WealthManagement.com celebrated its sixth annual Industry Awards, the first installment presented entirely virtually to encourage social distancing, Thursday night, honoring more than 60 companies and organizations for stellar achievements in supporting financial advisor success.
The 2020 all-digital Industry Awards Event program was accessed live from the Wealthies Circle content platform, which also houses the 2020 finalist initiatives and company profiles and provides access to the newly created Wealthies Digital Forums.
“This year’s live virtual awards program significantly expanded opportunities for company participation and audience involvement, and for the first time made the event accessible to WealthManagement.com’s broader community of financial services professionals,” said WealthManagement.com Managing Director William O’Conor.
In all, this year, 72 awards were presented to 61 companies from a pool of 155 finalists.
“The near record number of nominations submitted this year—in the midst of economic uncertainty, a global health pandemic and a disrupted work environment—demonstrates the vitality, resiliency and level of innovation taking place in the financial services industry,” said O’Conor.
A panel of 15 judges (including top names in the wealth management industry) determined the finalists and winners, with the eventual victors selected on a combination of quantitative measures of their initiatives, as well as qualitative measures, including innovation, creativity and new delivery methods.
Several companies walked away with multiple awards, including eMoney Advisor, Envestnet, Fidelity Investments, Janney Montgomery Scott, MarketCounsel Consulting, Merrill Lynch, Orion Portfolio Solutions, Riskalyze, Schwab Advisor Services, Sigma Financial Corporation and TD Ameritrade Institutional. Among the other well-known names receiving awards were Cetera, Goldman Sachs, Morningstar, Pershing, Raymond James and State Street Global Advisors. Awards also were handed out recognizing individual CEOs, CMOs, CTOs, Innovators, M&A Leaders and Thought Leaders.
Editor-in-chief David Armstrong (who, as always, was the evening’s master of ceremonies) stressed how this awards ceremony was unique by recognizing those companies and individuals that help advisors better support clients.
“The different types of firms that participate—asset managers, technology companies, custodians, broker/dealers and consultants—all share a common goal: creating the programs, tools and platforms that advisors use to improve the financial prospects of millions of Americans and help them achieve their life’s dream,” he said.