Wealth Management News: April 2025
The spring season is still a little cold and wet across most of the United States, but the news in advisor WealthTech is definitely starting to heat up. Here’s your roundup of the must-know news from April 2025.
LPL Unveils Interesting Recruitment Plan for Commonwealth Advisors
What Happened:
Following its acquisition announcement of Commonwealth Financial Network, LPL listened to Commonwealth advisors and heard how much the firm’s culture and brand means to them. As a response, it stated that if LPL stops using the Commonwealth name, then Commonwealth advisors will have their retention loans forgiven.
Why It Matters:
The greatest concern that Commonwealth advisors have is whether LPL will make an effort to preserve the unique culture that they’ve previously enjoyed. By offering loan forgiveness tied to the retention of the Commonwealth brand, LPL seems to be extending an olive branch that’s not only designed to ease concerns, but show they understand the emotional attachment that these advisors have had to Commonwealth.
Docupace Acquires Hubly
https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2025/03/21/Docupace-Snaps-Up-Workflow-Management-Platform/
What Happened:
Docupace, a leading digital workflow management system for financial services, announced the acquisition of competitor Hubly, another RIA-centric workflow platform.
Why It Matters:
Docupace is solidifying its place in the market with another aggressive move to take a competitor off the board. Nearly four years ago, it did the same by acquiring digital onboarding firm PreciseFP. Hubly’s acquisition is not just a way to take a chess piece off, though. It should also enhance Docupace’s capabilities, especially with its modern, client-experience-focused platform.?
Altruist Pulls in $152 Million Funding Round
https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2025/04/23/altruist-secures-152m-in-new-funding-for-growth/
What Happened:
Altruist, a digital-first custodial platform for RIAs, announced it has raised $152 million in a Series F funding, which sets its current valuation at a staggering $1.9 billion. Other notable investors include Salesforce Ventures, Geodesic Capital, Baillie Gifford, Carson Family Office, and Iconiq Growth.?
Why It Matters:
Another significant funding round underscores investor confidence in Altruist’s mission to provide tech-driven services tailored to support RIAs and not compete with them. The capital infusion is expected to accelerate platform enhancements and expand support for the more than 4,700 advisors currently on the platform. If you didn’t think it was already, Altruist is now positioned as a formidable competitor to the establishment.
Vanilla Partners with Mariner for Estate Planning
??https://www.investmentnews.com/rias/vanilla-lands-wealth-tech-partnership-with-560b-mariner/260192
What Happened:
Estate planning tech provider Vanilla announced a partnership with RIA giant Mariner Wealth Advisors, providing over 700 advisors with access to Vanilla’s digital estate planning solutions.
Why It Matters:
The estate planning tech wars are heating up. For Vanilla, collaborating with a $560 billion RIA like Mariner signifies a substantial expansion in its influence within the wealth management sector and a vote of confidence from a significant player.? This partnership also equips Mariner’s advisors with enhanced services, a critical move in the competition for new clients.
Schwab Invests in Wealth.com
https://www.investmentnews.com/fintech/schwab-takes-strategic-minority-stake-in-wealthcom/260182
What Happened:
More estate planning news? That’s right. This time, Charles Schwab has made a strategic minority investment in Wealth.com, an estate planning platform built for RIAs and their clients. What’s more, in addition to this news, Wealth.com also announced an integration with eMoney, a financial planning titan who’s notoriously stingy in who they choose to integrate with.
Why It Matters:
Schwab’s investment in Wealth.com reflects the trend within the advice industry that planning needs are becoming more complex, and advisors are looking for ways to expand services and maximize the value they add to clients. Likewise, Wealth.com’s integration news with eMoney suggests they’ve established a strong foothold as one of the most premier estate planning technologies available to RIAs today..?
InvestCloud Hires New COO for Managed Accounts
What Happened:
WealthTech giant InvestCloud announced the appointment of Josh Mayer as Chief Operating Officer of APL, its managed accounts platform. Mayer, formerly the COO at Envestnet, brings extensive industry experience to the role.
Why It Matters:
Mayer’s leadership is expected to add growth and innovation to the APL platform. Additionally, this appointment signals InvestCloud is committed to expanding its managed accounts platform and looking towards integrating more private investments into SMA management. As tech options for advisors grow, the focus for InvestCloud is to bring more of their work under one roof.
Former TD Ameritrade Exec Launches Digital Financial Planning App
What Happened:
Pete Dorsey, a financial services executive with previous experience at LPL Financial, Altruist, and TD Ameritrade, has launched Wing, a digital financial planning application currently available to advisors but planning a direct-to-consumer launch.
Why It Matters:
Technology attempting to assist and connect advisors with next-gen clients isn’t scarce. There have been a number of startups over the last several years attempting to solve the digital problem. Will Wing be different? The firm says it already has several thousand users, and with Dorsey’s experience at the helm, it may be that they have the chops to set themselves apart.