In a new report, Ranking the Vendors of Wealth Management Technology 2006: Financial Planning, Celent has examined ten leading financial planning appliactions in the North American market. The vendors are AdviceAmerica, CGI, EISI, eMoneyAdvisor, Financeware, Financial Profiles, Impact Technologies, PIE Technologies, RiskMetrics, and SunGard.
“The financial planning market in North America is evolving. We expect further vendor consolidation, new entrants, and expansion of product offerings,” says Isabella Fonseca, author of the report. “Vendors that historically have been pure financial planning players will face strong competition from more investment-centric solutions that are partnering with financial planning solutions or adding to their existing product offering.”
The report provides an overview of the wealth management vendor landscape in North America and includes an evaluation of each solution’s features and functionalities, strengths and weaknesses, number of clients, financial viability, deployment options, pricing structures, and maintenance and support schemes. The vendors are also ranked using Celent’s ABCD methodology.
The SEC’s new rule 202(a), which specifies the conditions under which a broker-dealer may exclude itself from the definition of “investment advisor,” is impacting vendors and financial institutions, says Celent. The rule demands the registration of representatives that are engaged in advisory practices unless those services are related to brokerage services. This forces firms that want to provide advice services to use the right tools in a multi-tiered structure.