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Envestnet innovation chief Dani Fava

Technology > Investment Platforms

Dani Fava Is Leaving Envestnet

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Dani Fava, the prominent fintech industry speaker and one-time head of innovation for TD Ameritrade Institutional, announced this week that she is leaving her role as a group president at Envestnet.

Taking to LinkedIn, Fava said she will be accepting a new job at “a company well-placed to capitalize on emerging industry trends, in a seat where [she] can impactfully contribute to and drive growth.”

Fava did not immediately respond to a request for more information, but her post implies an amicable split from the firm where she has spent nearly the last four years.

A spokesperson for Envestnet confirmed the news: ”During her four-year tenure, Dani played a role in driving our innovation efforts and has been an advocate for our diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. We thank Dani for her contributions and wish her great success in her new role. Dani’s last day with Envestnet is March 22nd.”

“After considerable reflection, I have made the strategic decision to step away from my position at Envestnet,” Fava wrote.

“Over the past four years, I have had the honor of collaborating with an exceptional team. Together, we have navigated the evolving landscapes of our industry, driven by a shared vision and deep-seated beliefs in the potential of what we could achieve together,” she added.

More Innovation Ahead?

Fava said both Envestnet and the wider financial industry are “on the cusp of a transformative era.

“With generative AI poised to revolutionize scale, efficiency and accessibility in ways previously unimaginable, financial advisors are set to become increasingly central to people’s lives, rapidly expanding the number of clients they can effectively serve,” Fava wrote.

“Transparency will increase, consolidation will continue, and the remaining pivotal elements will be advisor brand strength and depth of client relationships,” she explained.

News of Fava’s departure comes at a challenging time for Envestnet, with investors questioning the firm’s profitability record in the wake of rapid inorganic growth.

The firm’s stock price has risen nearly 67% from lows seen in November 2023, however, and at least some of the shakiness was tied to the publication of a critical open letter to Envestnet’s board, in which one of its largest shareholders slammed the firm for increasing management compensation despite lackluster stock performance.

Fava’s Envestnet Tenure

In a 2023 discussion with ThinkAdvisor, Fava said the many technologies and business solutions being produced by Envestnet were helping to revolutionize the way advisors serve their clients, allowing them to expand their businesses while also bringing their valuable services downmarket to people of more modest means — investors with as little as $500, for example.

One of the ways the firm pursued this goal under Fava’s guidance was through expanding its embedded finance capabilities. Through embedding, she explained, useful financial services can be offered through the consumer apps and websites of nonfinancial firms, such as Apple.

This work culminated in Envestnet unveiling a new embedded investment solution in October, providing a digitized process for banks, credit unions and financial advisors to offer investing solutions within their own apps and websites to customers within their existing banking experience.

The service, consisting of diversified portfolios invested in exchange-traded funds and optional thematic stocks, enables financial institutions to retain deposits within their own ecosystem and serve smaller account sizes in an digital fashion.

Pictured: Dani Fava


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