NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, United Capital Financial Advisers, LLC (“United Capital”), a Financial Life Management firm, announces the launch of FinLife Partners, a turnkey advice and planning platform that allows independent advisers access to the firm’s proprietary Financial Life Management system, including adviser-branded client experience tools, digital workflow technology and personalized on-demand coaching.
Under this new offering, select advisory firms will be able to white label United Capital’s industry-changing tools and offer them to their advisers and clients under their own brand and ADV. At a time when transparency and cost disclosure are increasing and fees are being challenged, FinLife Partners provides advisers with investment portfolios that can translate to cost savings and a guidance offering with potential revenue growth and margin expansion. New United Capital offices that fully employed the Financial Life Management system have realized top line revenue growth of nearly 30 percent, net new asset growth of 10 percent and pretax earnings increases of approximately 40 percent in the first 12 months. Participating advisers and FinLife Partners are equally incented ─ neither sees an upside unless the adviser grows. Pricing beyond technology is based on revenue growth realized through the Financial Life Management client experience system.
Based on extensive research, usage by more than 80 United Capital offices and over a decade of investment in its platform, United Capital has fine-tuned an approach of connecting customers to their money that is unique in the industry. The proprietary and time-tested Financial Life Management digital client experience tools, including the Money Mind® Analyzer and Honest Conversations® exercise, lead to a measurable impact in client retention and referrals.
“The competitive landscape has changed so much in the past few years for the individual adviser with the rise of new retail competition, incredible advancements in technology and an ever more discerning client base. We feel it is our responsibility to help the best advisers in the industry demonstrate their value in this new world,” said Joe Duran, founder and CEO of United Capital. “Our system strives to deliver spectacular results in both client satisfaction scores and individual office performance, and we know we can help beyond our own ecosystem. That is why we are offering our advice platform to advisers who share our client-centric and forward-leaning view of the world.”
All systems go
Along with the tools and training, firms accepted to use FinLife Partners will also transform their offices with award-winning technology. Using the fully integrated, cloud-based digital office solution enables scale and efficiency that helps firms grow profitably and allows staff to focus on high value work. The technology that powers FinLife Partners was built, used and tested over the past decade into a proprietary instance of Salesforce. It integrates the scale of a digital front office with the power and utility of middle-office systems. This means custodian feeds, e-signature, open architecture financial planning software and data aggregation with investment technology platforms, including Envestnet|Yodlee and Morningstar ByAllAccounts, are integrated in the technology solution as well as single sign-on capabilities.
Addressing one of the biggest concerns that advisers face today, the time and cost of managing technology, this infrastructure is built and ready to go. Ongoing reinvestment and technology administration is managed by FinLife Partners.
“Three years ago we saw that the industry was evolving and that technology would require us to make changes. We’ve invested the time to explore options and observe who offers genuine innovation and leadership. We chose FinLife Partners because it offers process, technology and client capabilities that we couldn’t develop on our own,” said John Lame, CFP, CEO and Founder of Cincinnati-based Lenox Wealth Management. “We found a solution to partner rather than sell our business while getting the scale of a national firm with the advantages of local ownership and governance.”
Upping the game
Excellent client experience starts with prospect engagement and carries through to each deliverable. That’s why FinLife Partners includes the ability for advisers to use personally branded design and content materials. Collateral includes hosted websites, digital marketing tools and the client Guidebook ─ a modern day financial plan that exceeds portfolio reports to provide an informed approach and measurement tool for the clients’ financial life. These tools are designed to set an adviser apart and make them more relevant in a world of commoditized investing and planning.
To ensure a consistent and quality delivery of the system, advisers will need to be qualified and participate in a custom-designed coaching process designed to help them successfully implement Financial Life Management techniques.
“We’ve built something that we know works and improves peoples’ lives. What we’ve developed has taken years of work, millions of dollars and our collective expertise. We have always believed in partnering with the best and most innovative firms in the industry,” states Mike Capelle, Head of Platform at United Capital. “That has allowed us to build a fully integrated, best in breed solution that helps our advisers always be on the leading edge of innovation. We have had overwhelming interest from advisers in using our process. Now, for the right advisers, we can address that need.”
About United Capital Financial Partners
United Capital Financial Advisers, LLC (“United Capital”) is an independent financial life management firm. United Capital is a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) offering clients objective advice and an open architecture platform that enables a wide array of investment management solutions tailored specifically to client needs. Today, United Capital has approximately $15 billion in assets under management and 82 offices nationwide. For more information, please visit www.unitedcp.com, www.joinuc.com or read our latest blog post.
