO Rich Cancro. ""AdvisorEngine will continue to be an open architecture platform with key integrations to other financial planning tools, as CRMs and planning tools are often very personal to the advisor.""

HELPING ADVISORS GROW

The addition of Wealthminder's digital prospecting tools will help financial firms foster new and deepen existing relationships with clients. ""I am pleased that AdvisorEngine will provide RIA's and broker/dealers that support advisor networks with a white-label digital prospecting tool,"" said Ellinger. ""Leading with education and an interactive planning experience builds credibility with the prospect. Then once the prospects decide to become clients, they can electronically open and fund an account, allocate their assets, and connect with a personal financial advisor if so desired.""

""Financial advisors want a technology solution that enhances connectivity between client and advisor while supporting either a traditional advisor-driven relationship or a lower touch client-driven experience,"" said Cancro. ""AdvisorEngine empowers advisors with integrated technology that allows them to serve a wide range of clients – from high-net-worth clients to moderate-balance.""

ADVISORENGINE AT T3 ADVISOR CONFERENCE

AdvisorEngine and Wealthminder executives will be available to answer additional questions at the T3 Advisor Conference being held February 14-17, 2017 in Garden Grove, CA. AdvisorEngine will be in the T3 exhibit hall, beginning at #400.

AdvisorEngine CEO Rich Cancro will host a fireside chat at the T3 Conference on February 15th.  He will be joined by Kendrick Wakeman, CFA, of FinMason; Andy Putterman of 1812 Park LLC; and Greg Friedman, CFP of Private Ocean / Junxure. The discussion will focus on digital disruptions and emerging opportunities for financial advisors and financial services firms.

T3 Conference producer and financial technology expert Joel Bruckenstein said, ""I've been following AdvisorEngine's journey from a B2B investment robo-advisor to a full-fledged digital platform for advisors. The asset purchase from Wealthminder should accelerate the journey, providing AdvisorEngine with foundational elements of goals-based financial planning and advisor marketing tools. It is becoming increasingly apparent to me that AdvisorEngine is becoming a serious player in the digital platform segment of the market.""

PARTNERSHIP WITH WISDOMTREE

In 2016, WisdomTree made a $20 million equity investment in AdvisorEngine and announced a strategic agreement whereby WisdomTree's asset allocation models would be made available through AdvisorEngine's open architecture platform and WisdomTree would actively introduce the AdvisorEngine platform to its deep distribution network.

ABOUT ADVISORENGINE

AdvisorEngine, a pioneer in digital wealth management technology, was the first company to integrate private-label robo-advice within a full enterprise B2B digital wealth management technology platform. AdvisorEngine integrates online and traditional wealth management processes and workflows to help advisors build deeper relationships with their clients. Its open architecture platform provides a fully customizable robo-advisor, dashboards to analyze and track business development online account opening and funding, billing, data aggregation and performance reporting. AdvisorEngine helps investment firms scale their existing business profitably and connect with the next generation of clients and advisors. More information about the firm, which is headquartered in New York, is available at www.AdvisorEngine.com.

ABOUT WISDOMTREE

WisdomTree Investments, Inc., through its subsidiaries in the U.S., Europe, Japan and Canada (collectively, ""WisdomTree""), is an exchange-traded fund (""ETF"") and exchange-traded product (""ETP"") sponsor and asset manager headquartered in New York. WisdomTree offers products covering equities, fixed income, currencies, commodities and alternative strategies. WisdomTree currently has approximately $42 billion in assets under management globally. For more information, visit WisdomTree's Investor Relations website: http://ir.wisdomtree.com.

WisdomTree® is the marketing name for WisdomTree Investments, Inc. and its subsidiaries worldwide.

What you need now is someone to help you manage your wealth. For a professional of your considerable means, getting that process initiated shouldn’t take too long, should it? A couple of days maybe?

Sadly, no. The correct answer is 41 days.

Forty-one days. That, according to a recent report on technology, is the amount of time it takes a wealth management firm to onboard a new, high-net worth client. Why? Because the process complexity associated with non-digital means of wealth management requires time, plain and simple. Shortening the time frame associated with onboarding depends upon a financial services firm’s digital transformation.

This assessment comes to light in the pages of Harnessing the Power of Digital in Wealth Management Client Onboarding, revealing digital imperatives in wealth management client onboarding, including:

• The emerging role of enhanced communication and personalized guidance in wealth management
• Modernizing infrastructure and reducing costs while meeting regulatory compliance requirements
• Key facts and figures, including the 2015 AITE finding that digital wealth advisors are significantly outperforming advisors still relying on traditional, paper-based tools—38% of digitally enabled practices surveyed reported revenue growth of at least 10%.

The Cost and Value of Efficiency

High-net worth investors can afford to demand—and expect—efficiency. Javelin Research found in 2015 that a wealthy customer is 400% less likely to defect to a competitor if service-related problems are handled efficiently. And to say that efficiency is more likely in a digital environment is an almost laughable understatement; 41 days to onboard flatly will not cut it in this environment and with this clientele. But efficiency benefits more than the wealthy investor. CEB Wealth Management deduced that a five percent reduction in the wealth customer defection rate can increase firm profits by up to 95%.

The Easiest Choice of All

In a 2016 AITE survey of 400 financial advisors, less than 40% said they have the technology to open accounts completely electronically.  About a third still require some paper in the process. Given the perspective offered by your newfound wealth (which is about to evaporate), which advisor are you more likely to work with: the one who can bring you onboard electronically or the one who wants you to fill out paper forms and wait 41 days to get started?

Take the Next Step to Digitize Your Onboarding Process.

If your financial services organization is seeking thought leadership and guidance on digital client onboarding, download Harnessing the Power of Digital in Wealth Management Client Onboarding now.