On this week's episode of the Financial Planning Podcast, Philipp Hecker gets fired up about leading with advice.
Hecker, the CEO at
The offering made its debut in fall 2022 and consists of educational, client-ready and age-based financial advice to help advisors connect with their book of business on a more personal level.
The program was crafted with the support of experts like
To pull it off, Bento leverages the client relationship management software that advisors already interact with on a daily basis. Through alerts and educational guidance, advisors can position themselves as experts who can help their clients promote financial literacy in their households.
Hecker, who has a career that includes time with the JPMorgan Wealth Management team, where he held several leadership positions including global head of strategy, said the program is an example of something he believes is key to good wealthtech: helping advisors be more human, more often.
During his conversation with FP Podcast host and lead editorial producer Justin L. Mack, Hecker discusses the rising trend in human-focused wealthtech, making the business cool for the next generation of pros, and why his passion for financial services still burns after all these years.
Listen to the new episode — as well as to all future and past episodes — by subscribing to the FP Podcast on
Transcript:
Justin L. Mack (00:02):
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening. Welcome to the Financial Planning Podcast. I'm your host, Justin L. Mack, wealthtech editor with Financial Planning. And it is my pleasure to introduce this week's guest, Philipp Hecker, CEO at Bento Engine. Philipp, thank you so much for joining us on the show this week.
Philipp Hecker (00:19):
Justin, great to see you again. I look forward to this conversation with you and hello there to everyone out on the lines.
Justin L. Mack (00:27):
Absolutely. Now Philipp brings to this week's pod decades of experience in financial services and has always been passionate about advice beyond investing. His M.O? Tech-driven advisor enablement that benefits clients, their families and their communities. Before taking the lead at Bento, Phillip was part of the JPMorgan Wealth Management team where he held several leadership positions including global head of strategy. He also launched and led JPMorgan's wealth planning and advice organization, which includes the advice lab, the philanthropy center, and the firm-wide, goals-based advice teams. Now he leads the Bento team with three core beliefs: helping human advisors shine, leading with advice and understanding that timing really matters. So this week on the pod, naturally, we're going to talk about how tech is making the human touch of the advisory business that much more powerful. But listeners know I always love to start at the beginning of any good financial services story. So with that, Philipp, please let us know how you got into this wild and crazy world of fintech and financial services. What about this spoke to you and said, yep, this is the job for me?
Philipp Hecker (01:32):
Wow. Justin, thank you for the kind framing and the short answer is, it's been a long and winding road, if you know what I mean. I started out my professional career actually in fast-moving consumer goods at Procter & Gamble. So thinking about P&Ls, managing businesses in a very consumer, client-centric way was beaten into me P&G style. And frankly, has stayed with me ever since. After attending business school in this great country, I joined the Boston Consulting Group in New York. So yes, I'm a recovering strategy consultant. Five wonderful years picking up a strategic tool or two before I moved, as you alluded to, to Wall Street, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, always focused on wealth management. Always focused on advancing our industry and bringing better advice to more American families in that spirit. Thrilled to now help launch a new fintech that is focused on just that.
Justin L. Mack (02:32):
As we've had a chance to share a little bit with the readers in the pages of FP, Bento is absolutely a company that looks to put families first, and we're talking about all ages. Whether it be an advisor working with clients who are experienced and sophisticated, to making sure that (clients are) teaching children the importance and the power of money from step one. Be sure to
Philipp Hecker (03:14):
Well, Justin, I would say that there are two key reasons. Value and trust. But before I expand on them, let me maybe share by way of background that Bento focuses on helping advisors serve all of their clients and prospects during moments that matter in the life journeys of those clients and prospects and their family members. You may wonder, what are these moments that matter? Well, they break down into age-based milestones that are highly predictable and less predictable life events. When it comes to age-based milestones, Uncle Sam gives us 15 birth dates that matter by law because they trigger distinct wealth management risks or opportunities. Some are very well understood. For example, turning 50 and being able to make catch up contributions; turning 62 and facing the question of do I start taking social security benefits now or am I better off waiting until later; turning 70 and a half and being able to utilize QCDs if you're philanthropically inclined.
(04:27)
So age milestones that matter by law that are highly predictable. There's also life events. Getting married, divorced, having a child, moving to Florida, kids moving off to college, parents getting sick, easily two dozen moments that matter that are sometimes predictable, but oftentimes they're not. That always represents golden opportunities to engage and serve clients and prospects with advice and that oftentimes represent money in motion. So against that backdrop of these moments that matter, we feel that engaging clients on these important milestones makes sense for two reasons. Value and trust. Let me expand on them. Value. It is important to emphasize here that this type of advice that we're talking about often generates meaningful quantifiable dollar value add for clients. Here's an example, social security turning age 62. Do I start taking it now or am I better off waiting until later? Just last week, some of our listeners may have seen it.
(05:42)
The Wall Street Journal Journal had an interesting article where they shared data and insights from a recent report sponsored by the Atlanta Federal Reserve. In that study, the researchers showed that clearly 90% of clients would be better off waiting until later as opposed to starting to take benefits early. However, only 10% do so. So many, many people are leaving dollars, benefit dollars, hard-earned benefit dollars on the table, and they quantified that. They point out that on average Americans, by virtue of starting to take benefits too early, leave $182,000 of lifetime value on the table. That is America at large. If you double click on the top 20% of income typical wealth management clients, that average goes up to $290,000 and should you be serving the top 1%. The proverbial top 1%, that average gets up to around $600,000. A beautiful example of how leading with advice during the moments that matter can create hard quantifiable value for the benefits of the clients. Now, trust matters as well. Simply put, when you engage your clients and prospects with proactive, timely and relevant advice, you build invaluable trust. As Teddy Roosevelt put it so well, clients don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. All the moments that matter we discussed are golden opportunities to demonstrate just that.
Justin L. Mack (07:30):
Absolutely, and well said, by Teddy Roosevelt. And actually, I want to piggyback off of that wonderful quote with one that you actually provided us in a recent story that we did on some technology that is really changing everything. Or at least has the potential to. ChatGPT. Reason that's relevant is because we always talk about the ability for wealthtech in particular to really empower that human advisor. And getting your thoughts on that, you said something that was really poignant, kind of stuck with a lot of folks that … it is about using technology to be more human more often. Talk to me a little bit about what that means to you, because I think so many times when we see, especially new technology that we haven't quite figured out or mastered yet, something like generative AI. And even if we go beyond to something like how the metaverse might be leveraged by this business in the future, there's always a fear that the human advisor might get lost in that. We become blinded by all the screens and maybe we're less of a presence than we would like to be.
(08:26)
However, we also see that clients who are very tech savvy want that human element before anything else. Talk to me about money later. Talk to me about my family now. So more human more often. What's that mean to you and how do you think advisors are achieving that in 2023?
Philipp Hecker (08:45):
Yeah, that's a very interesting dynamic you point to Justin. But first off, kudos and congrats to you. That was really a great piece. In case folks haven't read it yet, hop onto
(09:52)
The supply of human advice is staying kind of flat at best. So when demand goes up, supply stays flat, the loading ratios have to increase. All of us have an opportunity to serve more families and as we do that, in order to ensure that the advisor can serve more people as well or perhaps even better than today, they have to invest in smart supporting technology. Technology is the key to making advisors more human, more often. We want to help them to make their value proposition, which is oftentimes centered on providing comprehensive advice, scalable Bento helps advisors increase their precious personal dialogue with clients, which as we established earlier, everyone benefits from.
Justin L. Mack (10:47):
Definitely, and that supply and demand problem, I'd love to go back to that a little bit. Just because it's something we write about a lot, which is the next generation of clients is something that gets a lot of focus. But the next generation of advisors, making sure that more people understand that this industry might be perfect for them … it could be a cool job. And you talked about your winding path here, and the reason I always love asking that question, especially here on the podcast, is that I've yet to find two guests who have had the same path into wealth management or into financial services. Some people get here intentionally, some people stumble into it accidentally, but all the same they're passionate about it. Just as kind of an aside, how the heck do we make sure that the next generation of talent understands that this industry not only might be perfect for them, but it's something that they can actually find enriching, not just from a business or financial standpoint, but it could also be good for the soul. Any thoughts on how we make sure that people know that wealth management is more than what it might seem from the outside?
Philipp Hecker (11:46):
Well, I would argue, Justin, that you are the small part of the solution to that problem via your journalism, via a platform such as the podcast, you are increasing the awareness pie, if you will, of folks out there. Likewise on my end, much like you, I'm passionate about this topic. Education. Formal education matters in our industry. On the side, if you will, I am supporting Columbia University in New York in launching a new master's program in our space in wealth management. And in that program we not only equip folks with a master's in wealth management, we also make sure that they attain all the educational requirements to sit for the CFP examination. So pushing, if you will, education to lift the standards, to lift the competency levels of folks in our industry is paramount to our long-term success. It is also, Justin, to your point, is a wonderful way of getting career changes via formal training programs into our industry. It's a wonderful program. Folks hop on Google if you want to learn more and check out Columbia University Wealth Management.
Justin L. Mack (13:04):
Fantastic. And with that, we're actually going to take a quick break and enjoy a word from our sponsors. But when we return, we'll have more with Philipp Hecker, CEO at Bento Engine. Stay locked. We'll be right back after this break.
And welcome back to the Financial Planning Podcast. I'm your host Justin Mack, and we're jumping right back into our conversation this week with Philipp Hecker, CEO at Bento Engine. Now Philipp, it's a new year, lots of activity, lots of change, lots of innovation like we've kind of talked about in the first half of the show. So always interested in what you've got on tap for 2023. What is Bento Engine working on? Why should advisors be excited about it? What are you eager to get into as we start to get this new year rolling?
Philipp Hecker (13:46):
2023. Here we come. Here we go.
(13:50)
First off, we have multiple initiatives happening now and in the coming quarters. Right now we are focused on building out the
Justin L. Mack (15:29):
For sure. And something that you've kind of touched on, not only with what you're working on, but as we've talked about in the first half of the show, is that the industry does feel like we're trying to make the human side of the business cool again. We're trying to put that advice first. And as you've already mentioned, tech is kind of the key to doing a lot of that, especially now because we know that that first touch, that person who's looking for an advisor, whether it be someone who's looking for a new advisor or someone who is coming into their own as a professional … we know that that first touch isn't going to be at a meeting. It's not going to be in a boardroom. It's going to be online. It might be on your phone or whatever device we have years from now where we're able to just think of what we want and then, boom, a list of advisors comes up.
(16:15)
Also important to note that in 2023, there's no more boundaries. If I live in Boston, my advisor could live in California. If I live in Toronto, my advisor could be somewhere in Alabama. It doesn't matter. It's about finding the right fit for me on a human level. You're working on solving these problems, but I imagine it's exciting for you because as I'm sure people can tell by now, that human aspect, seems like you're pretty into it. How's it feel to be creating solutions at a time where people understand that they have to put themselves out there more than their accomplishments? If you don't click as a person, you're not going to click as an advisor. What's it like to be working in that kind of environment?
Philipp Hecker (17:00):
Interesting question, Justin. And much like you, I too sense that the pendulum is swinging. Things come and go over time. When you step back and look at the evolution of our industry at large over the past a hundred years or so, there are certain phases and it indeed seems that over the past 10, 20 years, perhaps we have gotten too technical. Perhaps we have gotten too scientific. Perhaps there was too much talk of yield curve inversion and investment beta that is terribly exciting and terribly important, don't get me wrong, but just doesn't connect with most clients and people out there. So adding now a greater emphasis on the human side of wealth, the human side of money, the family of dynamics, and building competencies and peace of mind as opposed to unquote just chasing investment performance is beneficial for everybody. Why is that happening now?
(18:04)
Gosh, many, many things going on. reversion and the flow of things first for most perhaps, but also I would argue rising client expectations. People expect more from us, being shaped by their experiences and other categories and other parts of their life. Rising client expectations. And I would add to your comment on technology. Technology is moving and it's moving fast. The competencies, the art of the possible is just way bigger today. Think about CRM for example. Five years ago, a short five years ago, the state of CRM adoption usage and the quality of the data was not in the shape that it is today. Today adoption and data hygiene have gotten us to a point where we can run algorithms and AI over those databases and get to meaningful, impactful, next best actions.
Justin L. Mack (19:07):
Definitely. I think what you said about rising consumer and client expectations is really powerful, and I think it's as a result of this fast moving technology where in a way, it's kind of unfair, but flawless has become the baseline. I'm a huge consumer electronics nerd, and I think about cell phones. Smartphones 15, 20 years ago where it was dominated by stuff like Windows Mobile and Blackberry. And if you were going to recommend somebody a smartphone, there's wide chasm in what was good and what was bad. Today, there really is no bad. What do you prefer? Are you an Android person or are you an iOS? They're all good. And I think that understanding that whatever I turn to my technology is going to be essentially flawless, has really reshaped what clients and consumers think about even in terms of working with their advisor. If your website isn't flawless, there might be 20 other advisors who have a flawless experience when they meet you. So yeah, a very good point. And man, technology has gotten so good that you can't be less than perfect. Sorry guys. It's a tough world out there. Get ready to fight.
(20:10)
So with everything we've talked about, and I want to thank you again for sharing your time with us on the platform this week. I'd like to end with something that has become customary here on the Financial Planning Podcast, which is ending with some good vibes. And we talked about how you got into the business, what keeps you going. You can hear the passion you have for the human side of it. You can hear the passion in your voice about helping advisors do, like you said, be more human more often. So thinking about all you've done and all I know you have on tap for this year and however many years you continue to work on making advisors lives a little easier, what's your favorite part of your job when you think about it? What do you love most about this business and why are you going to keep doing it?
Philipp Hecker (20:48):
Oh gosh, Justin, there are so many dimensions to be grateful for, including the usual suspect of a great multifunctional team and a wonderful, very supportive advisory council. And of course, there's the ability in a fintech startup setting to try new things to innovate and drive change much faster than you might be able to do in other types of settings. However, today, let me share how grateful I am for the reception of Bento Engine in the overall fintech ecosystem. We are kind of the new kids on the block, if you will, and coming in we may have expected some sharp elbows from incumbents, from established players in the field. However, I am thrilled to report that the opposite is true so far. Everybody, clients, regulators, prospects, peers on the Kitces fintech map have been nothing but welcoming and supporting. Truly, we see a growth mindset at work with many, many other firms and peers on the fintech map, and it's wonderful to work together to advance our mission of bringing better advice beyond investing to more American families via their caring advisors so that families thrive and advisor practices grow. That is the mission driving us, and we are thrilled how many people see that and support us in ways large and small. So the most fun thing right now, Justin, is collaboration in the very dynamic fintech ecosystem.
Justin L. Mack (22:34):
Very, very cool. And it's hard to find good vibes better than that. So hey, big shout out to the wealthtech community for being so nice to the new kids on the block. A big thank you to them. And again, I want to thank our guest, Philipp Hecker for joining us this week on the Financial Planning Podcast. Thank you so much, Philipp.
Philipp Hecker (22:50):
Justin, fun to chat with you as always.
Justin L. Mack (22:52):
All right. Now I want to thank everyone for listening to this week's edition of the Financial Planning Podcast. This episode was produced by Arizent with audio production by Kevin Parise. Special thanks again to our guest, Philipp Hecker, CEO at Bento Engine. Rate us, review us and subscribe to all of our content at