NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--United Capital Financial Advisers LLC (“United Capital”), the country’s first and largest financial life management firm, and FinLife Partners, a division of United Capital, are proud to launch FinLife® CX (Client Experience), the next innovation in their suite of white-label tools available to advisors. Less than two years ago, United Capital and FinLife Partners launched FinLife OS, a fully integrated wealth management platform that included client experience, a full client relationship management (CRM) system, and training and coaching. Today, they are launching FinLife CX, the nation’s only proven client experience system that links to the advisor’s existing CRM. The offering delivers the client experience in a totally open architecture with more flexibility and upgraded tools to foster meaningful interactions.
An unparalleled client experience
United Capital has had terrific success with FinLife OS, signing 22 firms and nearly $9B in assets under contract since mid-20161, and it continues to see tremendous interest from firms across the country. FinLife CX allows advisors that want to maintain their existing CRM to overlay the proprietary client experience system in a white-labeled manner seamlessly.
“We launched FinLife OS to allow advisors access to our system without having to sell their firms to us. It’s been an immensely successful launch. As we continue to evolve the platform, we’ve been working to deliver the client experience without having to convert an advisor's entire CRM,” said founder and CEO Joe Duran. “It will allow for three things to happen: shortening the time to begin delivering the unique financial life management process; expanding our universe of potential partners; and revising our pricing to reflect a cleaner, simpler, per-client model.”
In the past, firms needed to transition their client data to a new CRM before they could offer the client experience. The new offer provides the ability to deliver the digital suite and client experience more quickly, shortening firm onboarding time and the impact to their clients. Firms can later decide if they want the full operating system or access to United Capital’s Investment Platform.
“FinLife CX has exposed our value to many firms that wish to maintain their CRM but want our dynamic tools and process,” offered Jason Gordo, Head of FinLife Partners West. “It’s allowed us to reach more forward thinking and progressive firms committed to optimizing their clients’ financial lives.”
FinLife CX offers enhancements to United Capital’s groundbreaking financial life management system, allowing advisors to bridge the crucial “last mile” to reach clients with competitive, digitally-fueled advice. It comes with a suite of proprietary discovery tools and exercises, a mobile-enabled client portal, and on-demand 24/7 staff training and coaching. United Capital and FinLife Partners created FinLife CX around a guiding tenet: “The indispensable advisor of the future must deliver a collaborative, mobile, life enriching client experience to be competitive. The future is bionic,” Duran said.
“We are making it easier and faster for firms to deliver and charge for the value they provide,” Duran continued. “This is the value that our United Capital clients pay for year-over-year. Our advisors using the FinLife platform have reported an average of 25 percent growth in top line revenue, and a surge in client satisfaction.”2
FinLife CX includes an upgraded GuideCenter, a mobile-ready portal for clients to access their financial plans, goals, accounts, and portfolios. It includes the proprietary VideoMessenger, allowing advisors to send a personalized video to deliver advice and communications without having to schedule a meeting, freeing themselves and clients from the limits of geography. It also includes the Financial Control Scorecard®, a simplified rating to help clients understand when market shifts impact their financial lives.
The discovery process now includes an updated version of the MoneyMind® analyzer, which guides consumers through quick-response questions that reveal their biases toward money. MoneyMind 2.0 results blend the characteristics that influence a consumer’s decisions around spending, saving, planning, safety nets, risk-taking, and timing. This creates a foundational dialogue for an advisor and clients.
FinLife CX includes HonestConversations®, an advisor-led discussion to help individuals and couples understand their motivations and the trade-offs that come with financial decisions. It also includes the Ideal Life Index, which measures and tracks satisfaction with clients’ financial lives on an ongoing basis. The results feed into a Priority Action List, to keep clients engaged with their financial planning needs and on track with goals. The client experience also includes the Investment Viewfinder tool to drive discussions to help align investment solutions with client expectations, and the Guidebook, a modern approach to delivering a financial plan.
Flexible advisor solutions and proven results
FinLife CX also comes with AdvisorCenter, a central hub to simplify how advisors track and manage client relationships. AdvisorCenter syncs client information between the portal and an advisor’s CRM, portfolio accounting system, and select financial planning software with no additional steps.
FinLife CX+ Investment Management includes access to United Capital’s solution of fully-integrated portfolio reporting, accounting, and fee billing with seasoned professional support and world-class strategies. For investment management services, FinLife Partner customers can tap into United Capital’s buying power, leveraging negotiated fees with some of the world’s leading investment managers.
John Lame, CEO of Cincinnati-based Lenox Wealth Management, has seen his firm enjoy substantial growth as it differentiates itself from advisories in its regional footprint. “As early adopters of the FinLife Partners solution and philosophy, our team, and more importantly, all of our clients, have made deeper connections and have achieved greater clarity with their financial desires and outcomes.”
A clear pricing structure
FinLife CX moves away from traditional fees based on assets under contract and management to a new fee structure that will charge an annual $600 per-client guidance fee. In addition, implementation and ongoing support fees will be assessed and vary based on the complexity of installation.
FinLife Partners expects firms will start with FinLife CX and take full advantage of the services and integrations over time. CRM fees will also be on a per-user basis with associated implementation fees also based on conversion complexity.
To learn more about FinLife CX, United Capital invites you to the next demos, which are set for April 20, May 4, and May 18 at 10:30 a.m. PT/1:30 p.m. ET. Click here to register.
About United Capital Financial Partners
United Capital Financial Partners, Inc., the parent company of United Capital Financial Advisers, LLC (“United Capital”) and its consulting affiliate, is an independent financial life management firm. United Capital is a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) offering client 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 $21.6 billion in assets under management and 86 offices nationwide. For more information, please visit www.unitedcp.com.
1 FinLife Partners assets under contract represent the assets under management of the advisors that have signed up for FinLife Partners platform services, which they have placed under consideration for FinLife Partners’ services.
2 Statistics derived from offices that joined United Capital from 2011 to 2015, after their transition period of six months. Results not guaranteed and may vary.
