Envestnet’s wealth management platform provides technology, solutions, and intelligence that supports advisors and financial professionals as they navigate through every step of the wealth management process with their clients.
To dive into why an integrated platform experience matters and how firms are leveraging Envestnet's integration capabilities, we sat down to chat with Stephen Mennella, Head of Product, Strategic Integrations.
Q: A lack of integrated technology workflows was identified by advisors as their number one pain point in our recent Envestnet Trends Report. Why do you think it was number one? How do you see Envestnet’s Wealth Management Platform addressing this issue?
Integrated technology platforms play a crucial role in modernizing and optimizing the wealth management process.
The best platforms provide a comprehensive view of client information, increased efficiency, scalability, and data security.
Envestnet’s Wealth Management Platform consolidates and streamlines the technology and solutions that firms and their advisors utilize with a single point of entry. The coordination of our industry-leading platform allows firms to easily expand their offerings with seamless access to financial planning, banking and lending services, guaranteed lifetime income, and insurance products in a unified experience.
By consolidating various tools and functions into one interface, we reduce the need for manual data entry across multiple platforms, saving time and minimizing errors. And as the firm grows, the platform can scale to accommodate more clients and assets without significantly increasing overhead.
Our ability to easily integrate with third-party applications prevents advisors from ever having to leave the Envestnet platform via SSO for custodian data or servicing. Plus, we offer clients, advisors, and home office users a common digitized experience for reporting, account opening, and maintenance.
Q: Your team has done a lot of work to create a more connected experience across the Envestnet ecosystem. What areas do you think can have the most impact?
Open ENV is our integration framework that powers a connected ecosystem of services, products, tools, and technologies, helping advisors identify opportunities, avoid pitfalls, and seamlessly take action.
Open ENV has integrated with more than 75 technology solutions, ranging from clients’ internal systems to third-party wealthtech solutions like CRMs, risk platforms, and account opening systems.
Our most requested integration is with the Envestnet proposal. For example, if an advisor kicks off their workflow in their CRM, they can seamlessly launch into the Envestnet Proposal tool with the prefilled client information. The data from the completed proposal is sent to an external account opening system.
A firm recently enabled an integration between their CRM and the Envestnet Proposal System, both prefilling and connecting to account opening. Users were surveyed and 94% of respondents noted the integrated process saved time for each account opening, with 31% saying it saves 5 to 10 minutes per account opening, and 33% saying it saves 10 to 20 minutes per account opening.
94% of respondents noted the integrated process saved time for each account opening, with 31% saying it saves 5 to 10 minutes and 33% saying it saves 10 to 20 minutes per account opening.
In the fourth quarter of 2023, 15,936 accounts were opened using the integration, and if we average 10 minutes per account, that’s approximately 2,600 hours we were able to “give back” to advisors.
To make similar efficiencies available to all firms, we are launching a Digital Account Opening solution which will provide fully integrated new account and maintenance flows with specific identified custodians and trust account platforms. It will be configurable across the Envestnet ecosystem, delivered as an integrated component within the Client Portal and Advisor Portals. Integrations will be available with CRMs (e.g. Salesforce), data warehouses, and e-signature tools. Workflows, forms, features, and clients will be configurable by firm. This end-to-end digital onboarding will change the way advisors process their business.
Q: Given there are more than 400 wealthtech solutions in the market, what should firms consider when evaluating their current tech stack or a new vendor?
First and foremost is functionality. The technology needs to provide the necessary features and tools to support the firm’s business requirements, such as portfolio management, financial planning, client communication, and reporting.
Integration is another factor to consider. The ability to integrate with other software used by the firm, for instance a CRM system or custodial platform, can help improve efficiency and reduce manual data entry.
The technology should also be scalable to help accelerate future business growth. It should be able to handle an increasing number of clients, accounts, and assets without compromising performance or security.
Data security is paramount in the financial advisory industry. Robust security measures should be in place to protect sensitive client information from unauthorized access or breaches. In line with this, the technology should comply with relevant regulatory requirements. Features that help advisors adhere to these regulations and mitigate risks are crucial in today’s environment.
Finally, the vendor's reputation and the quality of customer support are important considerations. Firms should look for a vendor that is reliable, responsive, and has a track record of delivering quality products and services.
By considering these factors, a firm can choose the right technology that meets their needs, integrates seamlessly into their daily workflow, ultimately enhancing their practice and improving the ability to serve clients.
Conclusion
The best integrated platforms provide advisors with a comprehensive view of client information, increased efficiency, scalability, and data security. Envestnet's industry-leading platform allows firms to easily expand their offerings with seamless access to multiple solutions that support the end-to-end wealth management process.
To learn more about our new connected experience for wealth management platform users, please visit https://www.envestnet.com/wealth-management/software
