Breen, O. (2026, July 2). Vestmark strikes 'standalone-RIA' black gold as (TAMP) AUM leaps past $50-billion -- a five-fold increase -- after critical upgrade triggers T. Rowe Price, BlackRock, Capital Group, and VanEck referral gusher. RIABiz. https://riabiz.com/a/2026/7/3/vestmark-strikes-standalone-ria-black-gold-as-tamp-aum-leaps-past-50-billion-a-five-fold-increase-after-critical-upgrade-triggers-t-rowe-price-blackrock-capital-group-and-vaneck-referral-gusher Vestmark Advisory Services now manages $50 billion of RIA portfolios, up from $10 billion 18 months ago, a five-fold increase the firm attributes largely to referral relationships with major asset managers. Executive vice president Rob Battista credits rising standalone-RIA demand and work with leading asset managers, which created a meaningful referral channel bringing more individual RIA relationships into the business. The deal-clinching feature was tax management, delivered through the firm's 2023-launched customizable UMA tax overlay and direct-indexing tool VAST, whose assets grew from under $100 million in early 2025 to more than $10 billion today. Vestmark administers over $2 trillion, has run LPL's SMA platform since 2005 and UBS's similar program since 2008, and supports six of the 10 largest managed account program providers in the country. Scott MacKillop, WealthTech Strategy Partners advisor and former CEO of First Ascent, argues the acceleration is explained by new relationships with large asset managers rather than any unique competitive technology advantage. Cerulli's Scott Smith says improving tax management has been the top platform development priority over the last two years, cited by 76% of platforms in 2026, and that UMAs received the plurality of managed account platform inflows in 2024 and 2025. Vestmark expects approximately $10 billion more in assets to move onto the VAS platform by year-end 2026, with the vast majority of flows coming from RIAs and roughly half of the pipeline from new RIA relationships. Knote: Third-party models grew 46% last year, which is excellent growth. But, it seems Vestmark is growing even faster with smart technology use, courting relationships with the asset managers, and good targeting.

LemFi has received approval to acquire Wealth8, a UK-based investment platform, in a move that extends the company from payments into wealth management. Founded in 2021, LemFi began as a remittance provider and has since expanded into credit and savings, with the Wealth8 deal adding investing to its lineup. LemFi has been backed by investors including Highland Europe, Left Lane Capital, Endeavor Catalyst, Palm Drive Capital, and Y Combinator. Wealth8 was built to make investing accessible to underserved customers, offering account minimums as low as roughly $10 and an app-based service that provides access to funds and ETFs through partnerships with established financial firms. LemFi says it plans to scale Wealth8's offering across its user base of more than 2 million people, spanning the UK, US, Europe, and Australia, with remittance services reaching customers in Africa and Asia. The acquisition reflects a wider WealthTech pattern in which platforms holding large, non-advisory customer bases treat those relationships as a pipeline into investment services. As users of payments and savings tools build wealth, their need for advice and structured investing grows, and firms that already hold the account relationship are positioned to capture that demand. For advisors, platforms, and integrators, LemFi's expansion shows how everyday financial tools increasingly serve as lead generation for higher-value wealth offerings. https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2026/07/288840-wealthtech-lemfi-acquires-wealth8-in-the-uk/

Product — WealthFeed: An AI-powered prospecting and organic-growth platform for financial advisors that surfaces real-time "money-in-motion" intelligence (inheritances, liquidity events, business sales, promotions, retirements), warm-introduction paths, data enrichment, compliant outreach, and inbound web-lead capture. Customer — The Mather Group (TMG): A Chicago-based, fee-only, planning-led national RIA (founded 2011) serving high- and ultra-high-net-worth families, which has named WealthFeed its exclusive enterprise prospecting platform. Customer scale metrics: ~$17 billion in client assets under advisement ~100 advisors across 14 offices nationally More than 20 acquisitions completed since 2018 Recognized on Barron's Top 100 RIA Firms list Significance of the transaction: TMG is standardizing prospecting firm-wide, giving both legacy and newly acquired advisor teams a single, consistent process for identifying high-intent prospects — making WealthFeed the backbone of TMG's organic growth strategy across a rapidly consolidating RIA. The exclusive, enterprise-wide mandate (sole approved platform) is a meaningful competitive win that deepens WealthFeed's penetration in the enterprise RIA segment rather than just serving individual advisors. It builds on WealthFeed's 2025 strategic partnership and minority investment from Broadridge Financial Solutions, signaling continued enterprise momentum and validating its money-in-motion model at scale. Knote: This is a solid win for WealthFeed and these sorts of exclusive agreements are not as common as one might think. Sources: WealthFeed Selected by The Mather Group as Exclusive Prospecting Platform

MDOTM, a London-founded provider of AI-driven investment solutions for asset and wealth managers, has closed a $27 million growth equity round led by Expedition Growth Capital, bringing its total funding to $36.5 million. The round adds two new board members: Steve Twomey, a Partner at Expedition, and James Hays, chairman of IFC Advisors and former CEO of Wells Fargo Advisors, joining founders Tommaso Migliore, Federico Mazzorin and Federico Invernizzi. The capital will fund international expansion and hiring across AI research, engineering, product, sales and client solutions. The money follows real traction. MDOTM's platform, Sphere, now supports more than $100 billion in assets across more than 60 financial institutions, including Morgan Stanley, Amundi and Zurich Bank, spanning the US, UK and Europe. Sphere is built for human-AI collaboration: it reads market and macro data to flag regime shifts, lets investment teams layer in their own views, then pushes those inputs into portfolio construction and rebalancing tools, with a generative AI layer (StoryFolio) that drafts personalized portfolio commentary and client reporting. Behind it sits a team of more than 60 data scientists, engineers and finance professionals, backed by the MDOTM LAB, an academic network of 20-plus professors and PhDs. The raise lands squarely in a trend line wealth managers know well: fee compression on one side, rising demand for personalization on the other, with neither solvable by simply hiring more advisors. As portfolio orchestration grows more complex, with more inputs, more constraints and thousands of portfolios to manage at once, firms are looking to AI to handle the scale rather than adding headcount. CEO Tommaso Migliore framed it directly: the question institutions are asking is no longer whether to use AI in investment decisions, but how to deploy it across thousands of portfolios while keeping control, which is why Sphere is already running in production at major firms. Expedition's Steve Twomey put the opportunity in infrastructure terms, arguing that while financial institutions have spent a decade buying front-end and back-office software, the middle, rebalancing, house-view alignment and client commentary, has stayed stuck in spreadsheets. Knote: I was on a panel with Arianna Colombo from MDOTM in London last spring as we are both on a mission to upgrade the managed portfolio market in the UK. They have the tech to help make it happen. In case you were wondering, the name comes from the fact that the two founders both have the last initial "M". https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260630510937/en/MDOTM-Raises-%2427M-Growth-Equity-Round-Led-by-Expedition-Growth-Capital-as-AI-Adoption-Permeates-the-Asset-and-Wealth-Management-Industry

Breen, O. (2026, July 1). Trump accounts touch off rush to siphon rollovers from Trump-favored Robinhood, including Acorns' new ploy -- a kiddie advisory board – which draws analysts' scoffs and plaudits as the micro-niche heats up. RIABiz. https://riabiz.com/a/2026/7/2/trump-accounts-touch-off-rush-to-siphon-rollovers-from-trump-favored-robinhood-including-acorns-new-ploy-a-kiddie-advisory-board-which-draws-analysts-scoffs-and-plaudits-as-the-micro-niche-heats-up Acorns named four children aged seven to 15 to a new "Kid Advisory Board" that will review its software and advise on its Acorns Early product as it competes for Gen-Alpha investors. The board launch follows the US Treasury Department's April 6 confirmation that Robinhood will serve as the default brokerage for the tax-advantaged "Trump Accounts" seeded with $1,000 for eligible newborns. Acorns is locked out of direct Trump account custody because its fixed subscription fees, when translated into basis points, often far exceed the federal 10 basis point cap. Acorns will pay its new child advisors as much as $82,000 in total, with the seven-year-old member eligible for up to $50,000. Former Betterment CEO Jon Stein said the strategic direction toward family finance is sound even though the "kid advisory board" packaging is easy to poke fun at. Cerulli Associates senior director Scott Smith called such programs a defensive play that supports an overpriced product and is largely unimpactful to the business overall. Acorns now serves 8.2 million investors with an average balance of $1,637 and manages $13.4 billion, well below similarly aged rivals Betterment and Wealthfront, which manage $70 billion and $95 billion respectively. Knote: It's not clear to me that this will help attract Trump Accounts away from Robinhood, but I am all for starting financial education early. If anyone wants a copy of the one and only children's book I ever wrote, "Mia Meets the Interest Fairy", let me know.

Peluso, J. (2026, June 26). Thurston Capital expands advisor technology ecosystem. AdvisorHub. https://www.advisorhub.com/resources/thurston-capital-expands-advisor-technology-ecosystem/ Thurston Capital has expanded its advisor technology ecosystem through a series of strategic investments aimed at strengthening advisor resources, enhancing client engagement, and improving operational efficiency. Chief Experience Officer Regina Rudnick said the additions reflect the firm's commitment to giving independent financial advisors the tools, support, and flexibility they need to grow their businesses and deliver client service. The firm has added and deepened relationships with technology providers including Wealth.com, Zocks, Jump, EPIC, and other strategic partners. EVP and Partner John Peluso said Thurston Capital evaluates technology across four lenses: building technology around advisor needs, enhancing the client relationship, commitment to security and compliance, and simplifying through integration. CEO Rick Parker said the firm will continue to evaluate emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, to enhance advisor productivity in areas such as workflow automation, meeting preparation, documentation, communication, and operational support. The platform combines Wells Fargo's enterprise-level desktop technology with the customization, optionality, and personalized support typical of an independent RIA. Thurston Capital is the parent company of a platform that includes Bristal Lane Group, TruEdge Asset Management, Thurston Springer Financial, Thurston Springer Advisors, PEAK Brokerage Services, Blackridge Asset Management, Top Advisors Group, and RIA Services Exchange, serving independent financial advisors nationally from its Indianapolis base.

Orion. (2026, June 29). Orion among the first in wealthtech to earn ISO 42001, the international AI management system standard. Business Wire. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260629832926/en/Orion-Among-the-First-in-Wealthtech-to-Earn-ISO-42001-the-International-AI-Management-System-Standard Orion announced it has achieved ISO/IEC 42001 certification, the first international standard for artificial intelligence management systems, following an independent third-party audit. The certification validates the AI Management System that governs the Denali AI intelligence layer embedded across Orion's workflows, placing Orion among the first in wealthtech and the first known portfolio accounting provider to meet the standard. ISO 42001 sets requirements for how organizations establish, maintain, and continually improve AI governance across its lifecycle, including risk assessment, transparency, data governance, oversight of third-party AI providers, and human oversight. CEO Natalie Wolfsen said the certification is independent validation that Orion has the right policies for using AI, a rigorous process for vetting AI providers, and the controls to ensure AI-produced materials meet a high standard of quality. In Orion's 2026 Advisor Wealthtech Survey, advisors named AI and automation the number one force multiplier for firm growth, while only one in ten reported using advanced AI capabilities and nearly a quarter had no AI tools in place. Reed Colley, President of Orion Advisor Technology, said 2026 represents the company's largest R&D investment ever, focused squarely on AI embedded directly into the workflows advisors use every day. As of March 31, 2026, Orion services USD 5.9 trillion in assets under administration and USD 185 billion of wealth management platform assets, supports more than 8.3 million technology accounts, and reports that 17 of the top 20 Barron's RIA firms rely on its technology. Knote: I think having an AI governance certification process is a fantastic idea. I'm not convinced best practices have been fully established yet, but it's too important to put off.

Hubbis. (2026, June 29). Maybank equips relationship managers with AI-driven advisory platform. Hubbis. https://www.hubbis.com/news/maybank-equips-relationship-managers-with-ai-driven-advisory-platform Maybank is introducing new AI-powered advisory tools to enhance its wealth management offering and support relationship managers with more data-led client engagement. The Malaysian banking group is rolling out Advisor Assist, a wealth advisory platform developed by wealth technology provider Evooq. The platform gives relationship managers access to portfolio insights, risk analytics, and recommended next steps for client conversations. Advisor Assist consolidates client portfolio information, investment opportunities, and actionable intelligence into a single advisory view. The deployment continues Maybank's broader exploration of digital innovation across the business. Earlier in 2026, the bank announced a pilot involving tokenised ringgit for cross-border payments. The move follows Maybank's recent results, in which profit declined by 4.2%, partly due to weaker trading income.

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/