Fintech Focus Roundup For October 10, 2020

Why Signal Advisors Is Not Your Typical IMO

The Problem: Traditional IMOs sell relationships; they distribute annuities and insurance policies through networks of independent financial advisors. With the rise of technology, however, many IMOs have failed to innovate with the times, leaving advisors exposed to commission delays and non-essential marketing costs.

The Solution: Signal Advisors, a tech-enabled IMO co-founded by CEO Patrick Kelly, an industry veteran.

Signal Advisors allows users access to a peer-to-peer coaching network of advisors with practical experience. Those advisors are paid to provide guidance on how to build profitable financial advisory practices.

“The other pieces we’ve invested in are technology and product,” the CEO said. “We built out the first end-to-end technology platform for insurance producers.”

In the simplest way, Signal Advisors defragments the advisory space by providing users access to know-how, capital, and processing efficiency, providing advisors with payment in less than 24 hours.

Commonwealth Drives Systemic Change In Finance

What Happened: Commonwealth, a financial security nonprofit, recently announced a two-year initiative to address challenges and opportunities emerging technologies present to people of lower- and moderate-income.

About Commonwealth: Alongside institutions such as JPMorgan Chase & Co and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Commonwealth recognizes economic challenges and leverages innovation to design products and services that support financial security and opportunity for all.

Recent Developments: Commonwealth amped up its efforts around short-term savings offered through codified retirement infrastructures; “If we could offer high-quality emergency, liquid savings through the retirement system, that would really open up that ability to build that Swiss Army Knife that many households need," said co-founder and executive director Tim Flacke.

The organization has worked alongside the BlackRock Emergency Savings Initiative and CFPB to develop resources and guidance on auto enrolling workers into emergency savings.

“Ultimately, it’s an employer decision," said Flacke. "But, for many employers, it’s as much a decision for the providers that serve tham. They’re only going to do something if there’s a vendor that’s figured out how to do it and made it easy for them to do so.”

Commonwealth also teamed up with JPMorgan Chase to expand on the increased efficiency and reduced costs offered by fintech. The program will address increased fractures in the financial system exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We all accept that artificial intelligence and machine learning is revolutionizing the world that we live in,” Flacke said in a conversation regarding democratized fintech solutions. “Those types of technologies are often not conceived, designed, and built out with lower- or moderate-income users in mind. It’s just not the way our economy often works.”

WealthCharts Intros Active Trading Platform

The Problem: The tech-driven trading revolution allowed retail investors increased access to powerful market analysis tools.

A problem is that these tools are often costly and difficult to use.

The Solution: Founded by Rob Hoffman, a 30-time Real Money Trading Champion, as well as founder of Wealth365 and BecomeABetterTrader, WealthCharts is a provider of low-cost, easy-to-use trading platforms packed with hundreds of indicators, real-time news, research, and education for investors worldwide.

In the simplest way possible: WealthCharts offers investors at-a-glance analysis, as well as best-in-class education and data resources.

Impactful Tools: “It is a charting and execution platform all in one,” said Hoffman. “It’s meant to be a simplified way to help traders quickly identify trade ideas, especially when we’re all short on time.”

The company’s core product portfolio consists of the following products:

• WealthFinder: Actionable algorithmic trading intelligence to quickly identify higher probability trade ideas.
• Library: More than $20,000 worth of training content for traders and investors looking to build their skills as active traders and investors.
• WealthThoughts: A social media community for retail traders as well as leading market experts to share their charts and ideas about stocks, options, futures, ETF’s, forex and cryptocurrencies.
• Analysis: Over 150+ indicators, many of which have been created by the most popular traders and investors in the industry with more being added every month.
• Scans: Unusual Options Activity, Ichimoku Cloud, Wealth Strength Index (WSI) are just a few of the many popular scans with more being added regularly.
• WealthCharts Research Team: Curated trade ideas pulled by our analysts from premium signals such as Unusual Options Activity to quickly focus traders into the most relevant ideas.

Additionally, users can execute live stock, ETF, options, and futures trades through the platform, using select brokers such as tastyworks. The platform also boasts numerous exclusive tools and video content from leading experts and brokerage firms.

TradeStation A Great Option For Active Traders

About TradeStation: TradeStation is a fintech specializing in brokerage services and trading technology. The company is a subsidiary of Monex Group and was founded initially under the name Omega Research, prior to transforming into a self-clearing online securities brokerage.

Product: TradeStation comes as an innovation-focused broker, allowing traders the ability to act on their opinions, with the latest technology, on the most diverse set of financial products that exist.

On the heels of the low-cost trading revolution, TradeStation released TSGo which allows traders the ability to transact stocks and ETFs free.

Adding, clients can use the company’s desktop, web, mobile, or API technologies to trade stocks, ETFs, options, futures, futures options, IPOs, and mutual funds, at low cost. Connected technologies include TradingView, the largest online social network and data analysis tool for financial markets, from which TradeStation customers can trade directly from.

Recent Developments: In light of increased engagement in financial wellness, TradeStation honed in on its cryptocurrency and education offering.

Recent additions allow customers to trade and earn interest on their cryptocurrency holdings.

TradeStation also built out its education and insights infrastructure, as well as added to its technologies hub and third-party integrations. The firm’s flagship education offer includes YouCanTrade, an online community acquired by TradeStation.