News & Events

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Happy New Year, and welcome to the February 2021 issue of the Latest News in Financial #AdvisorTech – where we look at the big news, announcements, and underlying trends and developments that are emerging in the world of technology solutions for financial advisors!

This month’s edition kicks off with the big news that Walmart has partnered with Ribbit Capital (one of the FinTech VC firms that backed Robinhood) to begin creating its own FinTech solutions for Walmart customers and employees… which would instantly create one of the largest distribution platforms for a FinTech solution (as Walmart reaches nearly 40% of all Americans on a weekly basis!) and also a Financial Wellness platform (as the world’s largest private employer). Yet the reality is that, as the world’s largest superstore, Walmart is arguably well positioned to become a financial products superstore as well – taking a page from the playbook of Sears, the 20th-century retailer that expanded into financial services and, in the process, spawned Allstate Insurance and the Discover card – though that still doesn’t mean that Walmart will necessarily want to enter the far-more-challenging-to-scale services business of financial advice itself.

From there, the latest highlights also feature a number of other interesting advisor technology announcements, including:

– Former Vanguard CEO McNabb joins the Altruist advisory board, signaling that it’s not just RIAs themselves but also asset managers that would like to see a breakup of the current RIA custodial oligopoly

– Milemarker launches a new “Integration-as-a-Service” as AdvisorTech integration fatigue hits new depths even as cross-platform integration becomes more essential than ever

– DPL raises $26M of private equity capital to scale its new fee-based annuity platform for RIAs

– MaxMyInterest tries to expand the reach of its cash management solution for advisors not by integrating with their investment platform but via Redtail’s CRM instead

Read the analysis about these announcements in this month’s column, and a discussion of more trends in advisor technology, including:

– Focus Financial launches its own cash management solution in partnership with Orion and competing with the RIA custodians its partner firms use

– National Guardian Life acquires Everplans as more insurers look to acquisitions as the means to facilitate their own digital transformations and overcome their Innovator’s Dilemma

– Chalice Network launches a new “Certified FinTech Advisor” designation for financial services enterprise executives trying to get up to speed in the world of Advisor FinTech

– Financial personality assessment tools are on the rise as client profiling goes beyond “just” risk tolerance to a wider range of client financial behaviors that advisors may be able to help (or, alternatively, want to screen for!)

SAN DIEGO, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Chalice Wealth Partners, a fintech holding company of Chalice Network, Chalice Financial Technology, and Succession Link proudly announced today the closing and sale of the broker-dealer and RIA subsidiaries to Kingswood Holdings Limited.

The occasion marks another milestone for Chalice and their realization as a pure fintech and PaaS (Platform as a Service) company, further enabling them to offer their powerful platform and membership benefits to the financial services community at large.

Chalice Capital Partners, Chalice Wealth Advisors, and Kingswood affiliated companies will become enterprise clients of the Chalice Network and continue to receive the many benefits of the Chalice digital marketplace, including access to Chalice Network's affordable group health insurance.

Kingswood Holdings Limited, a U.K.-based company with designs on the U.S. market, says it has closed the acquisition of San Diego-based Chalice Capital Partners, an independent broker-dealer, and Chalice Wealth Advisors, the firm’s RIA.

Chalice’s CEO Derek Bruton will take over as Kingswood US CEO, partnering with Mike Nessim, the current majority owner and leader of MHC, according to the press release.

"Since launching the Chalice Financial Network about a year ago, we've seen tremendous growth," said Keith Gregg, founder and CEO of Chalice. "JP is a visionary growth leader with tremendous experience and passion for small business and technology. We believe his strong experience in M&A and scaling companies that serve SMBs and member-based organizations will be extremely valuable as Chalice continues to grow."

“Our goal at Chalice is to help small and midsized business owners grow and run their businesses, and our platform gives them all the tools they need from M&A services to marketing and health insurance to accounting support,” said Keith Gregg, chairman and CEO of Chalice Financial Network. “And now we’ve added FA Client Machine and Anchor Point to help our members keep up with the current marketing trend of using online videos to communicate with their current and prospective clients, all at unbelievable savings. The videos are high quality and engaging, and both these new partners are committed to helping members get results.”

"We see the future and current trend is more of subscription and retainer fees versus commissions and percentage of assets fees. Advisors are struggling with fee compression and there is no stopping it, hence the need to reconsider their revenue models," says Chalice Network CEO, Keith Gregg

Chalice Network is pleased to congratulate Derek Bruton on a major milestone in his career as CEO of Kingswood Holdings Limited. Chalice Network, the member-benefit organization for independent small and mid-size firms, is not part of the acquisition of Chalice Wealth Advisors and Chalice Capital Partners. However, Chalice will provide the strength of its buying power to Kingswood Advisors with access to the Chalice Marketplace products and services.

“Jim brings a deep understanding of trust services to the Chalice organization,” said Dan Kreuter, CEO of Gladstone Group and chairman of the Chalice Advisory Board. “We know his expertise will enhance our members’ competency in implementing trust services, provide considerably more guidance for their clients, and deepen their value through multiple generations. We are pleased Jim has joined our Advisory Board, and we all look forward to working with him.”

"Jim brings a deep understanding of trust services to the Chalice organization," said Dan Kreuter, CEO of Gladstone Group and chairman of the Chalice Advisory Board. "We know his expertise will enhance our members' competency in implementing trust services, provide considerably more guidance for their clients, and deepen their value through multiple generations. We are pleased Jim has joined our Advisory Board, and we all look forward to working with him."

“By creating a single sign-on for our Succession Link and Chalice members, we have brought our two companies together increasing ease of access,” said Tim Horton, CTO of Chalice. “This is just another step in our continued commitment to improve the technology side of the business and make enhancements that benefit our members’ ability to accelerate their business and user experience for our members that will ultimately accelerate the growth and acquisition of their business.”

“Joining the Chalice platform was a natural choice for Aurora as we look toward reaching the next stage of our growth,” said Aurora CEO Timothy L. Smith, CFP®.

"As Aurora Private Wealth continues its growth, the Chalice team aims to add instant value and credibility with our offerings by fortifying their value proposition so they are empowered to enhance recruiting, grow organically, and retain quality advisors," said Chalice President Derek Bruton.

“The advisors we work with are independent business owners, trying to grow their businesses in a very competitive environment. When we saw all that Chalice could offer – from marketing, to information technology, to cybersecurity, to M&A support services – we knew that being a part of their network would be a great benefit to our advisors,” said Marc Lefurge, The Investment Center’s Chief Marketing Officer.

BridgeMark provides guidance and support for independent financial advisors looking to move between independent broker-dealer or RIA platforms, establish their own RIA, sell or buy a practice, or maximize growth opportunities by recruiting new advisors to their business.

Chalice Financial Network is rolling out a new cybersecurity protection package for its members, so independent advisors can “identify cyber threats and mitigate both the risk of and potential damage from cyber-attacks in a cost-effective way.

Chalice Members are the type of business owners that most need our services. Research shows that 62% of all cyber attacks target small- and mid-size businesses, with the average data breach costing companies more than $1 million.

Chalice Members will receive a complimentary Cyber Risk Assessment with an option to purchase affordable cyber security insurance coupled with cyber software and compliance support.

“One in five small businesses will fall victim to a cyber security breach, with the average cost of a breach being $1 million,” said Keith Gregg, chairman and CEO of Chalice Financial Network. Get your complimentary cyber risk assessment with an option to purchase affordable cyber security insurance today!

With just 11 months until the compliance deadline for Regulation Best Interest (RegBI) Chalice Financial Network is rolling out a Reg BI Readiness Platform to help advisors adjust to the new regulatory regime.

A household with $1 million in assets divided equally between stocks and bonds could realize after-tax savings as substantial as $159,000 over the first 10 years, $325,000 over 15 years and $590,000 over 20 years. The Taxficient Score and LifeYield’s other tools help advisers quantify the value of the advice they provide, attract new clients and encourage a holistic, household-level approach to wealth management.

Are you RegBI ready? Chalice Members benefit from discounted access to legal guidance from Kupfer & Associates and workflow tools from NRS Consulting Compliance. Don't wait until the last minute, start taking steps today to prepare for this new requirement.

Stressing over how to find adequate health insurance for yourself, your family and your team does not have to be one of those challenges. In fact, with the right plan, your health insurance solution can be a value-add that helps your business stand as a role model for the industry.

The latest iteration of Succession Link will offer compatibility ratings and other features to expedite the M&A process for potential buyers and sellers.

Thanks to the scale and operational resources Chalice offers, HNW individuals have greater opportunity to find high-caliber wealth management and advisory services on par or exceeding those of global financial institutions. “Chalice is the Holy Grail for Wealth Advisors,” says Keith Gregg.

Health insurance is such a dire issue for many small and midsize business owners that they often struggle to obtain the kind of coverage that enables them to grow their firms in line with their ambitions. The good news is that getting proper health insurance for your business is possible. You can find third-party entities that partner with PEOs to provide your firm with discounted access to group insurance packages covering medical, dental and vision, etc.

With the average age of the wealth adviser today in the mid to late 50s, you see this psychological shift for these middle-aged folks and the question is, how do they focus on monetizing their life’s effort and their life’s work over the next 10 or 15 years?

Chalice Network is dedicated to providing technology and services that support the success of our members and strategic partners" said Keith Gregg, Founder & CEO of Chalice Network. Read more on page 32 of the CIO Review's 100 Most Promising Tech Startups Issue.

RIA owners cannot be afraid to ask for outside help on how best to optimize the value of their businesses. Chalice Financial Network members have access to Succession Link to ensure they know the value of their business and Compass CFO to assist with getting their books in order.

This member-benefit organization for advisors has been on quite the road show since its launch in January. With pent-up demand for access to unbundled discounts, it’ll be great to see even more advisors get their hands on their affiliated third-party services.

April 12, 2019 | Forbes Finance Council — Don't Fall For The 'Perfect Tech' Fallacy Somewhere along the line, trying to ferret out the nth degree of customization ceases to add value and becomes costly, both in terms of the time spent over-researching features and vendors and the dollars sunk on a tech solution with too many bells and whistles.

“The addition of Orion’s solutions to our platform vastly enhances the ability of CFN members to automate their back-office needs and to drive efficiencies that can lead to growth in revenues and profits. Best of all, because CFN is an unbundled, a la carte platform, Orion is now available to our members regardless of their RIA or broker-dealer affiliation,” said Derek Bruton, Chalice’s president.

How do you pool the assets of many advisory firms for mutual benefit? Here’s a case study featuring Derek Bruton, President of Chalice Financial Network and their multitude of membership perks. Read More on page 15.

Whether you are looking to become a buyer or a seller, the key to achieving your goals through a succession planning deal is to find the proper partner on the other side of the transaction.

“It is easier than ever to start a company thanks to many other services, and now with the new blockchain software that is being created, it is easier than ever to become a fintech entrepreneur,” said Tim.

Advisers are notorious for spending too much time stressing about this and falling into analysis paralysis. They let perfection get in the way of progress while pursuing infinite customization, which wastes an incredible amount of resources.

“Where I see the shift in the industry is, you see news about aggregators, and firms that are swallowed and bought all the time. It’s often firms where owners realize they’re not growing and don’t have the scale to compete,” said President Derek Bruton. “We are reducing opportunity costs for advisors. We’re finding solutions and packaging them together, so they don’t need to spend valuable time away from clients.”

Advisors who pay Chalice’s monthly fee will receive discounted access to services from the three partner companies, said Derek Bruton, president of Chalice Financial Network. He noted that supplying advisors with a single provider to access services helps independent firms save on costs.

“This host of new offerings is about building mutually beneficial relationships that create unprecedented value for independent advisors, and connecting them through our digital marketplace,” Derek Bruton, Chalice Financial Network president, said in a statement.

San Diego-based Chalice Financial Network, which launched last month, says it has acquired Succession Link, an online matching service for mergers and acquisitions among independent advisers. Chalice also has partnered with Oak Street Funding, which makes loans to advisers looking to buy or sell practices.

Chalice provides third-party services and technology on a subscription basis and is targeting smaller independent advisors — those with $50 million to $250 million in assets under management. The company says this cohort has trouble getting needed services at a discount unless they enter an “all or nothing” relationship with an independent broker-dealer or RIA aggregator.