Brendan King, Co-founder and CEO of Wavvest, joined Keith Black, Managing Director of RIA Channel, to discuss the firm’s AI-powered advisor platform and its vision for the future of wealth management.
Wavvest recently launched its own RIA as part of its broader strategy to build a vertically integrated advisor platform. King explains that the firm initially operated as a TAMP and technology provider, but growing demand from advisors to affiliate directly with Wavvest led to the launch of its internal RIA. He highlights that having advisors work within the firm provides valuable insight into workflows and pain points, enabling Wavvest to iterate more quickly and develop technology that better serves the broader advisor community.
King emphasizes that Wavvest is focused on addressing two key challenges facing advisors: increasing advisor capacity and improving next-generation client engagement. He explains that data shows the maximum number of households an advisor can feasibly service is 110, but the firm wants to increase that number to 200 – 250. He adds that direct-to-consumer fintech apps, such as Robinhood, are taking next-generation market share from advisors, predominantly among people in their late 20s to early 40s.
To build a platform capable of solving these issues, King notes that Wavvest is starting its full vertical integration with an AI-based financial planning tool, which is the core of the platform. He adds that this tool has already reduced the planning process from roughly 10 hours to about 30 minutes for customized client plans. He adds that agentic AI will play a critical role over the next several years in the development of the Wavvest fully integrated advisor stack.
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