For the future of financial advice, the writing isn’t on the wall, it’s on the mobile phone screen, says Christopher P. Van Slyke, financial planner and founder of wealth management firm, WorthPointe.  Van Slyke, who's based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, says the tipping point for him was when he saw that the local bank, Bank of Jackson Hole, was touting its app in a community paper. To read the full article in ...

Despite several projections about the future strength of digital advice, executives took to social media to express doubts that wealth management disruptors would remain standing—undone instead by private equity investor demands, tepid growth and evolved competition. To read the full article in FinancialPlanning, click: What Wealthfront’s Reported Valuation Drop Means for Indie Robo Advisors. ...

Amazon is finally revealing its designs to enter the financial industry.  Should advisors worry?  There’s no immediate threat.  But there is one detail that advisors should pick up on. To read the full article in FinancialPlanning, click: What Amazon’s Flirtation with Checking Means for Wealth Management. ...

No financial technology innovation has saved advisors more time than when custodians began transmitting data files to firms.  Prior to this change, client data was updated by taking statements and keying them into the portfolio accounting system.  At the end of each quarter, statements were stacked thick and the data entry sprint began so that client reporting and billing could be completed. To read the ful ...

The retirement software space is seeing increased signs of activity, as advisors seek more sophisticated tools to help clients plan a life after work. To read the full article in FinancialPlanning, click: Retirement Planning Space “Ripe for Modernization”. ...

Alexa, can you be my financial planner?  Artificial intelligence is getting more sophisticated, but where does that leave the professionals?  I asked that question of my new device, a birthday present from my son.  The answer?  “I don’t know that.”  But for how long?  Just as other industries have been disrupted by technological advancement, so, too, will the financial industry. To read the full article in ...

Officials at the SEC and FINRA have been talking a lot lately about how they have been ramping up their use of sophisticated technologies to root out questionable conduct among the firms they regulate.  It turns out that they are expecting advisors and brokers to do the same. To read the full article in FinancialPlanning, click: Regulators Want Firms to Ramp Up Fintech Accountability. ...

In valuing a FinTech company, attention need be given to external factors such as unique industry dynamics and the regulatory environment as well as internal company factors such as risk exposure and shareholder preferences.  Hosted by Jay D. Wilson Jr., CFA, ASA, CBA, this webinar identifies the key value drivers for an early-stage FinTech company for investors, entrepreneurs, and potential partners. To re ...

Greater Disruption and Change Awaits the Financial Services Industry FinTech, or financial technology, has disrupted the financing industry. The FinTech revolution has not only changed the financial services industry, but it has also changed specific sectors, including: retail banking, lending and financing, payments and transfers, wealth and asset management, markets and exchanges, insurance, and blockchai ...

Access to banking information ensures advisers can perform holistic planning, fintech firms say.  Yet, Suleman Din looks into the problem that young digital-first firms hoping to revolutionize the way advisers manage client finances and build their wealth claim they have run into resistance from major banks opposed to sharing financial data. To read the full article in FinancialPlanning, click: Who’s Fighti ...

2016’s 10 most popular posts from Mercer Capital’s Financial Reporting Blog.  2016 proved to be an interesting year, both in terms of developments in financial reporting and the range of topics covered on this blog.  We’ve enjoyed sharing our thoughts in this forum over the last three years and look forward to new challenges and opportunities in 2017. To read the full article in Mercer Capital's Financial R ...

2015 was a strong year for FinTech.  But, there are complexities in valuing venture-backed technology companies and the ability for market/investor sentiment to shift quickly.  So, as Jay D. Wilson, Jr., vice president and senior member of Mercer Capital’s Depository Institutions practice, explains, it is important to have a valuation professional that can assess the value of the company as well as the mark ...

With the New Year just around the corner, Mercer Capital is beginning their countdown a little early.  Here are this year’s 10 most popular posts from The Financial Reporting Blog.  Happy New Year 2016! To read the full article in Mercer Capital's Financial Reporting Blog, click: Financial Reporting Blog: Best of 2015. This article is republished from Mercer Capital's Financial Reporting Blog.  It is reprin ...

Investors, analysts, and pundits remain highly optimistic on the Financial Technology (“FinTech”) sector driven by factors such as technology advancement and evolution, evolving consumer behavior and expectations for digital delivery of financial services, and regulatory response to the financial crisis.  Mercer Capital examines valuation multiples within the FinTech industry over time to see whether public ...