Tag Archives: financial planning

Grove raises $2.1 million for hybrid financial planning: Fintech flash briefing for February 12, 2018

Posted on February 12, 2018 by in Flash Briefing, Technology

Here are the links to today’s stories:

Grove raises $2.1M to find the sweet spot between old-school financial advisers and chatbots from TechCrunch

Riskalyze Retirement Solutions Goes Live from Riskalyze

Laserfiche rolls out SaaS solution for document management in the cloud from YouTube

Welcome to the FPPad fintech briefing, Here are the top fintech stories you need to know today.

Grove Raises $2.1 Million for Hybrid Financial Planning Service

A new startup wants to make financial planning services more accessible and affordable for the nation’s savers. The company is called Grove, based in San Francisco, who just announced it raised $2.1 million dollars in a seed round to launch a hybrid software-and-human powered financial planning service. According to TechCrunch, Grove combines account aggregation software with advice from Certified Financial Planner certificants, with two CFP’s listed on the company’s website, all for an annual membership fee of $600. The company says that automated investment management services are also available for an additional 25 basis points of assets under management.

Riskalyze Rolls Out Riskalyze Retirement Solutions

In the retirement plan space, Riskalyze announced the formal launch of Riskalyze Retirement Solutions, a joint offering with Vestwell to provide an end-to-end digital platform to financial advisors looking to manage 401(k) retirement plans. The new platform leverages the proprietary Risk Number methodology to propose appropriate asset allocations to retirement plan participants, and then streamlines the account on boarding process with custodians such as TD Ameritrade and Trust Company of America. Riskalyze Retirement Solutions is available to all existing Riskalyze advisors at no additional cost.

Laserfiche Introduces Cloud Offering

And what’s the latest news in document management software for advisors? I recently connected with Laserfiche’s Linda Ding to learn more about the company’s new offering of Laserfiche now available in the cloud:

With more demand on the rise for mobile-driven solutions, especially for document management, this year we’re rolling out a full SaaS model for document management, especially for smaller financial advisors, this is the perfect model. It’s cost-efficient, very competitive in terms of monthly cost, but you will find all the on-premise features, especially on the workflow automation and electronic forms collection, is inclusive in the SaaS model for Laserfiche users.

For more details on the new Laserfiche offering, head over to fppad.com/flashbriefing to get all the links to today’s top stories.

I’m Bill Winterberg, and those are your fintech headlines for today from FPPad.com, be sure to check back in with me later for more fintech news.

 

inStream abandons free plan, introduces subscription pricing

Posted on January 8, 2014 by in Software, Technology

Financial planning software startup inStream Solutions drops its free pricing plan, switches to annual subscription model

inStream Solutions made a splash in late 2011 with the introduction of its free financial planning software tool for financial advisers (watch Video Spotlight: inStream Solutions CEO Alex Murguia on achieving proactive financial planning).

But like many startups, inStream just made a pivot in its business model that eliminates the free plan altogether for some 2,000 users.

inStream No Longer Free

This week, inStream announced that it is switching to an annual subscription model, with retail pricing set at $2,400 per user.


inStream Solutions CEO Alex Murguia introduces the startup at FinovateSpring 2012 (watch on YouTube)

Volume discounts will be available for large firms, and existing users of the free plan will be offered the chance to subscribe for just $1,000. Also, as an incentive to new users, inStream is offering 50% off the retail subscription fee to any new adviser who signs up prior to June 30, 2014.

Not only that, inStream is also changing its positioning in the market by calling the solution a “wealth management platform” in favor of its former financial planning software heading.

More than Financial Planning Software

inStream replaces the financial planning software terminology in favor of a wealth management tool

inStream replaces the financial planning software terminology in favor of a wealth management tool

In an interview with Financial Advisor magazine tech editor Joel Bruckenstein, Alex Murguia, founder and CEO of inStream, said, “We are not trying to create financial planning software; we’re creating a wealth management platform that financial planners can use to run their businesses.”

To its credit, inStream has recently added features that transcend beyond traditional financial planning to increase the value and utility of the solution.

In recent months, inStream brought on Dr. Wade Pfau, Professor of Retirement Income for the American College, to lead its new Financial Planning Research division (watch FPPad Bits and Bytes for August 2nd for more details on Pfau’s involvement).

Out of this partnership, inStream will soon release what it calls the industry’s first “Safe Saving Rate” planning tool developed under the guidance of Pfau.

Existing Updates, Too

inStream is also upgrading many of its existing functions, which include mind map plugins, proactive alerts, and custom reports for financial plans.

For more information on the new pricing plans, as well as feature enhancements, visit inStream online at www.instreamwealth.com