For the first time in nine years, organizers expanded the scope of XY Planning Network's annual XYPN Live AdviceTech Competition to include any technology supporting advisors in serving clients or running more efficient and scalable businesses.
Of the six finalists who argued their case at the recently concluded conference, the judges selected Current Client, an SEC-compliant texting solution for advisors, as the “Best in Show” winner. Conference attendees selected Quivr CRM, a Salesforce overlay for comprehensive financial planners, as the “Advicer’s Choice” winner.
Michael Kitces, XYPN's chairman, said the process was “once again a lot of fun,” with the finalists delivering seven-minute, pitch-style presentations in front of a panel of judges.
“We’ve seen the SEC hand out something like $2 billion in fines to advisory firms for texting communication compliance issues over the last two years, so it was a timely and impressive pitch from the Current Client team,” Kitces said in an interview with ThinkAdvisor. “Their solution is built on simplicity and ease of use, and they have some cool power features that we don’t see a lot of advisors doing yet.”
One example is an ability to invite a full client base to webinar-style events via text messages, including registration.
“I would say that 99% of us use email to do that today, so it was impressive to see,” Kitces said.
He noted that he was not surprised to see Quivr CRM emerge on top in the advisors’ choice category.
“They’re solving some real pain points for advisors, especially when it comes to automatically managing and overseeing client service and engagement calendars,” Kitces explained. “Their platform can really help advisors plan out and demonstrate the value they are providing to their planning clients in a way that goes well beyond the investment portfolio.”
