The paradox of choice is hard at work when it comes to wealth management technology.
For seven years, Michael Kitces’ Financial AdvisorTech Solutions Map has been showcasing technology solutions available for financial advisors, with technology firm logos neatly organized by use case into categories such as Customer Relationship Management, Portfolio Management and Advice Engagement.
And yet at conferences and in industry dialogue, we often hear such sentiments as, “The map is overwhelming,” “There are just too many options,” and “Where will this end?”
When the map launched in April 2018, it featured 189 fintech companies across 29 categories. As of April 2025, the map lists 36 categories with 551 solutions — yes, the number has almost tripled over the past seven years.
The map, updated on a monthly basis with help from technology consultant Craig Iskowitz, keeps expanding for a number of good reasons.
Behind the Growth
There’s no one simple explanation for the ongoing growth in tech solutions for financial advisors. Factors include the following:
1. Varied value propositions — Thank goodness no two firms or advisors are alike. Value propositions range from a pure focus on investments or insurance to truly comprehensive and holistic advice. And increasingly, that also includes such adjacent areas as taxes, health care or trust and estate. To deliver on their specific value propositions, firms require and value choice when it comes to the supporting technologies they use.
2. Heterogeneous buying base — A number of key dimensions reflect the diversity of the wealth management industry:
- Firm sizes range from one to more than 20,000;
- Revenue models range from transactional to fee-based to hourly;
- Regulatory regimes include the Securities and Exchange Commission, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency;
- Offerings range from investments or insurance only to increasingly spanning the entire balance sheet.
This diversity of buying firms in turn fuels diversity in the supporting tech offerings, fostering the ongoing creation of best-of-breed solutions to meet their particular needs and opportunities.
3. Addressing the tech debt — Many firms have arguably under-invested in their tech, to the detriment of advisors and clients. Additionally, many firms are saddled with core systems that need to be upgraded or replaced. Therefore, tech budgets have been increasing, fueling new tech bets by forward-looking management teams.
4. Technological advancements — At the same time, emerging technologies such as blockchain or artificial intelligence are advancing quickly, opening the door to a whole new set of innovative approaches supported by powerful tech.
5. Regulatory tailwinds — Regulators demands on controls and document retention further increase firms’ and advisors’ incentive to invest in a robust tech stack that can systematize standard tasks and provide the necessary regulatory oversight and data capture.
6. Innovative ecosystem — Wealth management is blessed with creative, entrepreneurial risk-takers coming from both inside and outside the industry. Advisors such as Derek Notman at Couplr and executives like Brian Thorp at Wealthtender are building solutions to address personally felt pain points, while outsiders such as Snehal Fulzele at Uptiq and Christine Simone at Caribou are bringing fresh perspectives and cutting-edge technologies.
Potential Headwinds
While these six factors are powerful and lasting drivers, suggesting further growth, there are headwinds on the horizon. They may to some degree serve as a counterbalance.
Constraining, or even reversing, the continued growth of the Kitces map might be three factors, including:
1. Buyer concentration — Mergers and acquisitions are alive and well, particularly in the growing RIA segment. As firms consolidate, there might be a meaningful reduction in the number of empowered tech decision-makers, which in turn could curtail the ongoing expansion of the map. Fewer buyers in charge of larger networks may be less inclined to experiment with and invest in emerging tech.
2. Seller concentration — The sell side may also go through a wave of consolidation. This year to date, heavy M&A activity in the wealthtech space includes Docupace/Hubly, Move/Caribou and Flourish/Sora, reducing the number of logos on the map.
3. Reduction of tech budgets — Should the current bull U.S. bull market, which has lasted more than two years, come to an end, there undoubtedly will be pressure on the tech budgets of firms of all shapes and sizes. That pressure may lead to a reduced willingness to experiment with up-and-coming technologies.
How to Best Deal With All That Choice
The continued emergence of new tech solutions and entire new categories represents shifting client preferences and evolving advisor needs. It is also a testament to the innovative power that the historically sleepy wealth management industry now exhibits.
Advisors and their firms are blessed with choice. Like never before, they can tailor their tech stacks to best suit their specific value proposition and support their particular vision for their desired client and advisor experiences. However, with more than 550 choices, there is a lot to digest.
Besides many specialized consultants who can assist, several powerful online resources are available to help firms assess their current map and design their optimal future tech stack. Those the Kitces AdvisorTech Directory, which makes the traditional map searchable and dynamic, and the EZRA Group WealthTech Integration Score, which helps ensure that advisors select only the tech that integrates with the rest of their stack.
The map has come a long way in seven years, and it will most likely continue to grow. And that is not something to bemoan. Instead, let’s be grateful, use helpful tools to navigate the abundance of choice and celebrate innovation in our industry.
Philipp Hecker is CEO of Bento Engine, an integrated content and technology platform supporting financial advisors.
Image: Adobe Stock
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