Cambridge Partners With AdvicePay: Tech Roundup

AdvicePay and Cambridge Investment Research entered into a fee-for-service technology partnership to enhance and expand Cambridge’s alternative pricing models that provide advisors and broker-dealers with flexible solutions as they integrate planning in their practices.

As part of the deal, Cambridge’s independent financial professionals will have access to AdvicePay’s technology to enable alternative payment approaches including subscription models, flat fee-for-service or hourly arrangements.

AdvicePay’s technology enables advisors and BDs to charge fees directly for their financial planning services and accept online payments via credit card or through a bank account using automated clearing house.

The technology solution “will simplify workflows for both financial professionals and their clients, eliminate manual and paper processes, while also providing compliance oversight,” the firms said.

Cambridge advisors and BDs participating in the beta rollout of AdvicePay have access to a dedicated Enterprise Relationship Manager for training on best practices for leveraging the software and working with clients in a fee-for-service model.

A full launch to Cambridge financial professionals is expected for early 2021, the companies said in a statement.

Wells Fargo Among New Investors in Amicus.io

Amicus.io raised $8.7 million in series B funding as part of a round that included Wells Fargo Startup Accelerator as a new investor in the fintech firm.

The funding round was led by the FR Group, a Vancouver-based family financial services firm.

The new funding comes as Amicus is launching its DAF 2.0 platform, a white label donor-advised fund solution designed for consumer banks supporting private banking, digital wealth management, wealth managers and asset managers as well the entire philanthropic community, Amicus.io said.

“Conditions are prime for the Amicus DAF 2.0 platform, which lets consumer banks increase assets under management with an enterprise-ready charitable giving solution that integrates seamlessly within their existing online bank experience,” it explained.

FSP, Chalice Network Launch FinTech Institute

The Society of Financial Service Professionals teamed with Chalice Network to launch the Chalice FinTech Institute, a new educational platform designed for the financial services industry.

The institute offers an online, industry-tailored curriculum focusing on fintech and its growing impact and was designed to “empower” professionals with the knowledge they need to “become technology-proficient and champion their clients’ best interests,” FSP and Chalice Network said Monday in a joint announcement.

“As technology continues to transform the industry, advisors will need to possess and maintain this knowledge to grow their business and avoid obsolescence,” according to Ron Fiske, CFI CEO.

CFI provides enrollees with a three-track online curriculum, accreditation, educational resources, events and memberships in both the Chalice Network and FSP.

Snappy Kraken Starts Marketing Accelerator Program

Snappy Kraken launched the 90-Day Marketing Accelerator, a 12-week, professionally guided program the company says was designed to help advisors “build, launch and sustain a proven marketing strategy.”

The platform provides advisors with an automated marketing solution “built to generate leads, nurture prospects, and engage clients with exclusively licensed marketing content,” it said Thursday, in a press release.

The marketing automation platform enables enterprises to “create and deploy content at scale for hundreds or thousands of individual accounts with just a few clicks, in a personalized way,” the firm added.

The program is targeted at advisors “who are just starting out” and experienced ones “who want to standardize an easy and repeatable marketing strategy,” according to Angel Gonzalez, Snappy Kraken chief marketing officer and co-founder.

“When you use marketing technology, it’s easy to focus on the features. This bell. That whistle. This lever,” he said in a statement. “But it’s the strategy behind the features that make it all work,” he noted.

The 90-Day Marketing Accelerator “fills in the gaps” and will help advisors “create more light bulb moments as they approach marketing their firm,” he added.

Advisers new to Snappy Kraken can register online for $1 down, followed by three monthly payments of $227 starting on Jan. 1, the company said. Existing members can opt in at no additional cost.

Bill.com Rolls Out HNW Offering

Bill.com introduced a new offering for wealth management firms supporting high-net-worth clients, saying it “enables firms to shift from a cumbersome and time-intensive approach to an automated and secure bill payment process.”

The new offering for wealth management firms “leverages all the benefits” of the cloud-based software firm’s automated platform, “while addressing the unique needs of wealth management firms,” it said.