Envestnet gave advisors a look at what’s to come from the financial technology firm at its recent 2021 Advisor Summit, including plans to more deeply integrate its MoneyGuide acquisition into other services, as well as adding tax planning, student loan management and compliance functions to the firm’s offerings.
While not taking a massive share of the road map spotlight, financial planning had plenty of mentions throughout the conference. One of the key areas where financial planning will merge with Envestnet’s product offerings is in insurance, according to Tom Sipp, group head of Envestnet Solutions. He described plans for the firm to bridge gaps between financial planning and insurance offerings such as annuities and structured products.
“It all starts with financial planning,” he said. Advisors use planning to assess the client’s situation, identifying opportunities for insurance. “You can transact right from financial planning to your order entry system.”
Executives at Envestnet also signaled the firm will be competing with features and products offered by competitors, like Vanilla's estate planning, automated compliance software offered by RIA in a Box and tax optimization offered by LifeYield.
"What we are doing is tax managing the assets in the taxable account and then quantifying the benefits of that service on that specific account," said a company spokesperson. "Our tax reporting is more granular [than LifeYield] in that it quantifies the benefits of the service we provide at the account level."
The firm is adding reports to help advisors balance realizing gains with maintaining the investment strategy of their models, said Dana D’Auria, co-chief investment officer at the firm. The firm is also adding tools that will make it easier for advisors to complete their Form ADVs and other regulatory filings.
Following the acquisition of technology developed alongside Edmond Walters’ Apprise Labs, Envestnet revealed plans to enhance what it is calling its Wealth Studios Estate Planning platform. High-net-worth clients who might use Wealth Studios Estate Planning can expect to see options for fixed income direct indexing and better tax mitigation and HNW planning. They will also benefit from a “fully national, very deep” attorney network for assisting advisors with any trust services they offer, said Sipp.
"Our attorneys are best of breed and are contractually obligated to follow our process, use our data, use our platform and operate in collaboration with the advisor," said a company spokesperson.
The Envestnet Credit Exchange will facilitate the provision of unsecured loans and residential real estate loans later this year, followed by luxury lending and student loans next year, said Sipp. It will be “a full suite of consumer lending products for clients,” he added.
The firm plans to return to an in-person conference next year.