Fidelity's eMoney Advisor growing, hiring in Radnor; Launching 'digital advice platform' in early 2017
Tom Paine
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Radnor-based eMoney Advisor said today that its revenue was up 31 percent YOY, and nearly 59 percent since its acquisition by Fidelity Investments in 2015.
The company also said it had added almost 100 employees this year, including new CEO Ed O'Brien, who joined from Fidelity in March. eMoney now has more than 400 employees.
“This year we returned to our roots with an innovative product strategy that broadens the availability and quality of advice delivered through advisors,” said O'Brien in a statement.
“At the same time, a steady flow of industry and regulatory factors influenced expectations for the experience of giving and receiving financial advice, and led even elite members of the industry to question if their current tools could keep them competitive. For many, the answer was what we have long known—an integrated and comprehensive wealth-planning platform will outperform a financial planning tool any day of the week. And our numbers reflect that,” O’Brien continued.
eMoney Advisor presumably must meet two goals: to keep their financial advisor clients happy, and to fulfill the corporate objectives Fidelity had in acquiring it.
But Michael Durbin, who served as eMoney's interim CEO before O' Brien took the spot and is now starting a new role as head of Fidelity Institutional Product, doesn't feel those goals are incongruous.
“What we like about eMoney is that it continues to be a separate technology company,” he told Investment News. “And we like that there's a lot of opportunity that's presented by eMoney.”
In 2016, among other upgrades to its flagship emX suite, eMoney Advisor redesigned its client portal (named best in the industry by WealthManagement.com), and introduced a new Advanced Analytics product, as well as the Fiduciary Framework initiative to strengthen compliance.
The varying technology needs of advisors led eMoney to refresh its product and pricing strategy and release an unbundled product offering with emX Select, as well as a new pricing model early in the year.
Early next year Fidelity is expected to introduce its Automated Managed Platform (AMP). Although Fidelity won't call it a robo advisor (using the term 'digital advice platform'), its the next closest thing, and eMoney Advisor had a major role in building it.
eMoney says it anticipates hiring 100 more employees in 2017, while at the same time striving to maintain "eMoney’s trademark corporate culture."
