Happy Tuesday, Fellow Fintechers!
 
We’re excited about our lineup of fintech stories, as there’s a lot to report on today.
 

First, as always, we have the latest news on wealthtech happenings from our resident expert, Vasyl Solushchuk, along with his interview with Redtail CEO Brian McLaughlin, who talks about the pros and cons of using a tech stack that integrates vs an “all-in-one” solution. If you are like most financial advisors who use one or several pieces of wealthtech in your practice, this is an important read.

Financial Advisor reporter Joyce Blay also has penned a piece featuring Redtail, this time detailing the results of its recent “AdvisorComms 2019” survey.  There are a lot of great statistics in the article on how advisors communicate with their clients and the many challenges they have in their client communications due to technology and corporate policy limitations. 

We also have a post today on fintech’s new U.S. senator from Georgia, Kelly Loeffler, a political newcomer who hails from NYSE’s parent firm ICE, and is also CEO of bitcoin futures and options firm Bakkt. There’s been quite a ballyhoo regarding her appointment, and we take a look at the implications for U.S. fintech and financial markets at large.

On another front, we take a look at how several high-profile California-based fintech firms—including Plaid, Stripe and others—are increasing their New York City presence. We find this fascinating, in lieu of the fact that many New York-based hedge funds are heading south to Florida for taxation reasons. In the piece, executives from these fintechs state it is crucial for them to have an increased presence in the Big Apple while simultaneously keeping their headquarters in California, albeit under increased regulation and taxation.

In our ongoing 3 Questions series, we hear how fintech is utilized from Brian Mumbert, vice president of advisor relations at Florida-based Timothy Plan, a family of mutual funds and exchange-traded funds that focuses on biblically responsible investing.

Finally, we get a unique perspective on digtal assets and governments from fintech thought leader Bill Taylor, who shares his perspective on how government-backed digital currencies match up to bitcoin.

All in all, a diverse and fascinating roundup of fintech news and stories for our readers today.  Read up!

Yours in Fintech,

Cindy Taylor, Publisher