Raymond James offering advanced technology education for financial advisors

September 1, 2022 3:01 PM

Raymond James wants to turn financial advisors into fintech experts.

This week, the St. Petersburg, Florida-based firm introduced "Tech Savvy," a new educational program that gives advisors advanced training on integrated practice management technology.

David Lillis, vice president of technology at Raymond James, said the offering is the latest addition to the firm's established tech education program.

"The goal of this educational program is to empower advisors with the knowledge and practical skills they need to leverage technology efficiently to run their practice, anticipate client needs and deliver exceptional service," Lillis said. "This is a relationship business at its core, and our technology supports advisors and their teams as they establish new connections and strengthen existing client relationships."

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The program includes multiple tracks and offers training on foundational technology through the adoption of new applications and enhancements. Virtual sessions hosted by live tech consultants and recorded for on demand access are designed to help advisors master the specific areas of practice technology they may be interested in.

Courses are highly interactive and encourage hands-on practical application; they include an introductory course to tech crucial for daily management; classes to simplify work and increase productivity; and monthly updates on the firm's latest tech tools.

"All of our technology education offerings are designed through advisor focus groups and feedback to ensure valuable content delivered in a way that suits all learning styles," Lillis said. "These live and recorded courses are just one piece of our overall approach, which includes in-application product tours, videos, simulations, documentation and more."

Scroll down to get caught up on other recent fintech news you might have missed in our Wealthtech Weekly recap. And check out last week's edition here.

Robo-advisor market to surpass $41 billion by 2030

The digital advice space is expected to grow to $1 trillion by 2020, according to a report.

Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg

New research from Grand View Research predicts the robo-advisor market will see big gains over the next eight years.

The California-based research firm's 130-page analysis expects the robo business to reach $41.83 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual rate of 29.7% between now and then.

Researchers say the growing use of smartphones coupled with the increased use of chatbots on various investment and e-commerce platforms worldwide will drive the demand for robo advisory during the projected period.

In addition, increasing awareness of digital investment consultation services is expected to drive market growth during the period.

The pure robo advisors' segment is expected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast, according to the study. Demand for robo services offered via banks also presents an opportunity for banking institutions that offer the tech.

Meanwhile, the comprehensive wealth advisory segment is expected to see rapid growth over the next decade due to the ability to provide planning at reasonable costs.

The study finds that high net worth clients dominated the robo market in 2021, due to their desire to save time while bringing in bigger investment returns.

"The pandemic has contributed positively to the market growth, thereby driving the demand for robo-advisors in the near future," said a statement from Grand View Research. "Several businesses have reported increased digital consulting activity in the first quarter of 2020. For instance, in April 2021, Betterment reported an increase in account openings by over 25% due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These factors are expected to fuel the market growth during the forecast period."

Landa launches financially inclusive real estate investing platform after $25M funding round

CEO Yishai Cohen and Chief Technology Officer Amit Assaraf

Landa

Landa wants to give investors access to residential real estate investing for as little as the price of a footlong hoagie, and now has millions of dollars to do it.

The New York-based real estate investing startup this week announced a $25 million Series A funding round, bringing their total equity raised to $33 million with the inclusion of a previously raised $8 million seed round. The company has also raised $62 million in debt financing.

The funding was led by investors including NFX, 83North, and Viola Ventures.

Through a fractional ownership model, Landa enables users to access the real estate market for just $5. Company leaders say by doing so, they hope to break down the traditional barriers to entry and empower individuals to build wealth in real estate.

Created by CEO Yishai Cohen and Chief Technology Officer Amit Assaraf in 2019, Landa is all about making real estate ownership more inclusive. But the past three years have been focused on establishing the platform and the mobile app that supports it, officials said.

The biggest growth came this year when the app grew from just hundreds to more than 22,000 investors.

"There is a huge appetite to access this market among the many people who can't participate in traditional real estate investing," Landa co-founder and CEO Yishai Cohen said in a statement. "Landa makes it easy to invest in individual properties and fully manage your portfolio from a smartphone."

The Landa interface allows investors to browse properties, purchase shares and have a simple overview of their portfolios. Landa also provides free educational tools to help individuals learn the ropes of real estate and create a smart portfolio.

Landa currently has properties in Atlanta and New York City and will soon be launching in Charlotte, Birmingham, Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville.

"Investing in real estate has consistently proven to be one of the most reliable ways to build wealth, yet it's becoming increasingly out of reach for the vast majority of people due to rising prices and interest rates," Gigi Levy-Weiss, general partner at NFX, said in a statement.

Riskalyze debuts comprehensive risk and compliance analytics platform

Aaron_Klein_CEO_Riskalyze_InVest_July_2017_Adviser_Tools (2/2)

Riskalyze CEO Aaron Klein

The California-based company, which provides portfolio risk assessment software to financial advisors, announced the launch of a platform that gives wealth managers access to two of its established tools in one place.

Called Riskalyze Ultimate, officials said the software includes all of the benefits of Riskalyze Elite and Command Center in a single streamlined platform.

Command Center, introduced earlier this year, gives advisors the ability to analyze every holding across a firm in minutes. It includes an alignment dashboard that brings central visibility to risk objectives, tools for sifting through accounts to spot and correct problems and proposal oversight to visualize or document Regulation Best Interest compliance.

Riskalyze Elite gives advisors a suite of risk assessment, portfolio management and client engagement tools.

"We developed Riskalyze Ultimate based on feedback from CEOs, CCOs and heads of wealth management who have seen amazing results with both Command Center and our client-facing risk tools, and sought a unified solution," Drew DiMarino, the chief growth officer at Riskalyze, said in a statement. "Riskalyze Ultimate represents the next evolution of our platform — helping firms solve client engagement and compliance problems with strong risk methodology and powerful analytics."

Officials said every Riskalyze Ultimate client can configure the platform with custom market assumptions and investment choices, firm branding and multi-team access control and insights.

"Gone are the days of a fragmented client experience, and using 'hope' as a strategy for finding the ticking time bombs in client accounts," Riskalyze CEO Aaron Klein said in a statement. "Riskalyze Ultimate enables advisors to help clients visualize and understand the relationship between risk and reward, while their firm leaders can ensure their businesses are protected and growing."