The race for market share among estate planning tech tools took another turn this week as Vanilla adds Mariner to its network of partner firms.
Under the partnership, which was announced Thursday, more than 700 advisors at the wealth firm will get access to the digital estate planning solutions offered by Vanilla.
Mariner oversees approximately $560 billion in assets.
As part of the arrangement, Mariner advisors now have access to Vanilla’s platform, which offers digital tools designed to simplify estate-related processes, from document extraction and plan visualization to identifying key insights through artificial intelligence. According to Vanilla, the integration has led to a sharp uptick in advisor-driven business growth.
The partnership has coincided with a 200 percent increase in revenue growth rates among Mariner advisors who have adopted Vanilla’s offering, the companies said.
“We’re thrilled to have expanded our relationship with an iconic firm like Mariner,” Gene Farrell, Vanilla’s chief executive, said in a statement. “Unlocking estate planning as a service offering for every advisor with the help of AI is a core component of our mission to empower everyone to create a meaningful legacy.”
The announcement adds to a period of growth for both companies. Mariner, one of the biggest and fastest-growing RIAs in the country, aims to grow its advisory headcount to over 5,000 by 2027. In October, it got a significant boost to support that goal via a strategic minority investment from Neuberger Berman.
For Vanilla, the Mariner deal adds to momentum seen earlier this year, which included a reported 293 percent year-over-year growth in platform adoption along with the integration of its Copilot AI assistant.
“Vanilla’s technology is yet another tool in our arsenal as we look to grow our practice to more than 5,000 advisors by 2027,” said Marty Bicknell, Mariner’s chief executive.
Once seen as a niche service focused on ultra-wealthy clients, estate planning is emerging as a central component of broader financial planning. According to T3's latest 2025 research report on advisor tech, estate planning tools are among the fastest-growing segment, going from 15.84 percent adoption in 2023 to 43.28 percent this year.
Vanilla is very much an underdog among estate tech tools in T3's survey, commanding just 3.29 percent in market share. But that's a marked improvement from the 1.54 percent share it captured in the previous 2024 snapshot, and more than 100 advisor respondents in T3's polling said they're considering Vanilla, second only to Holistiplan on that score.
Holistiplan is one of the top picks for the top tax planning software for financial advisors. Read more here.
Wealth.com, another estate planning tech player, also scored notable wins this week, forging an integration partnership with eMoney and securing a strategic minority investment from Schwab.
Chicago-based Mesirow Fiduciary Solutions adds flexPATH's plan-level outsourced fiduciary book, boosting its retirement market reach to $164 billion.
Also, Raymond James's employee advisor channel adds breakaways from Wells Fargo and Stifel, while UBS welcomes an ex-Morgan Stanley duo in Indiana.
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