Fintech Impact

In this episode of Fintech Impact, host Jason Pereira welcomes Ritik Malhotra, Co-Founder and CEO of Savvy Wealth, to discuss the intricacies of their digital platform designed to empower financial advisors. They dive into the platform's capabilities, its origin story, and the pressing challenges it aims to solve in the financial advisory landscape, enhancing both the advisor's efficiency and the client experience.Episode Highlights:00:11: Jason introduces Ritik Malhotra and Savvy Wealth, a platform revolutionizing how financial advisors manage and grow their practice by automating non-client facing tasks and implementing modern technological solutions.01:11: Ritik shares the journey from experiencing personal financial advisory needs to the inception of Savvy Wealth, driven by his dissatisfaction with traditional advisory services and a vision to enhance the industry through technology.02:12:Through his personal quest for a financial advisor, Ritik discovered the significance of the advisor-client relationsh

In this episode of Fintech Impact, Jason Pereira welcomes back Corey Westphal, from Mobile Assistant. Having first appeared on the show in August 2019, Corey discusses the evolution of Mobile Assistant since his last interview, focusing on its adaptation for the future. Together, they delve into how Mobile Assistant has innovated dictation services for financial advisors, enhancing data accuracy and integration with client relationship management (CRM) systems.Episode Highlights:00:10: Jason Pereira opens the episode by welcoming listeners to Fintech Impact and introduces his guest, Corey Westphal, highlighting his return to discuss the progress of Mobile Assistant since their last conversation in 2019. They touch on the significant changes in the world and industry since then.00:59: Detailing the core functionality of Mobile Assistant, Corey describes how the service simplifies documentation for financial advisors through a template-driven dictation process, emphasizing the human aspect of their U.S.-based t

Jason interviews Ryan Eisenman, Co-founder and CEO of Arch, a revolutionary platform designed to streamline the handling of alternative investments for advisors and their back offices. Throughout the conversation, they delve deep into the challenges of managing investments in the private markets, how Arch addresses these issues by aggregating and digitizing investment data, and the broader implications for both investors and advisors.Episode Highlight:00:33: Ryan Eisenman briefly appreciates being a part of the podcast, leading to a deeper conversation about the genesis of Arch. The discussion lays the foundation, revealing how the pain points of investing in private markets drove the creation of Arch as a digital solution to aggregate and interpret diverse investment documents into a seamless, unified platform.05:20: Demonstrating the operational aspect of Arch, Ryan elaborates on how the platform gathers, digitizes, and structures data, ensuring a single source of truth for investment information. This proc

Jason Pereira interviews Tina Powell, Partner and Chief of Community at Intention.ly, and introduces the Advisor Brand Builder tool. Designed to assist financial advisors in crafting their brand identity efficiently and effectively, the tool promises to revolutionize the branding process for financial professionals. Through their discussion, Tina Powell sheds light on the significance of strong branding in the financial services industry, the innovative approach of Advisor Brand Builder, and offers invaluable insights into leveraging technology for branding. Episode Highlights:00:31: Tina Powell expresses her enthusiasm for being a part of the podcast and her recent encounter with Jason at T3. This initial interaction highlights Tina's vibrant presence in the financial industry and hints at the valuable insights she's poised to share on branding strategies.02:25: Tina delves into the common misconception equating brand with a logo and elaborates on the complexity of branding, including messaging, positioning

Jason Pereira welcomes Madalyn Armijo, Co-founder and COO of Dispatch, a revolutionary platform designed to seamlessly integrate multiple financial advisory systems. This discussion delves into the platform's inception, its mission to eliminate redundant data entry, and its broader impact on the financial advisory landscape. The conversation offers insightful perspectives on the future of fintech and the challenges of modernizing financial advisory services. Episode Highlights: 01:04: Madalyn Armijo shares the origin story of Dispatch, highlighting the collective realizations among the co-founders regarding the persistent data management challenges faced by financial advisors. This moment of insight led to the conception of Dispatch, aimed at addressing these issues comprehensively and efficiently.04:08: Madalyn characterizes Dispatch as a foundational utility within the wealth tech ecosystem, akin to a public utility, facilitating seamless data orchestration without requiring advisors to manage the intricaci

In this episode of Fintech Impact, Jason Pereira interviews Jonathan Faerman, founder of Investium, a revolutionary platform that facilitates co-investing in real estate by connecting like-minded individuals. They dive into the platform's origins, its functionalities, and the value it offers to its users, illustrating how technology is transforming the way we approach real estate investment.Episode Highlights:00:26: Jonathan shares the concept behind Invest, emphasizing its role as a networking site where users can connect based on shared investment objectives and preferences. He details the platform's user-friendly setup process, highlighting its emphasis on compatibility and ease of use.02:16: Jonathan touches on the struggles of finding investment partners and how these experiences seeded the idea for Invest. His emphasis on leveraging online connections for real estate partnerships underscores the innovative approach of the platform.03:21: Here, Jonathan elaborates on the user journey within Invest, from

In this episode of Fintech Impact, Jason Pereira interviews Emmanuel Daniel, the founder of TAB Global, to discuss his groundbreaking book "The Great Transition." This book explores the seismic shifts happening within the banking sector, propelled by the advent of digital technologies and open banking, reshaping the landscape for both consumers and financial institutions. Together, they unpack the essence of banking transformation and what it signifies for the future. Episode Highlights:00:10: Jason introduces the episode with guest Emmanuel Daniel, who is set to discuss the transformation of the banking industry, as outlined in his book, "The Great Transition." The introduction sets the stage for a conversation aimed at decoupling the current and future states of banking, touching upon the evolution towards a more digital, open model that empowers customers and challenges traditional banking paradigms. 00:35: Emmanuel Daniel expresses gratitude for being on the program, preparing listeners for an insightful

Jason talks to Rohit Agarwal, Co-CEO of SORA Finance. They delve into the revolutionary platform SORA Finance, which empowers advisors to effectively manage and discuss clients' debt and debt restructuring. The episode offers a deep dive into the functionalities, challenges, and the significant impact of SORA Finance in optimizing the liabilities side of clients' balance sheets. Episode Highlights: 01:26: Rohit delves into the intricacies of how SORA Finance operates, including data aggregation, analytic capabilities, and an ecosystem of lending partners. He explains the platform's unique value proposition in providing actionable alerts and insights to advisors, thereby allowing proactive debt management strategies.02:13: The origin story of SORA Finance is shared, tracing back to the identification of a significant pain point in the market excess interest paid by Americans due to unoptimized debt. This foundation story illustrates the vision and motivation behind SORA Finance.03:00: Discussion on the pressur

Jason Pereira engages Whit Lanier, CEO and Co-founder of Amplify Reviews, in a conversation about how financial advisors can harness the power of online reviews to enhance their visibility and attract more clients. Lanier delves into the transformative SEC marketing rule changes and shares his insights on the impact of positive client testimonials in the financial industry, drawing parallels from his previous experiences in healthcare. This episode is a treasure trove for advisors seeking to leverage digital platforms for growth. Episode Highlights:00:09: Jason introduces the episode's focus on Amplify Reviews, a pivotal tool for financial advisors aiming to elevate their business through structured client reviews. Whit Lanier shares his enthusiasm for discussing the subject, setting the stage for a deep dive into the transformative potential of online reviews in the financial sector. 00:57: Lanier explains the significant impact of the SEC marketing rule changes, highlighting the newfound ability for financi

In this episode of Fintech Impact, host Jason Pereira speaks with Mark Gilbert, Co-founder and CEO of Zocks Communications. Zocks Communications introduces an artificial intelligence-driven meeting assistant designed specifically for financial advisors. Throughout the discussion, Gilbert delves into the origins of Zocks, its innovative approach to capturing and structuring meeting-based data, and the broader implications of AI in enhancing advisor-client interactions.Episode Highlights:00:09: Jason Pereira introduces Mark Gilbert and discusses Zocks Communications, an AI-driven platform created to assist financial advisors by capturing crucial information from meetings. Gilbert shares his excitement about the project, painting a picture of a semantic-rich platform that swiftly organizes and presents meeting data, simplifying follow-up processes for advisors.00:56: Mark Gilbert shares the backstory of Zocks Communications, sparked by his experiences at Twilio and the emerging demand to mine actionable data fro

In this episode of Fintech Impact, host Jason Pereira interviews Matt, the CEO of EncorEstate Plans. EncorEstate Plans is an advisor-led tool designed to assist clients in creating and implementing their estate plans seamlessly within one comprehensive system. The platform enables financial advisors to guide clients through the process of developing personalized estate plans, providing a streamlined and efficient solution for estate planning.Episode Highlights:04:08: The conversation takes a personal turn as Matt shares a family tragedy that served as a catalyst for creating EncorEstate Plans, illustrating the real-world consequences of inadequate estate planning.07:06: Matt highlights the core belief behind EncorEstate Plans, emphasizing the value financial advisors provide in guiding clients through the estate planning process. He discusses the limitations of DIY software solutions and the persistent gap in estate planning despite their availability.11:56: Matt addresses the limitations of EncorEstate Plans

Jason interviews Nicholas Palahnuk, the founder and CEO of PhilanthPro Solutions. PhilanthPro is a platform designed to assist individuals in planning and managing charitable giving at scale. The conversation highlights the challenges in catering to diverse stakeholders and expresses a shared excitement for contributing to impactful philanthropy.Episode Highlights:01:00: Nicholas introduces PhilanthPro as a digital platform for clients to plan and manage charitable accounts with features like financial planning, green planning, relationship management, governance, records, charitable news, and a learning hub.07:21: Nicholas outlines the initial steps after a client decides to make a sizable charitable donation, considering financial planning and multi-year contributions.13:20: Nicholas discuss on how clients use the tool to simulate scenarios, entering large grants to see the impact on future distributions and making informed decisions instantly.17:17: Discussion moves to advisor feedback, with Nicholas menti

In this episode of Fintech Impact, host Jason Pereira interviews Dave Glaser, the CEO of Dwolla, a leading digital payment solution that empowers third parties to offer streamlined and unified payment processing services. Dwolla's innovative platform facilitates efficient and secure digital transactions, revolutionizing the way businesses handle payments.Episode Highlights:05:36: Dave delves into the global theme of account-to-account processing, highlighting its rapid adoption in the U.S. This period coincided with the rise of fintech and the increased need for remote access to funds, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.07:30: The conversation touches on Dwolla's evolving responsibility, moving from a B2C to a B2B provider. Dwolla now focuses on servicing businesses that interface with millions of consumers in their networks.11:25: Dave agrees with Jason's assessment, tracing the history of the ACH system and its evolution as money became more digital. He highlights the continuous innovation, from mainfr

Jason interviews Cameron Howe, CEO and Co-founder of Investipal. Originally designed for DIY investors, Investipal has evolved into a versatile online platform that also serves advisors, offering enhanced tools for portfolio research and management. The conversation emphasizes Investipal's commitment to financial literacy, particularly among younger generations, and the value of remaining a calculated, revenue-focused, and durable company despite being bootstrapped.Episode Highlights:04:00: The discussion focuses on unifying the advisor experience through research and development. Investipal aims to streamline the fragmented advisor tools, providing a more cohesive and personalized experience for users.08:31: Jason brings up the transition from a DIY tool to serving advisors, inquiring about the feedback that led to this shift. He also asks about the feedback from advisors on what was missing from their previous tools.13:18: Cameron talks about Investipal's focus on private assets, catering to advisors dealin

Jason interviews Tim Hewson, CEO of LegalWills, an online platform providing millions of users with a simple and accessible solution for creating legal and compliant wills. Tim discusses the importance of having a will, the challenges of estate planning, and how Legal Wills aims to demystify the process.Episode Highlights:00:34: Tim introduces the topic of legal wills, emphasizing their significance and the need for everyone to have one. He discusses the mission of making will preparation affordable and accessible to everyone.01:04: Tim outlines the mission of LegalWills, emphasizing the removal of barriers to will preparation. He discusses the accessibility and affordability aspects, considering it a vital document for everyone.07:36: Tim introduces the Key Holder concept, allowing users to securely share information with designated individuals when needed. He explains the Messages service, enabling users to leave specific messages for their loved ones after their passing.10:53: Jason commends LegalWills for

Jason welcomes back Reese Harper, the CEO of Elements. It is a platform designed to provide faster and more effective financial advice. The innovative approach of Elements simplifies financial diagnostics, making it accessible to a diverse audience. The episode explores the evolving landscape of financial services and the need for simplicity and accessibility in wealth management.Episode Highlights:01:10: Reese transitions to discussing Elements, introducing it as a platform for faster and simpler financial vital signs. He also describes Elements as providing diagnostic reports for present-day financial health, comparing it to medical diagnostics.06:01: Reese refers to the Hippocratic Oath and avoiding unnecessary costs, discussing the difficulty in providing low-cost solutions for meaningful conversations. He also highlights the importance of not forcing clients to incur costs that aren't truly transformational for their stage of wealth.11:45: Jason acknowledges the value of addressing fundamental financial

Jason talks to Andres Jones, Co-founder, and CEO of Facet. It is a fintech company challenging traditional financial planning models and aims to introduce an advanced form of financial planning to underserviced markets often neglected by the industry. They use a subscription-based approach, focusing on a broader definition of financial planning beyond retirement. The company emerged in response to industry challenges, notably the failure of the DOL fiduciary rule.Episode Highlights:01:19: Anders provides a snapshot of Facet's inception in 2016, emphasizing the disruptive intent to reshape financial planning with a subscription-based model.04:34: Anders illustrates the depth of Facet's service, sharing anecdotes about clients seeking assistance with major life events like having a baby.08:08: Anders expands on Facet's client-centric approach, emphasizing assistance across different life milestones, showcasing the company's comprehensive financial planning perspective.10:28: Anders discusses the facet philosoph

On today's episode, Jason and Guy will reflect on 51 impactful episodes of Fintech Impact. From CRM evolution to the rise of AI in finance, this conversation explores cutting-edge trends and thought-provoking discussions that shaped the year, sharing insights into cybersecurity, marketing, and innovative solutions revolutionizing the advisory landscape.Episode Highlights:01:28: Jason shares insights from his speaking engagements at Future Proof and the IFP event, discussing the importance of technology in bridging the gap between advisors and the next generation of clients.02:56: Jason explores the pervasive nature of fintech, emphasizing its role as a tool for advisors to enhance value and service while staying competitive.08:37: Jason reflects on standout episodes from the year, mentioning Luminent's approach to understanding clients' values and Elements, a tool for efficient financial collaboration. He highlights the importance of these innovations in reshaping onboarding processes and improving financial

Jason talks to Manu Smadja, CEO and Co-Founder of MPower Financing. MPower Financing is a company that specialises in lending loan to international students because they have their own specific challenges that are encountered by many people who come to a foreign country.Episode Highlights:02:30: Manu elaborates on his realization about the ongoing challenges faced by international students, citing personal experiences, and the turning point a decade ago when a student approached him for financial help, sparking the idea for MPower.03:13: Manu shares the pivotal moment when a student was on the verge of dropping out due to a small financial shortfall. This event led him to question why no one was addressing this issue and motivated him to establish Empower in April 2014.05:40: Jason discusses the challenges of issuing loans to young people with no credit history or assets, and Manu emphasizes the need for alternative data sources.07:11: Manu discusses the complexity of acquiring customers overseas and the chal

Jason talks to Ian McKenna, founder of advisersoftware.com. Ian is a guru of advisor technology in the UK and has a great lens on both the UK and technology around the world. He is here to capture his and Jason’s casual and informative discussions about the industry's past, present, and future, offering listeners a valuable perspective on the fintech landscape.Episode Highlights:02:08: Ian introduces advisorsoftware.com, initially focused on UK advice technology but evolving into a global platform to address the international nature of financial planning.03:48: Jason and Ian plan to delve into various topics, starting with the evolution of software in the UK and then expanding to a global perspective.05:16: Ian envisions a future where Fintech seamlessly integrates into everyday digital life globally, making it the norm rather than a separate entity.11:57: Jason and Ian explore the irony that tougher regulation, especially in consumer protection, has proven beneficial for financial advisors' success.13:29: Ja