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.”
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.
Digital wealth platform Sidekick’s offering to offer mass affluents access to high-growth private companies through a professionally managed fund by investing just £10,000
Sidekick, a new UK digital wealth platform built to serve six-figure earners who’ve outgrown basic financial products but don’t have the millions needed to access private banks, has launched. Sidekick is one of a number of entrants targeting the mass affluent market, using technology to offer products and services once reserved for the super rich. Among Sidekick’s offerings is access to private equity-style investing for just £10,000. Eligible individuals can get access to a regulated Long-Term Asset Fund, which allows clients to invest in high-growth private companies through a professionally managed fund without needing the six-figure minimums usually required. Beyond investments, users get access to an account that automatically spreads deposits across a panel of UK-regulated banks behind the scenes, enabling up to £255,000 of FSCS protection – all through a single interface. And, for higher target returns, its Smart Cash product invests short-term funds into actively managed money market instruments, designed to outperform traditional savings rates while keeping funds accessible.
BBVA’s private bank is advising wealthy clients to invest 3% to 7% of their portfolio into cryptos, specifically in bitcoin and ether
BBVA is advising wealthy clients to invest up to 7% of their portfolio into cryptocurrencies, an executive said on Tuesday, in the latest sign some banks are warming to a sector long avoided by mainstream finance because of its risks. BBVA’s private bank advises clients to invest 3% to 7% of their portfolio in cryptocurrencies depending on their risk appetite, Philippe Meyer, head of digital & blockchain solutions at BBVA Switzerland. “With private customers, since September last year, we started advising on bitcoin,” Meyer said. “The riskier profile, we allow up to 7% of (portfolios in) crypto.” Meyer believes BBVA was one of the first large global banks to advise its wealthy clients to buy cryptocurrencies. It had been executing on client requests to buy them since 2021, he said. The 3-7% advice currently applies to bitcoin and ether, but BBVA plans to expand the advice to other cryptocurrencies later this year, he said. Meyer said that clients had been receptive so far to the advice, and dismissed concerns the asset was too risky. “If you look at a balanced portfolio, if you introduce 3% you already boost the performance,” Meyer said. “At 3% you are not taking a huge risk.”
Vanguard to split mutual funds and exchange-traded funds across two advisors to better handle growth-induced large fund size and alleviate risks associated with ownership caps in index-tracking stock funds
Vanguard announced plans to restructure the advisor responsible for managing its mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. It will form two new advisors, Vanguard Capital Management and Vanguard Portfolio Management, and split its funds across the two. Historically, all funds have been managed by a single advisor: The Vanguard Group. Vanguard Capital Management will manage all of Vanguard’s fixed-income and passive multi-asset funds, while Vanguard Portfolio Management will oversee its actively managed stock and multi-asset funds. Each advisor will take responsibility for a portion of Vanguard’s index-tracking stock funds. There are two big reasons Vanguard likely chose to do this. Its representatives cited the growth of its funds over the past several years. Their mammoth size now requires more focus than a single team could handle. That’s certainly true. Big funds, whether actively managed or index-tracking, often require more attention. Vanguard offers some of the largest, and it has grown its personnel alongside its funds. Vanguard Total Stock Market Index VTSAX and Vanguard 500 Index VFIAX both have more than $1 trillion invested in them, and it has many others with billions. The size of Vanguard’s funds points to another reason: The Vanguard Group owns a large chunk of all publicly traded stocks. In some instances, the ownership stakes are so large that they exceed the limits imposed by certain regulatory agencies. That means some of Vanguard’s index-tracking stock funds may have to cap their stakes in some stocks, and they may not track their target index as accurately as they had in the past. Likewise, it may restrict an active manager’s ability to express their best ideas. Vanguard acknowledged that risk in its funds’ prospectuses for the first time last year. So far, it has navigated those ownership limits by striking agreements with various regulators. Those agreements typically limit Vanguard’s engagement activities with the corresponding companies and allow its funds to maintain their large ownership stakes. The ownership stakes roll up to each advisor. So, splitting its funds across two advisors reduces each advisor’s ownership and further alleviates some of the related risks. Such measures aren’t unprecedented. Large asset managers like Capital Group and T. Rowe Price have already adopted similar multiadvisor structures for similar reasons. Vanguard splitting its funds across two advisors shouldn’t change the investment experience for its clients, and it doesn’t impact the investor-friendly mutual ownership structure that distinguishes Vanguard’s funds. The advisors will have their own managers and stewardship teams. In theory, that allows the advisors to take their own approaches to managing their index-tracking stock funds. In practice, the two advisors are still part of Vanguard, so the tools, processes, and culture should remain the same. Vanguard’s clients should continue to receive the same tight index-tracking that Vanguard has provided in the past.
RightCapital planning software enables advisors to seamlessly sync meeting insights from Jump AI platform and review and approve updates to household data after every client meeting with a single clic
Jump announced a new partnership with RightCapital, the fastest-growing financial planning software for financial advisors. This partnership enables advisors to seamlessly sync meeting insights from Jump into RightCapital’s platform—eliminating the need for manual data entry and helping to ensure financial plans remain accurate and up-to-date. With this integration, Jump proposes updates to key household data—including incomes, expenses, goals and family records—after every client meeting. Advisors can review and approve the suggestions, then push them to RightCapital with a single click. This saves time, reduces the risk of errors and helps to keep client plans accurate and actionable—allowing advisors to stay focused during meetings while scaling their planning process more efficiently. In addition to syncing meeting insights, the integration introduces several new capabilities including “Ask Anything” About a RightCapital Household; RightCapital Data in Pre-Meeting Prep; Automated RightCapital Data Collection Template Completion; AI-Suggested Fact Updates.
Quinn’s platform seamlessly embeds within financial platforms via API and enables advisors to deliver personalized, bespoke advice at scale in real-time by onboarding clients in under 12 minutes and generating financial plans in 30 seconds
Quinn has emerged from stealth and raised $11 million in Seed funding led by Viola Fintech with participation of existing investors, to transform how financial institutions deliver personalized wealth advice at scale. Traditional financial advisory models are constrained by a 1:100 advisor-to-client ratio, leaving millions underserved. Quinn breaks that barrier by leveraging advanced AI to substantially grow the market that has access to financial planning and advice. The platform seamlessly embeds within financial platforms, offering real-time and bespoke advice to every client, democratizing access to financial guidance. Quinn’s platform is available as an embedded, co-branded or fully white-labeled experience, allowing for seamless API integration with existing systems, enabling rapid deployment and immediate client impact. Key platform capabilities include: Advisor-Level Onboarding in Under 12 Minutes – Clients complete comprehensive financial assessments with unprecedented speed and ease. Instant Financial Plans in 30 Seconds – AI-generated financial plans empower users with actionable insights instantly. Boosted Upsell and Cross-sell Performance – Recommendations delivered in the context of a financial plan drive higher engagement with premium products and services. Scalable Advisor Productivity – By automating core advisory tasks, Quinn enables Certified Financial Planners® (CFP® Professionals) to serve significantly more clients without increasing headcount, freeing them to focus on high-value, human interactions.
Antier to enable real-time stablecoin remittances that bypass the conventional SWIFT system to reduce cross-border transaction costs by up to 80% and offer sub-60-second settlement within its neo-banking platform
Antier, a leading provider of Web3 financial infrastructure, has introduced the world’s first Stablecoin Remittance-as-a-Service (RaaS) embedded within its crypto neo-banking platform. This innovative solution aims to revolutionize traditional remittance by enabling real-time, blockchain-based settlements that bypass the conventional SWIFT system. The system is expected to reduce cross-border transaction costs by up to 80% and achieve settlement finality in less than a minute. The RaaS solution is deeply embedded within Antier’s Blockchain Neo-Banking suite, bridging blockchain speed and efficiency with regulatory rigor and trust. The platform is designed to ensure predictability, speed, and regulatory compliance in a globalized financial environment. Antier’s integrated stablecoin remittance stack includes features like fiat-to-stablecoin on-ramp compatibility, sub-60-second global stablecoin settlements, smart contract-based payout orchestration, and a stablecoin-agnostic architecture. The company is also working on a next-gen Web3 Super-App to unify digital finance, aiming to simplify blockchain protocols and support real-time treasury operations and cross-border financial innovation.
J.P. Morgan’s new Active High Yield ETF will devote at least 80% of its portfolio to junk-rated bonds
Finite opportunities in private credit are creating public, high-yield debt opportunities, J.P. Morgan Asset Management CEO George Gatch said. Gatch made the comment as J.P. Morgan unveiled its J.P. Morgan Active High Yield ETF. The fund will devote at least 80% of its portfolio to junk-rated bonds and opened with a $2 billion anchor investment. While junk bond spreads to Treasuries are “tight,” yields are attractive compared to equities, and default rates in this space are low, the report said. Beyond that, alternatives to high-yield debt like private credit are being overrun with investors. With that in mind, the liquidity advantages and high yields of publicly traded bonds provide a good entry point. “There’s a lot of money and investors chasing finite opportunities in the private credit market,” Gatch said, per the report. “You also have liquidity tradeoffs. You take those two things in combination and on a marginal basis, I would put my marginal dollar in public high-yield rather than private credit.” The private credit space is a key part of the capital spectrum for firms that cannot access, or choose not to get, normal bank channels.
Raymond James to leverage FNZ’s end-to-end wealth management platform to deliver AI-powered capabilities, straight-through processing, and real-time capabilities with digital-first design to elevate advisor experience
Raymond James announced a strategic partnership with FNZ, a global wealth management platform provider, to deliver its next-generation wealth management platform. Under the agreement, Raymond James Ltd. will make a significant investment to accelerate the digital transformation of its wealth management infrastructure and elevate the advisor and client experience nationwide. The partnership will see Raymond James Ltd. leverage FNZ’s integrated, end-to-end wealth management platform—a deliberate and future-focused investment in modern infrastructure. Designed to deliver AI-powered capabilities, straight-through processing, and advanced digital capabilities, the FNZ platform will strengthen the Raymond James Ltd. unique value proposition. The new platform is built with a client-centric, digital-first design that improves efficiency, speed and personalization across the full wealth lifecycle. Advisors will gain a modern, intuitive operating environment, enabling more meaningful client engagements. Investors will benefit from improved digital experiences and real-time capabilities, all backed by the highest level of security and performance provided by the FNZ platform. FNZ’s market-leading technology and infrastructure will significantly enhance Raymond James Ltd.’s offering to advisors with greater flexibility to adapt quickly to changing markets, regulatory requirements, and investor expectations.