Oppenheimer launches updated prospecting platform

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. announced the launch of a new wealth management technology platform through a partnership with InvestCloud Inc., a major cloud-based fintech provider backed by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Oppenheimer, which provides investment banking and wealth management services, updated its Investor Gateway portal, which offers clients and advisers prospecting and onboarding tools and the ability to select certain investment options. A document vault also allows clients to store and share documents, according to a release.

The new tool uses “behavioral science” to help advisers understand clients’ goals and risk tolerance, and helps to determine appropriate products and investment strategies, Thomas Riordan, Oppenheimer chief information officer, said in an email.

While Investor Gateway's main objective is to help advisers convert prospects into clients, it will be combined with other tools already in place at the company, like client communication capabilities through the marketing automation company Marketo Inc., and Hearsay Social, which offers compliant social media engagement.

“It's essential to remember that wealth management is still a human business,” said Ed Harrington, head of the private client division at Oppenheimer. “Each interaction with us needs to be intuitive, deliver efficiencies and produce tangible, recognizable benefits,” he added.

In addition to client-facing tools, the platform also helps with document sharing, account transfers and Reg BI requirements, according to the company. The initiative, which was originally launched in 2020 with existing technology at Oppenheimer, is now ready to onboard new clients after the partnership with InvestCloud.

InvestCloud has become a dominant force in wealth management technology since its merger with Tegra118 in February of last year. The company was valued at $1 billion after the recapitalization and is now projected to surpass $400 million in revenues for 2022. That estimate by Bloomberg pegs a valuation for the company at up to $10 billion, with an initial public offering expected later this year.

“Technology can and should make an adviser's job easier,” Harrington said. “However, nothing can replace … a well-established and maintained relationship.”