Three Crowns Mixtape: June 24, 2022
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Important financial industry news + marketing insights + good music.
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Big news this week, and we aren’t just talking that new Beyoncé single (although you know we’ve been jamming out to that on repeat). Read on to find the latest updates on Bento Engine, fintech integrations and more.
Must-Read Financial Industry & Marketing Articles
BENTO ENGINE GETS THAT BAG
For years, fintech has been trying to solve the issue of how to help advisors expand their brains without massively expanding the hours they spend talking to clients.
Is Bento Engine the company to finally do it? According to the impressive roster of investors in its seed funding round, it might be.
Bento is like a CRM combined with a communication app. It looks for upcoming events that might impact a client, and then it tries to put relevant content in front of them when that time comes in.
Instead of advisors having to remember to scan their client list and then follow up, this app looks to take care of those well-timed communication opportunities.
The investor list includes notable industry heavyweights like Gavin Spitzner, Greg Friedman, Kelly Waltrich, Marty Bicknell, Jen Goldman and more.
HEY FINTECH, ADVISORS HATE YOUR INTEGRATIONS
“Everybody who comes to this market thinking they’re going to own the adviser’s desktop is completely out of their mind.”
That quote ends Ryan Neal’s insightful interrogation into the state of integration, and it’s a whammy. For years, advisors have been promised that if they would simply select all the best fintech apps, then they could integrate them all into a seamless stack.
The truth, advisors say, is not quite so black and white.
Most advisors, 67 percent, scored their connectivity as a 3 on a 1-5 scale, which in the year of our Lord 2022 is pretty abysmal.
One advisor breaks the problem down this way: Different apps store data differently, and advisors don’t have time to spend to figure out how to make them talk and sync the way they want.
There are new companies out there, like Invent and Milemarker, who are trying to solve the problem of divided data for advisors, but the mainstream solution isn’t quite there yet.
And what about all in one? Well, according to this article, only 6% of advisors surveyed are taking advantage of a vendor-provided solution there. So while it’s a good story that the industry is moving back towards those unified platforms, the data suggests its a long ways off from happening.
But the thing is, integrations are hard to build and you can’t build a new one for every partner. So what’s a fintech to do? For starters, investing in an open API architecture is essential. That’s mostly where firms are heading, but if you’re a fintech reading this who isn’t all in – get onboard the train.
THAT’S ONE WAY TO GET PEOPLE TO THINK ABOUT ESTATE PLANNING
I think I went to high school with this “Fred” guy.
Here’s what we’ve been listening to this week.
Zach McDonald, President & CMO
“One of my favorite live recordings of all time.”
Johnny Sandquist, Founder & CEO
“Beyonce released a new song this week and I’m pretty sure at least one of us is legally obligated to feature it as our jam of the week. I can’t risk the Beyhive coming after us.”
Connor Brandt, Graphic Designer
“Another song I wish I wrote:”
Justine Young, Content Writer
“how do you jump over a puddle? you do a leap-a!”
Amber Froendt, Project Manager
“This is my song for the week.”
Sidney Snyder, Account Manager
“Please don’t crash my car.”
Keep up with all of our picks of the week over time with the Three Crowns Mixtape on Spotify.
Click here to check it out and favorite it to add it to your collection.