Mercer Advisors. (2026, October 28). Mercer Advisors deepens platform leadership with appointment of Kyle Pounder as head of data. https://www.merceradvisors.com/press/mercer-advisors-deepens-platform-leadership-with-appointment-of-kyle-pounder-as-head-of-data/ Mercer Advisors appointed Kyle Pounder, PhD, as Vice President of Data, a role focused on putting data and AI to work for its more than 460 advisors and over 43,000 clients. Pounder will lead the firm's core data team, which underpins Aspen, its fully integrated technology platform, as well as its broader AI strategy. Pounder joins after five years at Wealth.com, most recently as Chief Technology Officer, where he guided engineering, security, and data teams through the company's Google Ventures-led Series A and Charles Schwab-led Series B funding rounds. Knote: The most important hire for an AI effort: the Chief Data Officer.

Rogers, J. (2026, November 2). eMoney platform preps AI assistant for CoPlanner tool. InvestmentNews. https://www.investmentnews.com/goria/technology/emoney-platform-preps-ai-assistant-for-coplanner-tool/268840 eMoney Advisor is preparing to launch CoPlanner Chat, an AI assistant for its CoPlanner planning tool that is currently in beta testing, according to Brandon Heid, the company's senior financial planning practice management consultant, speaking at Schwab IMPACT in Boston. CoPlanner is a rules-based tool launched in March that aims to generate financial plans in seconds, and it earned eMoney recognition in the InvestmentNews 2026 5-Star Technology report in September. The chat feature will be layered on top of CoPlanner's existing capability, which reviews a client's fact set to determine recommendations pertinent to that client profile. Heid described the chat as the interface for engaging with the rest of the eMoney platform, with CoPlanner remaining the main driver that surfaces recommendations. Example uses include asking the assistant to surface a client's real estate holdings or to help model a Roth conversion. The chat feature is expected to launch in 2027. Morningstar research found 80% of advisors now use AI in some form, up from 67% last year, while Capital Group research found that only 13% of advisors use it for advanced capabilities such as workflow automation.

WealthFeed. (2026, November 2). WealthFeed expands into 401(k) plan prospecting with Form 5500 data. PR Newswire. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wealthfeed-expands-into-401k-plan-prospecting-with-form-5500-data-302925314.html WealthFeed has added Form 5500 data to its platform, letting advisors search more than 780,000 retirement plans and receive alerts when new filings show changes that may signal a business opportunity. Each plan profile includes assets, participant counts, the person who signed the form, an opportunity score, and a brief explanation of why the plan may be worth pursuing. Advisors can filter plans by size, features, and sponsor industry, with service provider and direct cost filters for larger plans that file Schedule C. Twelve filing triggers flag potential opportunities, including participant balance growth of 20% or more, an advisor dropping off a prior filing, plan terminations, and large asset transfers to another plan. The platform also flags owner-heavy small plans with 25 or fewer participants and average balances of $300,000 or more as candidates for cash balance plans or personal wealth management. WealthFeed's Warm Introduction feature now surfaces second-degree connections to plan decision makers, who can be contacted through Marketing Hub campaigns via email, LinkedIn, handwritten notes, and postcards. The release cites February 2026 FUSE Research Network findings that 65% of surveyed advisors found converting plan participants into wealth clients easier than acquiring clients through traditional marketing or referrals.

WealthFeed. (2026, November 2). WealthFeed expands into 401(k) plan prospecting with Form 5500 data. PR Newswire. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wealthfeed-expands-into-401k-plan-prospecting-with-form-5500-data-302925314.html WealthFeed added U.S. Department of Labor Form 5500 data to its platform, extending its prospecting intelligence from individuals and households into the employer retirement plan market. Advisors can search more than 780,000 retirement plans and receive alerts when new filings indicate changes that may signal a business opportunity. Each plan profile includes assets, participant counts, the Form 5500 signer, an opportunity score, and a rationale, with filters for size, features, sponsor industry, and recent filing windows of 30 or 90 days. The release cites February 2026 FUSE Research Network data indicating that 65% of surveyed advisors found converting retirement plan participants into wealth clients easier than acquiring clients through traditional marketing or referrals. WealthFeed applies 12 filing triggers that flag events such as participant balance growth of 20% or more, a departed advisor on larger plans, plan terminations, large asset transfers, and owner-heavy small plans with high average balances. The platform’s Warm Introduction feature now identifies second-degree network connections to plan decision makers, positioning advisors to request introductions rather than contact prospects cold. Advisors can run automated outreach to plan decision makers through the Marketing Hub using email, LinkedIn, handwritten notes, and postcards without leaving the platform.

Zocks. (2026, October 28). Zocks launches AI-powered account opening to reduce errors and delays in client onboarding. Zocks. https://www.zocks.io/press/zocks-launches-ai-powered-account-opening-to-reduce-errors-and-delays-in-client-onboarding Zocks announced Zocks Account Opening, a capability that automates the account opening workflow during client onboarding. Schwab Advisor Services is the first custodian to accept pre-validated applications submitted directly from Zocks through Schwab Advisor Center. The release cites that an estimated one in four applications returns not in good order (NIGO), generating rework and onboarding delays. The capability gathers client information from intake meetings and connected CRM systems and validates application accuracy before submission to reduce manual data entry. The Schwab integration covers specified Schwab One brokerage account types and IRA types for new and existing clients, with SEP and SIMPLE IRA support planned. Zocks Account Opening also operates within larger firms’ home office, supervisory review, and third-party workflow systems, including a stated collaboration with Docupace. Zocks Account Opening is available now.

Nevis raises $70M Series B as Schwab joins as a strategic investor Nevis, which is building an AI operating system for wealth management, raised a $70 million Series B led by EQT Ventures with Schwab, Sequoia, ICONIQ, QuantumLight and Ribbit Capital participating, taking total funding to $110 million two years after founding while platform assets grew from $50 billion to more than $700 billion in a year. Schwab's minority stake is corporate venture capital doing its job, keeping an incumbent close to innovation, and gives Nevis a path to extend its agents across custodial infrastructure that serves more than 17,000 independent RIAs. MMnote: Schwab has now written six minority checks in less than two years: Wealth.com (twice), Qapita, Dynasty Financial Partners, Provable Markets and now Nevis. Read More → Wealthsimple raises up to $303M at a $9.9B valuation, led by GIC Wealthsimple, the Toronto-based digital financial services company, agreed to an equity round of up to about $303 million (CAD $425 million) at a post-money valuation of about $9.9 billion, with assets under administration reaching about $121 billion as of September 30, up from roughly $71 billion at its October 2025 raise. With checking openings outpacing new investment accounts for the first time in Q2 and 1 in 4 Canadians aged 18 to 40 on the platform, a profitable investing app has become the everyday financial relationship that sets the bar for client experience in Canadian wealth. Knote: Young people want to be able to control their entire financial lives with just their thumbs. 1 in 4 young Canadians use Wealthsimple and it is similar for Robinhood (75% of their 28 million funded accounts are 43 or younger, so maybe 15-20% penetration). Read More → Gateway Financial Partners launches GatewayGO on Milemarker Gateway Financial Partners, which supports more than 200 affiliated advisors across 27 states with over $10 billion in assets under advisement, launched GatewayGO, a branded advisor platform built on Milemarker that pulls custodian, CRM, planning, billing and compliance systems into one view, rolling out from November 2026. Gateway buys the integration engine but keeps the brand and the data, with Milemarker reconciling everything into one data foundation in Gateway's own governed environment so future dashboards, workflows and AI tools draw on the same figures. Knote: Once you get that data foundation in place, the sky is the limit. Read More → Raymond James makes its $1.1B tech budget a recruiting pitch On its Q4 FY2026 earnings call, Raymond James said its more than $1.1 billion in annual technology spending now includes a proprietary AI assistant, Raimond, and an AI meeting manager that prepares and summarizes client meetings and feeds action items into CRM and supervisory systems. CEO Paul Shoukry framed the spending as time back for advisors rather than disintermediation, and named scale as a recruiting edge that many competing firms cannot match at their size. Knote: They see tech as one of the pillars of attraction for advisor recruitment. Nothing new, but it is nice to see they are putting their money where their mouth is. Read More → Schwab study finds RIAs investing in AI but rarely using agents Schwab's 2026 Independent Advisor Outlook Study, a survey of 1,235 RIAs managing $497 billion, found 49% investing in AI to improve workflows but only 7% using agentic AI today, while 37% offer private market investments and another 13% plan to add them within three years. RIAs ranked AI regulation and guidance as their top advocacy priority at 38%, with 68% preferring clear, easy-to-understand standards and only 4% favoring all-encompassing mandates. Knote: Only 38% of advisors want AI regulation and guidance advocacy, but it was the highest-ranked item, and I suspect the C-suite results are much higher still. Read More → AI Air Traffic Control: A quick summary of interesting AI launches for those with AI fatigue Zeplyn Turns Firms' Operating Playbooks into Agentic Workflows https://www.wealthtechstrategy.com/post/zeplyn-now-turns-wealth-management-firms-operating-playbooks-into-agentic-workflows Feel free to reach out if you want to discuss any of the above or if you just want to chat about WealthTech. We love talking WealthTech! Subscribe and receive these insights directly: wealthtechstrategy.com

Gateway Financial Partners. (2026, October 27). Gateway Financial Partners launches GatewayGO, a new advisor experience platform powered by Milemarker. PR Newswire. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gateway-financial-partners-launches-gatewaygo-a-new-advisor-experience-platform-powered-by-milemarker-302920027.html Gateway Financial Partners, an independent wealth management firm supporting more than 200 affiliated advisors across 27 states with over $10 billion in assets under advisement, launched GatewayGO, a branded advisor experience platform powered by Milemarker. The platform combines the custodian, CRM, marketing, portfolio, planning, billing, and compliance systems advisors already use into one view of households, assets, revenue, and open items, alongside firm resources, workflows, and growth tools. GatewayGO is built around Gateway's model pairing an LPL Financial OSJ structure with a hybrid RIA. Its stated capabilities are a single advisor dashboard, connected workflows automated across existing systems, an AI-ready firm-owned data foundation, and support for recruiting, practice acquisitions, and succession transitions. Milemarker unifies Gateway's systems into one reconciled data foundation held in Gateway's own governed environment, and Milemarker cofounder and CEO Jud Mackrill said future dashboards, workflows, and AI tools will draw on the same trusted figures. Gateway will begin rolling GatewayGO out to affiliated advisors in November 2026, with additional capabilities released in phases. Knote: Once you get that data foundation in place, the sky is the limit.

Zeplyn. (2026, October 27). Zeplyn now turns wealth management firms’ operating playbooks into agentic workflows. GlobeNewswire. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/10/27/3389083/0/en/zeplyn-now-turns-wealth-management-firms-operating-playbooks-into-agentic-workflows.html Zeplyn, which describes itself as the agentic AI operating system for wealth management, introduced Zeplyn Workflows, a capability that turns firms’ operating playbooks into multi-step processes executed across systems and departments according to each firm’s rules, requirements, and approval standards. Workflows is built on the Zeplyn Agent Nexus orchestration engine and extends the platform into middle- and back-office operations, including advisor transitions, client onboarding, and account opening. Each workflow maintains its owner, status, and activity history as work moves through handoffs, waits for information, or pauses for approval. Zeplyn’s AI agents interpret information and determine next steps within defined boundaries, while deterministic actions apply fixed rules, validate data, and update systems. At firm-defined approval points, the workflow pauses for review by a designated person before continuing. Workflows combines defined steps, controls, and exception handling with more than 50 wealth-specific agents and integrations with more than 30 advisor systems, including Salesforce, Schwab Advisor Center, AdvisorEngine, Redtail, and Wealthbox. The launch follows earlier Zeplyn announcements including Advisor Coaching, Agent Studio, and an MCP Server, and co-founder and CEO Era Jain said Workflows lets firms hand over work that buries their teams without giving up their standards.

The Charles Schwab Corporation. (2026, October 29). Schwab's 2026 Independent Advisor Outlook Study: RIAs embrace what's new without losing what sets the industry apart [Press release]. https://pressroom.aboutschwab.com/press-releases/press-release/2026/Schwabs-2026-Independent-Advisor-Outlook-Study-RIAs-Embrace-Whats-New-Without-Losing-What-Sets-the-Industry-Apart/default.aspx Schwab Advisor Services released its 2026 Independent Advisor Outlook Study at its 36th annual IMPACT conference, drawing on a survey of 1,235 RIAs who custody with Schwab and together represent $497 billion in AUM. Advisors named being a fiduciary as the top benefit of being an RIA (64%), and 90% said the fiduciary model is very helpful in keeping clients' best interests in mind. AUM remains the primary growth measure for 75% of firms, while 70% of advisors expect client referrals and 60% expect exceptional service to drive growth over the next three years. Emerging offerings are expanding: 66% of advisors provide trading capabilities, 50% offer pledged asset lines, and 45% offer alternative investments, most commonly real estate (72%) and private equity (71%). Thirty-seven percent of RIAs offer private market investments today, and another 13% plan to add them within three years. RIAs are investing in AI integration to improve workflows (49%), yet only 7% use agentic AI today, and 66% plan to use AI mainly to support the client experience while keeping the advisor relationship personal. AI regulation and guidance is the top area where RIAs want industry advocacy (38%), with 68% preferring clear, easy-to-understand AI standards and only 4% favoring all-encompassing mandates. Knote: While only 38% of advisors want AI regulation and guidance advocacy but it was the highest ranked item and I suspect the C-Suite results are much higher still.

Raymond James Financial, Inc. (RJF) Q4 FY2026 earnings call transcript. (2026, October 28). Yahoo Finance. https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/RJF/earnings/RJF-Q4-2026-earnings_call-659986.html Raymond James said it continues advancing automation, process improvement, and AI as part of its more than $1.1 billion in annual technology spending. CEO Paul Shoukry cited the firm's proprietary AI assistant, Raimond, and an AI-powered integrated CRM meeting manager as tools that improve access to institutional knowledge, client insights, and workflow support. The firm recently rolled out a meeting manager workflow that uses AI to help advisors prepare for and summarize client meetings, generate action items and follow-ups, and automatically integrate them into CRM and supervisory systems. Shoukry stated that the firm's technology and AI investments are not aimed at disintermediating financial advisors but at saving advisors and associates time on administrative tasks so they can focus on client relationships. Shoukry identified scale as a key driver of recruiting profitability, noting that many competing firms cannot keep up with the firm's $1.1 billion technology investment given their size. The firm is evaluating AI utilization across every function and reported early efficiency improvements that are incorporated into fiscal 2027 non-compensation expense guidance of about 8% growth, or 7% excluding acquisitions. Shoukry noted that AI concerns affected fintech earlier in the year, and the firm achieved record fiscal 2026 investment banking revenues of more than $1.1 billion despite concerns about disruption from emerging technologies. Knote: They see tech as one of the pillars of attraction for advisor recruitment. Nothing new, but it is nice to see they are putting their money where their mouth is.

Wealthsimple, the Toronto-based digital financial services company, has agreed to an equity round of up to approximately $303 million (CAD $425 million) at a post-money valuation of approximately $9.9 billion (CAD $13.8 billion). The round includes a primary offering of about $214 million and a secondary offering of up to about $89 million. GIC, which co-led Wealthsimple's 2025 round, led the investment, with participation from existing investors Power Corporation of Canada, IGM Financial, ICONIQ, CPP Investments, and Inovia. Wealthsimple offers managed investing, self-directed trading, checking and spending, and tax filing to more than 4 million Canadians and over 30,000 businesses. As of September 30, 2026, it held about $121 billion in assets under administration, up from roughly $71 billion at the time of its October 2025 raise. It launched more than 50 products in the past year, including options and futures trading, IPO Access, and business checking. In Q2 2026, new checking account openings outpaced new investment accounts for the first time. The profitable company will use the new capital to expand its business, spending, checking, trading, and investment products and to invest in technology infrastructure. For advisors, platforms, and integrators, the raise shows how a firm that started as an investing app has grown into a full financial platform, now reaching 1 in 4 Canadians aged 18 to 40. A well-funded digital competitor continues to raise the bar for client experience and product breadth in Canadian wealth management. Knote: Young people want to be able to control their entire financial lives with just their thumbs. 1 in 4 young Canadians use Wealthsimple and it is similar for Robinhood (75% of their 28 million funded accounts are 43 or younger, so maybe 15-20% penetration). Link to Press Release

Nevis, which is building the AI operating system for wealth management, has raised a $70 million Series B led by EQT Ventures, with participation from Charles Schwab, Sequoia Capital, ICONIQ, QuantumLight and Ribbit Capital. Schwab joins as a strategic investor, and QuantumLight is the venture firm founded by Revolut CEO Nik Storonsky. The round brings total funding to $110 million in the two years since Revolut alumni Mark Swan, Philipp Burda and Ivan Chalov founded the company. Nevis brings CRM, meeting intelligence, financial planning and custodial workflows into one platform, with AI agents that complete operational work end to end. Over the past year, assets on the platform grew from $50 billion to more than $700 billion, revenue grew more than 25x, and its agents completed over 100,000 operational tasks. Customers include Focus Financial Partners, IEQ Capital and United Capital, and the company says advisors using Nevis reclaim up to 10 hours a week. Nevis plans to accelerate development of its AI agents and expand across the entire wealth management technology stack. Schwab's participation fits a theme from WealthTech Themes for the Next 5 Years: the rise of corporate venture capital, where incumbents take minority stakes to keep eyes on innovation, find the right partners and build a pipeline of potential acquisitions. Nevis says the deeper partnership will let it extend its agents across Schwab's custodial infrastructure, which supports more than 17,000 independent RIAs. Jon Beatty, head of Schwab Advisor Services, said the investment expands Schwab's AI ecosystem for advisors. MMnote: Schwab has now written six minority checks in less than two years: Wealth.com (twice), Qapita, Dynasty Financial Partners, Provable Markets and now Nevis. Link to Press Release