The wealth management industry has seen recent consolidation in the regtech space, such as the acquisition of SmartRIA by MarketCounsel and Dynasty and ComplySci’s agreement to acquire RIA in a Box. But is this consolidation good for advisors?
In the latest episode of WealthManagement.com Hype or not? Video series, Tim Welsh, President and CEO of Nexus Strategy, and Davis Janowski, Senior Technical Writer, discuss this same question. Janowski, who tends to take a more cynical view of wealth management technology, thinks it’s good for advisors, saying these compliance firms can provide them with better scale and a more comprehensive, step-by-step suite. compared to the piecemeal approach of compliance advisors in the past. And the technology in this space is improving, he argues, giving consultancies an in-house solution to show regulators they’re tracking activity.
But Welsh warns of the danger of a compliance technology firm having all that customer data. He also argues that these systems are currently cookie-cutter, and advisors need their own policies and procedures tailored to their individual businesses and what they offer. It’s a slow, boring space, and not much going on where you’d need a big, consolidated platform, he claims.
Tune in to the lively debate.