ADVISER FINTECH (LARGE FIRMS) FINALISTS

Innovative Firms

Envestnet

Envestnet MoneyGuide has innovated bite-size “blocks,” a digital interactive tool called MyBlocks that operates to break up financial themes. Financial-wellness topics engage a client audience on subjects such as retirement, financial goals, social security, long-term care insurance and loan repayment.

Behavioral finance has demonstrated that attention spans are short. Complex financial topics intimidate and stress investors, so MyBlocks helps individuals learn and focus incrementally, with immediate feedback. Envestnet divides subject matter into chunks that clients can learn on their own time and at their convenience, each block taking about two to four minutes to complete. Personal input leads to a quality solution for constructing a sophisticated financial plan. The blocks work as a conversation starter.

“They are intended to lead to interactions with an adviser, and feed into a plan, but not to replace an adviser,” said Tony Leal, president of Envestnet MoneyGuide.

With MyBlocks, Envestnet is branching beyond financial planning, to push the boundaries of what advisers can offer and help them retain family members of existing clients and involve next generations. For example, new blocks for high school students address the interests of that particular age group, such as career paths and prospects.

– Vanessa Drucker