ADVISER FINTECH (SMALL FIRMS) FINALISTS

Innovative Firms

Vestwell

Vestwell’s white-labeled digital record keeper empowers advisers to scale their practices. “We are the only ones doing this, using a modern technology stack,” said Aaron Schumm, Vestwell’s founder and chief executive. “We’re able to run from front to back unburdened with the typical frictions of record keeping, which is normally very paper-based, heavy on phone calls, PDFs and walking people through.”

The focus is on providing education and support to small or midsized businesses. Advisers can leverage the unbundled and configurable platform as their own extension, streamlining sales and delivery. Retirement platforms are typically constructed around core legacy technology, which Vestwell has now removed.

Whereas it might take a million permutations to solve for the optimal plan and investments, Vestwell lets advisers engage with plan sponsors in a fraction of the typical time.

In another example, data processing an error-free 401(k) for each employee is critical in terms of hours required and accuracy. Companies must capture matching-contribution data from hundreds of payroll systems countrywide, each with different formats, but Vestwell has streamlined the task with its digital process.

– Vanessa Drucker