Smaller dealers invest in tech to compete for advisors

23 hours ago

2 min read

Got, J. (2026, September 18). Smaller dealers invest in tech to compete for advisors. Investment Executive. https://www.investmentexecutive.com/report-cards/dealers-report-card-2026/smaller-dealers-bet-on-tech-to-compete-for-advisors/

All five of the smaller dealers in Investment Executive's annual Dealers' Report Card, covering firms with fewer than 500 advisors, named technology as a priority, with a common goal of automating compliance, client onboarding and portfolio management.
Geoffrey Barthelot, a partner in strategy and operations for insurance and wealth management at KPMG Canada, said smaller firms often cannot compete with larger dealers on compensation and bonuses but can adopt new technology sooner because legacy systems are not a hurdle.
Carte Wealth began using technology from U.K.-based IntellectAI, backed by Intellect Design Arena Ltd., in August for advisor and client onboarding, automating roughly 80% of the onboarding process under a partnership the dealer said formally began in February.
Peak Financial is using its MyPeak Konnect platform to create front and back office efficiencies, with a Conquest-backed planning tool plugged into it and testing fees waived to drive advisor adoption.
Portfolio Strategies built its proprietary Responsive App alongside VieFund after previously using Broadridge, and plans to add corporate accounts, trades, transfers and practice-management data so the app eventually becomes the primary login location for its advisors.
Portfolio Strategies also built its own ETF platform, giving clients access to ETFs at $0.01 per share with a $1 minimum trading charge while the dealer absorbs custody fees.
Sterling Mutuals runs its OneBoss back-office platform and recently partnered with Continuum AI to provide advisors with notetaking AI integrated into OneBoss.

Knote: It's hard to differentiate an aggregator with the standard "we take care of your back office." This survey highlights technology as a differentiator and we agree. We would probably add "payouts" and "leads" in the differentiation mix as well.