2 ideas are worth a look.
For financial advisors, selling to independent financial advisors and planners. We explored 6 ideas and searched for each one. 4 already exist.
Already exists, so we dropped them
- Annual Review Prep SheeteMoney Advisor already provides an annual review workflow that pulls client data and numbers into the review process. emoneyadvisor.com
- ADV Update ReminderLuthor already auto-drafts and files Form ADV updates and runs compliance calendars automatically. luthor.ai
- Client Doc ChaserOnBord already sends automated text and email reminders to clients who have not finished submitting documents. onbord.io
- Referral Source TrackerAltitude CRM already logs referral sources and tracks follow-ups for financial advisors, and general referral program software like Referral Rock covers the rest. gainaltitude.ai
Fee-Only Lead Swap
A private board where fee-only advisors post leads they cannot serve and pick up leads from other fee-only advisors.
- Who pays
- Independent fee-only financial advisors and planners
- The problem
- Advisors say the paid lead services send them people who are not looking for a fiduciary. One advisor wrote that SmartAsset leads work for product salesmen, not fee-only fiduciaries, and called the whole exercise a waste of time. Meanwhile good inquiries go unanswered when an advisor is full or has a conflict.
- The gap
- AdvisorFinder is a public directory with subscription or per-lead pricing, not a peer swap between fee-only advisors. NAPFA membership gives access to lead services but not a place to hand off leads you cannot take. Nobody runs a private, fee-only only exchange where the lead is passed advisor to advisor.
- Already out there
- AdvisorFinder advisorfinder.com
Public marketplace and directory. Charges subscription or per-lead fees. Not a peer-to-peer swap and not restricted to fee-only advisors.
- SmartAsset lead generation advisorperspectives.com
Paid lead service. An advisor quoted in the article says the leads are not people looking for a fee-only fiduciary.
- AdvisorFinder advisorfinder.com
- People asking for it
- Advisor Perspectives on lead services advisorperspectives.com
Advisor says SmartAsset leads suit product salesmen, not fee-only fiduciaries, and calls the lead services a waste of time.
- Advisors struggle with lead generation copilotai.com
Many advisors struggle with lead generation because they rely on cold calling and random referrals.
- Advisor Perspectives on lead services advisorperspectives.com
- The big assumption
- Fee-only advisors will hand a real lead to a competitor instead of just letting it go, and will trust the board enough to post.
- Test it this week
- Post in two fee-only advisor communities asking whether they have turned away a qualified prospect in the last month and whether they would pass it to another fee-only advisor. Count replies and ask three of them to swap one lead manually over email.
Custodian Transfer Tracker
One board that shows every account transfer between custodians, which step is stuck, and who to call.
- Who pays
- Independent advisors and small RIAs who move client assets between custodians
- The problem
- Advisors cannot see a transfer until it has already entered the system, and cost basis often does not arrive with the assets. One advisor on r/CFP wrote that the advisor does not even see the ACAT until the account has entered transfer. Staff end up chasing custodians by phone and tracking steps in a side spreadsheet.
- The gap
- Altruist and Apex both offer ACAT tracking, but only inside their own custodian platform. An advisor with accounts at Schwab, Fidelity, and Pershing has no single view across custodians. The gap is a custodian-neutral board that works for any advisor regardless of where the assets sit.
- Already out there
- Altruist ACAT tracking altruist.com
Tracks ACAT transfers, but only for accounts on the Altruist custodian platform.
- Apex Real-Time ACATS apexfintechsolutions.com
Event-driven ACAT status updates, but only for firms using Apex as custodian.
- Altruist ACAT tracking altruist.com
- People asking for it
- Custodian refuses cost basis via ACAT reddit.com
Advisor says the advisor does not even see the ACAT until the account has entered transfer, and cost basis does not follow.
- Advisor iron grip on assets reddit.com
Account gets deactivated during transfer, blocking transactions and deposits.
- Custodian refuses cost basis via ACAT reddit.com
- The big assumption
- Advisors will keep a second system updated by hand when the custodian portals already show partial status.
- Test it this week
- Ask five advisors who moved accounts in the last quarter to walk you through how they tracked the transfers. If they all say the custodian portal was enough, drop it. If they show you a spreadsheet, ask two of them to use your spreadsheet template for their next transfer.