InvestmentNews selected five firm winners for its fifth annual Icons & Innovators Awards. The winners were selected based on their ability to shape and transform the financial advice profession, along with their implementation of new advances and initiatives.
Winners were announced online on Thursday. Due to Covid-19-related restrictions, the InvestmentNews Innovation Summit and award ceremony was cancelled this year.
Each of these firm honorees set unprecedented standards and has been inventive in their methods of creating products, processes or platforms that help advisers better serve their clients. The approaches used by these firms allow financial advice businesses to run more efficiently and effectively.
The winners were chosen from several hundred nominations by a committee of InvestmentNews representatives. The judges recognized firms for their novel systems and improvements within the finance industry.
The firms were selected in four categories: adviser fintech (large firms), adviser fintech (small firms), innovative practice management and innovative advice.
The firm winners are Orion Portfolio Solutions for the adviser fintech (large firms) category, Vanilla and Ethic for the adviser fintech (small firms) category, Raymond James for the practice management category and Miracle Mile Advisors for the innovative advice firm category.
In addition to the firms honored, InvestmentNews previously announced 11 ambitious individual winners of its 2021 Icons & Innovators Awards — Sallie Krawcheck, selected as the 2021 icon, and 10 innovators.
If you would like to nominate an incredible individual or firm making advances within the finance industry, please submit their name for the InvestmentNews 2022 Icons & Innovators and Innovation Awards online in April 2022.
Rajesh Markan earlier this year pleaded guilty to one count of criminal fraud related to his sale of fake investments to 10 clients totaling $2.9 million.
From building trust to steering through emotions and responding to client challenges, new advisors need human skills to shape the future of the advice industry.
"The outcome is correct, but it's disappointing that FINRA had ample opportunity to investigate the merits of clients' allegations in these claims, including the testimony in the three investor arbitrations with hearings," Jeff Erez, a plaintiff's attorney representing a large portion of the Stifel clients, said.
Chair also praised the passage of stablecoin legislation this week.
Maridea Wealth Management's deal in Chicago, Illinois is its first after securing a strategic investment in April.
Orion's Tom Wilson on delivering coordinated, high-touch service in a world where returns alone no longer set you apart.
Barely a decade old, registered index-linked annuities have quickly surged in popularity, thanks to their unique blend of protection and growth potential—an appealing option for investors looking to chart a steadier course through today's choppy market waters, says Myles Lambert, Brighthouse Financial.
