It’s been two and a half years since Envestnet acquired the financial planning platform MoneyGuide; soon after, the global pandemic hit, sending many advisors scrambling to refine, or in many cases create for the first time, financial plans for their clients. 

The pandemic prompted a dramatic and quantifiable spike in the use of the MoneyGuide platform, according to president Tony Leal. 

In this episode, David Armstrong sits down with Leal to discuss how the platform has grown under Envestnet’s ownership, getting advisors comfortable with the concept of client-directed financial plans, why access to Envestnet’s data engines provides more value for MoneyGuide’s users, and how “embedded finance” will push the concept of financial planning far wider in the future—bringing both competition, and opportunity, to financial advisors.

In this episode, David and Tony talk about:

• How Money Guide has evolved in the two years since Envestnet acquired the company.
• How long it took many financial advisors to understand the value of planning.
• Why advisors were originally fearful of letting clients interact with their financial plans.
• Why “volatility” should be seen in a larger context than just portfolio returns, to include taxes, shifting life situations and yes, even pandemics.
• How the pandemic drove 39% higher uptake in new client portal users and almost doubled the number of new client account aggregations on the platform. 
• Why embedded finance may be one of the next great revolutionary developments in fintech, and one that presents an opportunity for savvy financial advisors. 

Resources: Wealth Management.com | Envestnet | LinkedIn: Envestnet | LinkedIn: Tony Leal | MoneyGuidePro.com 

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