Zocks announced a direct integration with eMoney Advisor (eMoney), provider of technology solutions and services that help people talk about money. This marks the first AI-powered, bi-directional integration between a client intelligence platform and eMoney’s financial planning solutions, aimed squarely at eliminating manual data entry and accelerating the planning process for financial advisors. Zocks automatically creates and maintains structured data from conversations, emails and CRM records for contacts. The integration’s bi-directional data sharing enables Zocks to use that information to populate and update ‘Facts’ data in eMoney, eliminating manual data entry. In return, relevant facts and plan data from eMoney can be utilized by Zocks’ AI Agents to support smarter meeting preparation and email responses. Luke White, Manager, Group Product Management, eMoney said “By reducing time spent on data entry, advisors can spend more time focusing on building meaningful client relationships and delivering high-quality financial plans.” Drew DiMarino, Chief Revenue Officer at Zocks said “By syncing structured data into and out of eMoney, we’re removing the burden of manual entry and giving advisors more time to engage meaningfully with clients, whether that’s uncovering new planning needs, preparing for complex reviews, or simply staying ahead of key life changes.”
OneStream’s enterprise finance platform offers access to 30+ plug-and-play, quantitative, and generative AI routines that enable teams to detect anomalies, summarize variances, streamline reporting and reconciliation
OneStream, a leading enterprise finance management platform, has announced the release of four SensibleAI ™ capabilities at its Splash 2025 user conference. These solutions are incorporated into the OneStream platform across planning & forecasting, close & consolidations, and reporting & analytics processes. These tools help finance leaders navigate uncertainty, identify risks, run what-if scenarios, uncover more insights, and drive confident decisions in a shorter amount of time. The developments come after OneStream’s Finance Talent Crunch Survey found that while 89% of finance students have enough experience with AI, only 54% of senior professionals do. SensibleAI delivers embedded tools to help automate manual work and free up time for higher-value analysis and decision-making. SensibleAI Agents are AI-powered chat assistants that retrieve data, perform deep analysis, visualize data, and execute tasks. They are embedded directly into the platform, allowing users to use natural language to gain actionable insights across their data and workflows. SensibleAI Studio is a growing library of 30+ plug-and-play, quantitative, and generative AI routines that enable finance teams to detect anomalies, summarize variances, and optimize system performance. SensibleAI Account Reconciliations automate a critical close process, reducing manual effort and improving compliance.
The Financial Planning Association (FPA) launched a new behavior-based “Competency Model,” to help advisors develop their skills across — interpersonal impact, client communication and care, critical thinking, leadership, professionalism and advancing the profession
The Financial Planning Association (FPA) launched a new behavior-based “Competency Model,” a digital self-assessment and learning tool designed for financial planning professionals of all backgrounds. It is meant to help advisors develop their skills across six critical areas — interpersonal impact, client communication and care, critical thinking, leadership, professionalism and advancing the profession. The model’s tiered structure further develops these areas across career stages in foundational, intermediate and advanced levels of proficiency. Ben Lewis, chief communications officer for the FPA said, “The goal is to promote continuous learning, so the model is built around observable behaviors at foundational, intermediate and advanced levels. This offers a clear structure for development over time.” Although participation in the model is optional and not a requirement for FPA membership, Lewis said the learning tool is relevant for planners who wish to deepen client relationships and grow as professionals. Though the model is brand-new, it’s already garnering positive reactions. Melissa A. Caro, an FPA member and founder of the platform My Retirement Network, a digital media company, said because the learning modules emphasize the behavioral and interpersonal side of planning — in other words, the exact types of conversations that impact client trust, understanding and follow-through. The model brings clarity to the often-intangible skills that make a great planner and offers a roadmap for growth at every career stage, said Gregory Furer, who is also an FPA member and the founder and CEO of Pittsburgh-based Beratung Advisors.
Investing.com’s AI researcher can condense months of detailed financial news into summaries, deliver SWOT analysis and run advanced stock screeners, all within seconds using exclusive access to vetted, real-time, data on global markets
Investing.co, a provider of financial news, tools and data to retail investors, has launched an AI-driven researcher called WarrenAI. WarrenAI promises to bridge the gap between Wall Street traders and retail player by combining the ease of ChatGPT with trusted premium market data and raw analytical power. The tool, claims Investing.com, is a personal, devoted financial researcher, with superhuman capacity and expertise, and which can answer just about any question with faster market reactions than a fleet of Wall Street analysts. The technology will launch in over 30 languages. While existing AI software such as ChatGPT source data from the entire web, WarrenAI has exclusive access to vetted, real-time, data on global markets. Investors get access to an array of over 1200 fundamental metrics spanning more than 72,000 companies, ETFs, mutual funds, closed-end funds and REITs, complete with a decade’s worth of historical data. In addition to condensing months of detailed financial news into summaries, WarrenAI can deliver SWOT analysis, provide the bearish and bullish cases for thousands of stocks, gather breaking Wall Street analyst outlooks, and run advanced stock screeners within seconds.
Startup Alpaca’s platform lets financial services firms and brokerages offer trading services especially U.S. stock market to their consumer user bases via an API
The U.S. stock market remains extremely attractive to investors around the world, simply because of its sheer size and liquidity. But it’s still quite difficult for investors in other parts of the globe to trade stocks on U.S. exchanges. Startup Alpaca has quietly capitalized on that opportunity by offering an API to financial services firms that lets them sell trading services to their consumer user bases. Alpaca claims it serves more than 5 million brokerage accounts, and has more than 200 financial clients in 40 countries. To build on that traction, Alpaca has raised $52 million in a Series C funding round to expand into more foreign markets, including the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. The startup just opened a new office in New York, and it plans to use the fresh cash to obtain more regulatory licenses in different regions, similar to those it already has in the U.S., Japan, and the Bahamas, its co-founder and CEO Yoshi Yokokawa told. Alpaca will also use the proceeds to develop new products, add non-U.S. products like European and Asian equities, and support 24/5 trading of U.S. stocks. “When new banks want to improve their products for their customers, they prefer to work with modern partners because their customers want modern solutions. So that is how we are currently winning the market share over them,” Yokokawa added.
2025 Specialty Asset Management Outlook released by Bank of America says CRE investor confidence in the space is growing, signaled by rebalancing supply and demand, stabilizing valuations and increasing liquidity
Bank of America released a 2025 Specialty Asset Management (SAM) Outlook (PDF) on the market dynamics impacting commercial real estate (CRE), farmland, timberland and energy assets. The paper finds real assets play an increasingly important role in diversifying a portfolio as investors seek to position themselves for long-term wealth creation in a dynamic market. “Characteristics of real assets, such as generally being uncorrelated with traditional investments and serving as a hedge against inflation, are increasingly relevant in the current environment,” said Ken Shepard, SAM Executive at Bank of America Private Bank. “For well-informed, long-term investors, 2025 will be a good year to selectively build positions in certain real asset sectors.” The following themes are explored in the 2025 SAM Outlook:
- CRE demonstrates positive momentum: While CRE has weathered a range of challenges over the past few years, investor confidence in the space is growing, signaled by rebalancing supply and demand, stabilizing valuations and increasing liquidity.
- Farmland offers a pathway to stability and diversification: The 2025 crop year holds opportunity for knowledgeable investors as competitive pressures lessen and farmland values remain stable to slightly lower, allowing for more strategic maneuvering.
- Timberland bridges market uncertainties: Long-term investors with lower risk profiles in search of alternatives may find timberland an attractive investment, as biological growth is largely insulated from market cycles and geopolitical risk.
- Energy use increases globally: Myriad factors, including population growth, expanding manufacturing and rising living standards in emerging economies, have paved the way for increased energy usage. Looking ahead, the domestic energy supply will favor natural gas, renewables and other carbon-friendly sources.
Vanguard Introduces Fixed Income Model Portfolios for Financial Advisors
Vanguard is launching the firm’s first dynamic asset allocation fixed income model portfolios. Vanguard Fixed Income Risk Diversification and Vanguard Fixed Income Total Return join the firm’s lineup of model portfolios that provide financial advisors with access to broadly diversified, low-cost, and high-quality Vanguard-managed solutions. “Model portfolios empower financial advisors with streamlined investment manager research and ongoing portfolio construction and monitoring, so they can spend time on the things that really matter to their clients—like ensuring they’re meeting their investment goals,” said Brent Beardsley, Head of Advisor Solutions for Vanguard. Built to serve a variety of investment time horizons and risk profiles, Vanguard’s model portfolios support financial advisors’ portfolio construction needs so they can spend more time scaling their practice and deepening client relationships. Deeper client relationships lead to improved client loyalty and trust, according to Vanguard’s Advisor’s Alpha research, which can then assist with asset retention and referrals. Vanguard Fixed Income Risk Diversification and Vanguard Fixed Income Total Return model portfolios seek to outperform a market-capitalization-weighted benchmark—the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Index and Bloomberg U.S. Universal Index respectively—and allocations are recalibrated throughout the year to align with the Vanguard Capital Markets Model® (VCMM) 10-year forecasts. Vanguard’s Investment Strategy Group oversees the asset allocations for the models and Vanguard’s Fixed Income Group manages the fixed income funds included in each portfolio. The Vanguard Fixed Income Risk Diversification model portfolio features a weighted average expense ratio of 0.05% and is constructed for advisors and their clients in search of a highly diversified fixed income portfolio with exposure to global investment grade bonds intended to provide ballast against equity market volatility. Vanguard Fixed Income Total Return model portfolio is designed for advisors and clients seeking wealth accumulation and risk diversification from the fixed income sleeve of their portfolio. This model portfolio contains exposure to global investment grade and high yield bonds at a weighted average expense ratio of 0.08%.