When the pandemic hit, fintech consultant Bill Winterberg found himself taking on a new role.
Without live conferences, there was no more video coverage to produce for the FPPad website. Nor was there a need to travel to client sites. But Covid-19-related challenges at his local school district created a new opportunity.
“I became a stay-at-home, homeschool dad,” Winterberg said. “That was my full-time job for the last two years. I also did some work in video production for a local health care institution because they had to pivot to virtual work.”
Now, after relocating his family from Atlanta to Boston, Winterberg is ready to jump back into the world of adviser fintech as the vice president of financial planning growth at AdvicePay, the fee-payment-process technology created by XY Planning Network co-founders Michael Kitces and Alan Moore. Winterberg will be AdvicePay’s senior-level subject matter expert on all aspects of fee-for-service planning and implementation of AdvicePay at wealth management firms.
While Kitces and Moore are already well-known voices in the field, Winterberg said he can add to the company’s capacity to execute on plans.
“Most people who know Michael … the guy never stops. It seems like he never sleeps,” Winterberg said. “I’m another resource in terms of creating that content that resonates with the AdvicePay audience and taking things off their plate so the burden is not fully on them.”
Part of the job will mean continuing what he did at FPPad — creating digital content, campaigns and engagement strategies to educate independent advisers, large RIAs and even broker-dealers on how they can introduce the fee-for-service business model that AdvicePay supports.
Winterberg will also be guiding product strategy so the fintech fits what various advisory firms, providers and clients are demanding in terms of functionality and transparency.
“I understand the opportunities in the marketplace and will drive the AdvicePay road map so we’re the leading technology player in the fee-for-service trend,” he said.
Finally, Winterberg will also be heading up partnerships with other technology vendors to create integrations between AdvicePay and the rest of advisers’ tech stacks.
Winterberg first met Kitces in 2005 as fellow young financial planners in Maryland, and Moore subscribed to FPPad in the early days of launching his planning career. Winterberg has worked closely with both of them since then, acting as a judge for the XYPN conference’s fintech competition and contributing articles to Kitces’ website.
“We’ve known and admired Bill’s efforts to support advisor technology and expand advisor innovation throughout the last decade,” Kitces said in a statement. “He’s been a big promoter and supporter of the fee-for-advice financial planning approach, and we couldn’t be more delighted to have him help drive our growth strategy here at AdvicePay and expand the reach of financial planning to the next generation of clients.”
Winterberg will be working full-time for AdvicePay and plans to sunset the FPPad brand.
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