Fintech Firms Offer Inexpensive Insights On Valuation
For advisors curious about how much their firms might be worth, two companies have come up with solutions: Truelytics has rolled out a free valuation tool, while 3xEquity has enhanced its valuation offerings by adding a feature that connects advisors exploring the sale of their practices with prospective buyers.

Truelytics began offering a free version of its software-as-a-service application that allows advisors to estimate their firm’s value and delivers information about the health and stability of their business via a “Truelytics Score.”
“Every business owner should know how much their firm is worth,” says Terry Mullen, CEO of Truelytics, in a statement. “Unfortunately, in our industry many advisors don’t think of themselves as business owners and therefore don’t know or focus on their value.”

Truelytics also offers a premium service that delivers actionable information about how to improve their valuation.
3xEquity’s new “Instant Offer” service allows advisors to anonymously solicit offers for their practice based on information entered into the company’s web-based valuation tool. After a user selects Instant Offer, 3xEquity will deliver two bids from “top” broker-dealers within two business days.

“We know that advisors are curious about their valuation,” says 3xEquity CEO Jeff Crosby. “We think that many will be pleasantly surprised about the offers they receive from this new service. The best part is that they can receive offers anonymously, which is great if they’re testing the waters.” He also says that the service will appeal to wirehouse and broker-dealer representatives.


American Portfolios Introduces Public-Facing Blog
American Portfolios has introduced a new digital publication geared toward financial advisors.

The blog, called “FREE,” is the online version of the broker-dealer’s internal print magazine. Its content has previously been available only to 1,200 internal readers.

The blog will share the same editorial team as the company’s print publication and publish content on practice management, markets, investments, industry trends and work/life balance.

American Portfolios sees the move as an opportunity to connect with the greater universe of investment and financial professionals and the general public.
 

RBC Launches Wealth Management Platform
RBC has announced a new integrated digital wealth management platform for financial advisors and broker-dealer representatives.
The new platform, called BLACK, bundles five technology providers with clearing and custody provided by RBC Correspondent Services and RBC Advisor Services.

Software on the platform includes CircleBlack for portfolio analytics and account aggregation, Redtail for customer relationship management, Riskalyze for risk alignment, MoneyGuidePro as a financial planning platform and Vestmark for trading and rebalancing.

All the platform’s services are available via a single sign-on on most devices, which RBC hopes will allow advisors to streamline their services while maintaining an emphasis on goals-based financial planning.

Mobile App Combines Human, Artificial Financial Intelligence
Wela has launched a free mobile application that combines artificial intelligence with access to human advisors.

Wela uses Benjamin, a digital advisor algorithm, to provide advice to users on their spending habits, financial needs and goals using artificial intelligence that tracks their daily, weekly and monthly spending habits.

The application allows users to aggregate all of their financial account information in one place, and then Benjamin delivers recommendations for creating emergency savings, debt management and investment strategy in real time. Wela then also offers users access to advisors via phone or video chat or in person at no additional cost.

Investopedia Expands Content Marketing Tool
Investopedia is expanding its content marketing tool for financial advisors.

The online financial encyclopedia announced that it is adding a new leads tool to its Advisor Insights platform. Priority Leads will connect qualified advisors to qualified potential clients when an advisor uses Advisor Insights to answer a user’s question, or when a user requests a consultation with an advisor.

Advisor Insights is free to advisors and users. Advisors create content and can interact with users’ comments, allowing for question-and-answer sessions in a forum-style format. Advisor Insights was launched in 2016 and in its first year of existence has published 10,000 advisor-written articles and answers. Investopedia says the platform’s top advisors have had their content viewed by more than 1 million users.
 

New Global, Regional Gender Equality Indexes Introduced
Two Europe-based index providers have joined forces to create a new family of indexes that track companies at the forefront of gender equality initiatives.

Solactive and Equileap have introduced the Solactive Equileap U.S. Gender Equity Index, the Solactive Equileap Europe Gender Equity Index and the Solactive Equileap Global Gender Equity Index, all offering different geographic exposures to companies looked at through a gender lens.

Equileap gathered data on more than 3,000 companies in 23 countries, ranking them according to 19 different gender equality criteria including women in leadership, equal pay and family leave, while Solactive designed the indexes using liquidity criteria, a light ESG screening and Equileap’s in-depth gender screening.