The Fintech Times. (2026, June 27). Oxyfinz unveils free software initiative to bridge the UAE wealth management technology gap. The Fintech Times. https://thefintechtimes.com/oxyfinz-unveils-free-software-initiative-to-bridge-the-uae-wealth-management-technology-gap/ UAE-based wealthtech and data intelligence platform Oxyfinz has launched an SME growth initiative that grants select boutique firms free access to enterprise-grade portfolio management tools and data infrastructure. The program opens the complete Oxyfinz software suite to 20 qualifying firms at no cost for an initial 12-month period, with no feature limitations, usage caps, or hidden conditions. Eligibility is open to boutique wealth and asset managers, independent External Asset Managers, multi-family offices, and capital advisory firms operating within the DIFC and ADGM jurisdictions that currently manage fewer than 20 active clients. The initiative targets a technological disparity in which boutique and independent firms rely on manual workflows for data aggregation, trade reconciliation, and portfolio lifecycle management while large institutions deploy sophisticated integrated frameworks. The Abu Dhabi Global Market recorded a 57 per cent increase in Assets Under Management during the first quarter of 2026, while the Dubai International Financial Centre wealth hub now hosts more than 500 asset and wealth management firms. CEO Vedant Makhija said the initiative is designed to eliminate the manual burden so boutique External Asset Managers can automate their infrastructure, combat rising operational costs, and compete at an institutional level. Established in the UAE in 2023, Oxyfinz consolidates multi-asset data streams into real-time insights via a unified dashboard, and qualifying regional firms can submit applications through the company portal starting today. Knote: This is an interesting go-to-market strategy. Probably worth watching if you are a startup founder.

Margaria, S., Kim, H., Lim, J., Reyna, D., Roy, M., & Beogradlija, V. (2026, June 15). 2026 US model portfolio landscape. Morningstar. https://www.morningstar.com/en-us/business/insights/research/model-portfolio-landscape Third-party model portfolio assets reached USD 934 billion at the end of March 2026, a 46% increase over the trailing year and more than triple the level of Morningstar's first survey in June 2021, approaching the USD 1 trillion mark. BlackRock remained the largest model portfolio provider with USD 308 billion, roughly one-third of total model assets, and took more than half of 2025's net inflows at USD 24.2 billion. Model portfolios gathered USD 42.6 billion of net inflows in 2025, a 42% increase over the prior year, with Capital Group, now the second-largest provider, drawing nearly USD 12 billion. Exchange-traded funds have become models' preferred vehicle, occupying 55% of model allocations on average as of March 2026, up from 43% five years earlier. Model portfolios' average asset-weighted fee fell to a new low of 0.35% at year-end 2025, below the 0.61% average for unbundled mutual funds. Nearly 70% of surveyed firms already offer or plan to offer private-asset exposure within models, with interval funds the preferred vehicle and private credit, private real estate, and private equity the most-cited exposures. Custom model assets totaled USD 258 billion as of March 31, 2026, a 40% gain over the prior year, with BlackRock and Wilshire leading the segment. Knote: Tremendous growth continues in the model portfolio market but we expect that growth to increase with the democratization of alternatives since we believe TAMPs and model portfolios will be the gatekeepers of alternatives in the wealth management channel.

WEALTHTECH SAFARI A Guided Tour of WealthTech News Week of June 26, 2026 Edward Jones takes stake in elder-fraud startup Carefull • Edward D. Jones & Co., a 20,000-broker wirehouse, has taken a minority stake in Carefull, a fintech that monitors client accounts for signs of scams and cognitive decline, and will offer the service free to its 9 million clients. • With Americans over 60 reporting more than $7.7 billion in cyber-enabled fraud losses in 2025, the deal signals how protective services are becoming central to how advisors support vulnerable clients and their families. Knote: This is an excellent example of actually putting the client first vs just talking about it. It's a serious issue and the fact that they are making it available for free gets the big “thumbs-up” from me. Bravissimo! Read More → Hightower maps its next phase around Signature Wealth and Hightower One • Hightower CEO Larry Restieri detailed a “Hightower 3.0” strategy centered on consolidating under the Hightower Signature Wealth brand and building out Hightower One, its middle-office platform for onboarding and investment management. • The framing of AI as broader “technology” that supports rather than replaces the advisor relationship reflects how large RIA aggregators are positioning their tech stacks as a core competitive differentiator. Knote: It's always good to hear Larry's thoughts. He seems to be focusing quite a bit on the tech stack. I have no argument there. Read More → Arca exits stealth with $64 million to put advisors at the center of AI-powered wealth • Arca, an AI-native wealth manager founded by former Plaid product leader Rron Rexha, emerged from stealth with $64 million across seed and Series A rounds, led by General Catalyst with Index Ventures and Venrock, and already manages more than $1 billion in client assets. • Backed by names like Vanguard's Bill McNabb and Altruist's Jason Wenk, Arca joins a wave of “tech-forward RIAs” using AI to automate back-office work so advisors can spend more time with clients. Knote: This is the latest in the new breed of “tech-forward RIAs” looking to “lift-up” advisors instead of “roll-up” advisors. It's the slower road, but considering that Farther is now at $28B, there is not too much wrong with slow these days. Read More → Robinhood raises $2.0 billion in convertible notes to fund future growth • Robinhood Markets priced a $2.0 billion private offering of 0.00% convertible senior notes due 2029, netting roughly $1.97 billion that it will use partly to repurchase shares, fund capped calls, and pursue organic growth and potential acquisitions. • As Robinhood's large base of self-directed traders ages into prime savings years, the flexible capital positions the firm to monetize that base through expanded advice and services—underscoring the theme of self-directed trading as lead generation. Knote: This structure is a bit more like straight debt than a normal convertible bond. The company sells a convertible bond (so they are selling a bond plus a call option, effectively). They then enter into an OTC derivative transaction with a bank(s) to buy back that call, basically making it straight debt, and then they sell a call struck much higher to help finance the purchase of the call (a call spread). The net effect is like they sold a straight bond and a way out of the money call (154%, according to the company). Fancy. Read More → RightCapital launches Iris AI agent to streamline financial planning • RightCapital introduced Iris, an AI planning agent that analyzes client data directly within its software to flag missing information, identify plan inconsistencies, run real-time retirement simulations, and generate customized strategies via tools like Double Check, Cash Flow Reviews, and Plan Builder. • By grounding every output in its proprietary calculation engine and including Iris free for Premium and Platinum subscribers, RightCapital pushes agentic AI into core planning workflows while constraining results to verified, platform-native solutions. Read More → Jade enters the WealthTech fray to arm advisors against concentrated stock risk • Jade, a Boston-based fintech co-founded by Jared Lucas and Steven Dorval, launched an integrated options platform that helps RIAs manage concentrated stock positions through covered calls, protective puts, and collars while automating execution, monitoring, and reporting. • With direct integrations to Schwab, Fidelity, and Pershing plus built-in compliance oversight, Jade targets a long-underserved niche where operational complexity has historically limited advisor adoption of options strategies. Read More → Vanguard's 25th “How America Saves” reveals a quiet retirement revolution • Vanguard's annual study of nearly five million workers found retirement plan participation hit a record 86% of eligible employees, the average savings rate reached an all-time high of 12.1%, and employer matches rose to a record 4.7%. • The data shows automatic enrollment and professionally managed allocations are quietly reshaping saver behavior, even as rising hardship withdrawals point to persistent gaps in short-term financial resilience. Read More → SyntheticFi raises $13M and surpasses $2B in regulatory AUM • SyntheticFi raised $13 million—backed by Y Combinator, NextGen VP, and Social Leverage—and topped $2 billion in regulatory AUM, roughly tripling its platform this year to more than 3,000 advisors across 300-plus firms. • By bringing institutional financing strategies like box spreads and variable prepaid forwards down-market, SyntheticFi advances the Family Office as-a-Service trend, embedding liability optimization into everyday advisors' holistic planning. Read More → Festina Finance raises €25M to drive UK expansion and platform growth • Denmark's Festina Finance secured a growth investment of more than €25 million (about $29 million) from Birchway Capital at a roughly €200 million valuation, fueling development of its Life and Pensions platform and expansion into the UK. • As the industry braces for Peak 65, infrastructure providers handling pension policies, capital administration, and payments are well positioned to benefit from advisors and platforms seeking scalable, fiduciary-friendly retirement tools. Read More → Redseer report charts India's digital investing boom • A new Redseer report finds India's digital investing market entering a growth phase driven by “depth rather than discovery,” with the average investor holding about ₹10 lakh and adding nearly ₹3 lakh a year—an inflow equal to roughly a third of holdings. • With concentration still in mutual fund SIPs and direct equity and large awareness-but-not-usage gaps across products, the report argues the next winner will be a “depth winner” that monetizes engagement rather than scale. Knote: The average digital investor in India only has about $10,600 in their account, but they are contributing $3,200 per year. What they don't have in assets they make up for in numbers: 131M investors and growing at 30% per year. It's really just a matter of time. Read More → 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! 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Edward D. Jones & Co. has taken a minority stake in Carefull, a fintech firm that works to prevent elder financial fraud, according to an announcement. Carefull monitors client accounts and alerts the client or a trusted contact when it detects suspicious activity, scanning transactions, credit reports, email, home titles and other sources for signs of scams or cognitive decline. As part of the investment, the St. Louis firm's roughly 20,000 brokers can offer the service free to its 9 million clients. The move responds to a growing problem: Americans over 60 reported more than $7.7 billion in losses from cyber-enabled financial crime in 2025, per an FBI report. The deal matters because advisors increasingly sit on the front lines when clients show signs of vulnerability, and protective services are becoming central to how firms support families. Carefull operates on a read-only basis and cannot act on a client's behalf, while clients connect an average of 5.2 accounts. The startup, founded in 2019, has raised about $20 million total, and counts $700 billion-asset Osaic and several RIAs among its customers. Competitors include EverSafe and True Link Financial. The investment reflects the rise of corporate venture capital in wealth management. Edward Jones launched its venture unit in 2024 and has since backed estate planning firm Vanilla, long-term care planner Waterlily and annuity program Porch Software. Such stakes give incumbents early visibility into emerging technology, move capital closer to product, and build a pipeline of partnerships that can be rolled out to clients at scale. Knote: This is an excellent example of actually putting the client first vs just talking about it. It's a serious issue and the fact that they are making it available for free gets the big "thumbs-up" from me. Bravissimo! https://www.advisorhub.com/edward-jones-invests-in-elder-fraud-prevention-startup/

Wealth Management Staff. (2026, June 25). Hightower's next phase: Signature Wealth, Hightower One and the role of wealthtech. WealthManagement.com. https://www.wealthmanagement.com/ria-edge/hightower-s-next-phase-signature-wealth-hightower-one-and-the-role-of-wealthtech CEO Larry Restieri states that Hightower's next phase focuses on consolidating around its new brand, Hightower Signature Wealth, which he describes as the firm's in-house, fully integrated RIA model. Restieri explains that the firm is building on its middle-office stack, a platform called Hightower One, aimed at making onboarding and investment management best-in-class so advisors can focus on their clients. He frames Hightower's goal as working with all of its independent firms to help them grow, enabling advisors at the firm level while supporting them from the home office. Restieri reframes the AI conversation more broadly as technology, citing fintech and WealthTech firms that are making it easier for advisors to deliver more for their clients. He maintains that wealth management is fundamentally a people business and that the client-advisor relationship is the cornerstone, asserting that new tools cannot replicate that relationship even as note-taker and AI solutions proliferate. He describes setting a clear vision with full transparency under the firm's "Hightower 3.0" strategy, ensuring everyone understands what the firm is doing, why, and how it benefits them and their clients. Knote: It's always good to hear Larry's thoughts. He seems to be focusing quite a bit on the tech stack. I have no argument there.

Robinhood Markets announced on June 22, 2026, that it has priced a private offering of $2.0 billion in aggregate principal amount of 0.00% convertible senior notes due 2029, sold to qualified institutional buyers under Rule 144A. The company granted initial purchasers an option to buy up to an additional $200 million in notes, and the offering is expected to close on June 25, 2026. Net proceeds are estimated at approximately $1.97 billion after discounts and expenses. Robinhood (NASDAQ: HOOD) is the brokerage best known for popularizing commission-free, self-directed trading among retail investors. Robinhood described the raise as an opportunistic move to enhance strategic flexibility. It intends to use roughly $290 million to repurchase Class A shares, $112 million to fund capped call transactions designed to limit dilution, and the remainder for general corporate purposes that may include organic growth investments, potential acquisitions, and capital expenditures. The notes will not bear regular interest and carry an initial conversion price of about $174.42 per share. For the WealthTech industry, the raise highlights the theme of self-directed trading as lead generation. Robinhood's large base of self-directed users is aging into prime savings years, when demand for advice grows, and flexible capital positions the firm to monetize that base through expanded services and acquisitions. Knote: This structure is a bit more like straight debt than a normal convertible bond. The company sells a convertible bond (so they are selling a bond plus a call option, effectively). They then enter into an OTC derivative transaction with a bank(s) to buy back that call, basically making it straight debt, and then they sell a call struck much higher to help finance the purchase of the call (a call spread). The net effect is like they sold a straight bond and a way out of the money call (154%, according to the company). Fancy. https://investors.robinhood.com/node/16066/html

Arca, an AI-native wealth management company, emerged from stealth on June 24, 2025, announcing it had raised $64 million across a seed round and a Series A. The $48.5 million Series A was led by General Catalyst, with participation from Index Ventures and Venrock. Venrock also led the company's earlier $15.5 million seed round. Arca currently manages more than $1 billion in client assets and employs 28 people across wealth management operations, product, and engineering. Founded by Rron Rexha, a former product leader at Plaid, Arca pairs human financial advisors with purpose-built AI infrastructure designed to eliminate the operational friction that consumes advisor time. The company argues that more than a third of U.S. households holding tens of trillions in assets lack access to proactive, personalized wealth management, in part because advisors at the more than 15,000 SEC-registered RIAs spend less than 20% of their time with clients. Arca's platform is built to change that ratio by handling manual, repetitive back-office workflows automatically. The funding will be used to grow Arca's client base, expand its advisory team, and continue developing its platform and brand. The company's board and advisors include Bill McNabb, former CEO and chairman of Vanguard Group, Jason Wenk, founder and CEO of Altruist, and Morgan Housel, author of The Psychology of Money. Arca's approach positions the advisor, not the algorithm, as the primary driver of client outcomes, using AI to support rather than supplant the human relationship at the core of wealth management. Knote: This is the latest in the new breed of "tech-forward RIAs" looking to "lift-up" advisors instead of "roll-up" advisors. It's the slower road, but considering that Farther is now at $28B, there is not too much wrong with slow these days. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260624333055/en/Arca-Raises-%2464-Million-to-Revolutionize-and-Humanize-Wealth-Management-at-Scale

Janowski, D. (2026, June 23). RightCapital launches Iris AI agent to streamline financial planning workflow. Wealth Management. https://www.wealthmanagement.com/artificial-intelligence/rightcapital-launches-iris RightCapital has introduced Iris, an AI planning agent built to help financial advisors create and manage client financial plans without disrupting existing workflows. The company states that Iris is the first AI agent capable of directly analyzing client information within financial planning software to review profile data, identify plan inconsistencies and execute retirement simulations in real time. The agent's Double Check function scans client profiles for missing information or data inconsistencies that could affect plan accuracy. The Cash Flow Reviews feature highlights critical planning considerations such as anomalies, assumption risks and potential gaps that may create future financial concerns. The Plan Builder tool lets advisors set probability targets and receive three customized strategies based on adjustable variables like retirement age or living expenses. All outputs originate from RightCapital's proprietary calculation engine, restricting insights to the platform's verified solutions, while firms retain control over team access at the organizational level. Iris is immediately available at no additional charge to all financial planners and assistants on RightCapital's Premium and Platinum subscription tiers.

FusionIQ, a digital wealth management platform serving financial institutions and advisors, has completed its acquisition of Marstone, Inc., a pioneering independent digital wealth technology provider founded in Providence in 2013. The combination unites FusionIQ's enterprise platform, which spans digital advice, self-directed brokerage, an advisory workbench, and multi-custodian integrations, with Marstone's goal-based financial planning and financial wellness tools. Together the firms aim to serve banks, credit unions, broker-dealers, RIAs, and non-financial companies seeking wealth management capabilities. Marstone's founders are joining FusionIQ's leadership team. Co-founder and CEO Margaret J. Hartigan becomes Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Marstone Digital, while co-founder Christopher D. LaVine becomes Chief Delivery and Growth Officer. FusionIQ CEO Eric Noll said the two companies share a mission of making financial guidance accessible to everyone. The combined platform offers deep institutional connectivity across custodians such as Pershing, asset managers including BlackRock, and banking systems like Q2 and Jack Henry. For advisors and institutions, the deal reflects a broader Family Office as-a-Service trend, in which firms expand beyond pure portfolio management toward integrated planning, wellness, and holistic services delivered at scale. By pairing client-facing journeys with industrial-grade portfolio and custodial integrations, the merged platform shortens onboarding and brings high-touch capabilities further down-market. The transaction signals continued consolidation in WealthTech as institutions digitize and compete to reach clients across the full arc of wealth creation. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260622054913/en/FusionIQ-Acquires-Marstone-Uniting-Two-Digital-Wealth-Management-Pioneers

Clark, G. (2026, June 22). Jade enters WealthTech fray to arm advisors against concentrated stock risk. BriefGlance. https://briefglance.com/articles/jade-enters-wealthtech-fray-to-arm-advisors-against-concentrated-stock-risk Jade, a Boston-based financial technology firm co-founded by Jared Lucas and Steven Dorval, launched on June 22, 2026, with an integrated options platform aimed at helping registered investment advisors manage concentrated stock positions. Concentrated positions, frequently arising from executive compensation or business sales, present diversification challenges that options strategies can address but whose operational complexity has historically limited advisor adoption. The platform supports covered calls, protective puts, and collars while automating trade execution, monitoring, and performance reporting to reduce administrative burden. Jade incorporates integrated compliance oversight and direct integrations with major custodians including Schwab, Fidelity, and Pershing to eliminate manual data reconciliation. Jade positions itself against generic WealthTech tools, packaged overlay products, and manual processes by offering advisor-level customization combined with integrated compliance and scalable execution. The founders, whose careers span John Hancock and New York Life, launched an early access program called the Jade Alpha Circle to build a user community and iterate on advisor feedback.

Vanguard. (2026, June 16). Vanguard's 25th "How America Saves" reveals a quiet retirement revolution. Vanguard. https://corporate.vanguard.com/content/corporatesite/us/en/corp/who-we-are/pressroom/press-release-vanguards-twenty-fifth-how-america-saves-reveals-quiet-retirement-revolution-061626.html The 25th annual report analyzes the retirement behaviors of nearly five million American workers and indicates savers are in a stronger position than ever. Participation in retirement plans reached a record 86% of eligible employees, up from 65% over the period covered by the report series. Nearly two-thirds of plans now default participants at a 4% or higher automatic enrollment rate, with about one-third defaulting at 6%. Approximately 70% of participants use professionally managed allocations, and employer matching contributions rose to a record 4.7%. The average participant savings rate reached an all-time high of 12.1% in 2025, with 45% of participants increasing their savings rate during the year. Account balances rose 13% year over year, while only 5% of participants traded during periods of market volatility. The report notes increased hardship withdrawals, signaling ongoing gaps in short-term financial resilience that require additional participant support solutions.

SyntheticFi has raised $13 million and surpassed $2 billion in regulatory assets under management, the company announced on June 15, 2026. The financing came from Y Combinator, NextGen VP, Social Leverage, The Compound Capital Fund, and other investors across the wealth management ecosystem. Founded in 2023, the SEC-registered firm is now used by more than 3,000 advisors across 300-plus advisory firms, roughly tripling its platform since the start of the year. SyntheticFi gives advisors a single platform for sophisticated financing strategies such as box spreads and variable prepaid forwards, tools historically available only to institutions and ultra-high-net-worth investors. The company says these approaches can help clients lower borrowing costs, improve tax efficiency, and access liquidity without selling appreciated assets. According to the firm, advisors are increasingly weighing financing alongside investment and tax decisions rather than treating borrowing as a standalone transaction. That shift reflects the broader move toward Family Office as-a-Service, in which technology brings the high-touch capabilities of a family office, including liability optimization, down-market to everyday advisory firms. By embedding financing into holistic planning, SyntheticFi positions advisors to collaborate closer to the center of a client's financial life. The company plans to use the new capital for product development, deeper advisor partnerships, and team expansion. https://www.syntheticfi.com/blog/syntheticfi-raises-13m-surpasses-2b-in-regulatory-aum