Hats off to the T3 Technology Tools for Today 2022 conference in Texas! Sam, Nick, Tim, and I, along with Keren from our partners at Liferay took in a variety of sessions and were fortunate to meet a number of new vendors and advisors. Some key takeaways:
The latest Pandemic Data shows a surge in Fintech/Wealth use. No surprise here, as we had been seeing the same types of jumps in usage across our Digital Agent platform since Feb 2020 when compared to the presentations delivered by Fidelity Investments and Envestnet.
Personalization is EVERYTHING! Clients want, no, they DEMAND, everything digitally tailored to them Be it initial prospecting, staying in touch with lifelong clients, or the entire client onboarding experience, the digital bar is being raised every year and a number of T3 vendors like FutureVault, YCharts, and Financial Fitness Group are consistently clearing it, no matter how high.
Lack of representation: I really have to commend Ryan Neil’s article from investmentnews on calling out the “ongoing gender imbalance at fintech companies [that] was on display at the 2022 T3.” It can’t be ignored and was certainly on display across the various talks I took in. That being said, although it is a tad unorthodox to mention on LinkedIn, our competitors at FMG had their CMO Susan Theder on a number of panels and I really enjoyed her commentary and choice of topics at the event. The same goes for Diana Cabrices from Snappy Kraken who provided a really sharp presentation on making an advisor’s digital presence irresistible!
Integrating across the tech stack: Throughout the conference I was either being asked if our product can “talk” to other parts of a RIA or Broker Dealer’s front, middle, or back of platforms, or I was swapping business cards with vendors that shared compelling ways that our Digital Agent product could extend the reach of its integration capabilities. I’m still floored on what to pounce on first and I’m sure our Product Team will want to strangle me with all of the use cases I’ve come back with.
CRM was a major topic at T3 and the usual juggernauts like Salesforce, RedtailCRM, etc. had some really slick booths showing off the new features they have coming out. It was clear that the possibilities in further connecting an advisor’s digital presence on Digital Agent and their CRM continue to grow. Some really interesting data intersections are starting to arise wherein metrics pulled from Digital Agent on, say, a client or prospective client’s website, and email marketing activity can then inform the advisor’s in-person meeting prep inside their CRM. It’s really exciting to see our partners within RBC, CIBC, Richardson Wealth, IPC, etc. starting to dig into this with us.
A failed attempt to shake Michael Kitces hand (womp womp). I had just come back into the event from the food truck area with a burrito (great idea on the food trucks by the way – Marie Swift & Joel Bruckenstein) and saw him going out at the same time. Instead of introducing myself and thanking him for all the contributions to the wealth management industry over the years…I proceeded to fumble the burrito in my hand and blurted out “bluuuee shirt!” while he hurriedly walked away. Maybe next time.
Highlighting Your Brand’s Identity for financial advisors
