The Technology Tools for Today (T3) Conference held in Dallas March 3-6, 2025 spotlighted innovative strategies for wealth management firms. One compelling discussion caught the attention of many of the independent financial advisors in attendance. Ryan Garrison of Schwab Advisor Services Digital Advisor Solutions and Bridget Grimes, CFP®, President of WealthChoice, LLC and co-founder of Equita Financial Network focused on how Equita utilizes a strategic tech stack including Advyzon, Schwab, eMoney, Holistiplan, and Income Lab to enhance efficiency and client engagement. The session titled “Integrating Schwab Advisor Center® and Third-party Technology Platforms, an Advisor’s Perspective” revealed how strategic tech stacks with deliberate integrations and shared resources empower women-led advisory firms.
EQUITA FINANCIAL NETWORK: A GROWTH ENGINE FOR WOMEN ADVISORS
Grimes shared the story behind Equita Financial Network, stating the network now supports 13 women-led CFP® fee-only firms. Designed to provide shared resources and economies of scale, she explained that Equita equips its members with tools to grow efficiently.
“Because there are a variety of services our members offer to their clients, each member may be using these tools completely differently. Depending on how they do financial planning or investment management for their clients, we leave that up to the advisor to decide how they want to leverage these pre-vetted tools. We have the integrations there for them, but they get to choose.”
Grimes touched on the key components of Equita’s tech stack, emphasizing the critical role of integrations with Schwab’s platform.
ADVYZON: THE CORNERSTONE OF PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
“Advyzon has become the cornerstone of our tech stack,” Grimes stated. “We have 13 firms and we want to make sure we are compliant, so our documents all go into one place. The compliance team knows exactly where to go if we get audited. It’s a really robust tool for members to adapt as they see best for their own company needs.”
Grimes highlighted the seamless integration between Advyzon and Schwab, which provides real-time data for CRM, billing, and portfolio performance. This integration allows advisors to access up-to-date client information without switching between platforms, significantly improving efficiency.
FINANCIAL PLANNING AND TAX STRATEGY TOOLS
Grimes then discussed the value of the Schwab integrations with eMoney, Holistiplan and Income Lab:
- eMoney is used for comprehensive financial planning, leveraging real-time data from Schwab accounts to provide accurate and current financial pictures for clients.
- Holistiplan is utilized for tax planning and income strategy. Its integration with Schwab allows for more precise tax strategies and Roth conversion anaylsis based on current account data.
- Income Lab provides dynamic income strategies and stress testing portfolios. By integrating with Schwab, Income Lab can access real-time account information to offer more accurate retirement planning and stress testing.
All these tools integrate seamlessly with Schwab to provide real-time data and enhance client engagement.
Emphasizing the importance of flexibility within the network, Grimes explained that it is important to allow advisors to tailor their tech stacks based on individual needs. She noted that Equita spent about a year doing research on every single partner in the tech stack before launching back in 2018.
“The goal is to try to be as efficient as possible so you can do better work and bring on more clients. All these tools have really served us well.”
CLIENT PORTALS: STREAMLINING ENGAGEMENT
Garrison then switched gears to discuss how client portals are used to enhance efficiency and client communication.
“Efficiency is the name of the game,” answered Grimes. “The single sign-on between Schwab and Advyzon is convenient and faster than logging into many different platforms to access client accounts. Everything I need to know has been pulled over into Advyzon.”
Grimes shared how some Equita members are utilizing the Advyzon portal for operational paperwork and streamlining client onboarding and the eMoney portal for financial planning documents and balance sheets. She emphasized that the integration between these portals and Schwab’s platform allows clients to access their account information and documents seamlessly, providing a comprehensive view of their financial plans and real-time account data.
TRADING FLEXIBILITY: ANOTHER BIG PLUS
Equita provides its members with options for managing investment trades, all of which integrate directly with Schwab’s trading platform. Advisors can choose between handling trades independently or leveraging centralized trading teams. This flexibility allows each firm to tailor its operations to its specific needs and preferences.
Grimes stated that Equita has three different trading solutions, depending on what each advisor wants for her clients:
- Advisor Logistics: An outsourced CIO that has created models integrating directly with Schwab, allowing them to trade for advisors and their clients seamlessly.
- Schwab’s iRebal: Some of the women on the Equita platform have their own models and they want to trade those. So this is a great solution where they can execute the trades themselves on the Schwab platform. iRebal’s direct connection with Schwab’s trading platform allows advisors to efficiently execute their own models.
- Advyzon Investment Management (AIM): Recently added for portfolio management solutions, including SMAs and custom models. AIM integrates directly with Schwab for streamlined trading.
“It doesn’t have to be all or none,” said Grimes. “Advisors can use one, two, or all three. The integration is absolutely critical.”
RISK MANAGEMENT AND LEAD GENERATION
Grimes also discussed how her firm uses Nitrogen (formerly Riskalyze) – which also integrates with Schwab – as both a risk management and lead generation tool. The integration between Nitrogen and Schwab allows for real-time risk assessment based on current portfolio data, enhancing the accuracy of risk analysis and portfolio recommendations.
“I don’t know how many of you actually consider Nitrogen a lead generation tool,” said Grimes. “For a period of time, I just thought of it as a risk management and analysis tool. But what it’s become over time for my practice is a lead generation tool. When we meet with a prospective client, we collect some data. We do a 30,000-foot view analysis to see if we are a good fit for each other. Part of that process is having them take a Nitrogen Risk Assessment.”
Grimes went on to explain how this works with prospective clients: “You are having a conversation with a client or a prospective client, and you’re saying, okay, look, you got a 57 on this, and yet you’re 100% in equities. Can we talk about this? Because there’s a disconnect between what you said you’re comfortable with and how you’re currently invested. And it really opens up a conversation about what are your goals, how are you invested, how do you make those decisions, where should you really be?”
Existing clients also take the quiz on an annual basis to ensure they are invested based on their goals and comfort level. Grimes shared that this shows her clients that WealthChoice is really engaged in making sure they are doing the right thing for them. Garrison concluded with the acknowledgment that this is a good way to frame that initial discussion around investment allocation and choices.
ESTATE PLANNING TOOLS ON THE HORIZON
Grimes finished up the session, sharing what she was specifically looking to find while at the T3 conference, and said that it is always “a plus” when the software integrates with Schwab.
“I love the estate planning stuff that’s out there for planners. I’ve met with Vanilla and Wealth.com, and I think what they’re doing is great. In our practice, whenever we bring on a new client, we go through estate documents. And so often, they have no estate documents, or they’re really outdated. There are some exciting options out there. So it’s something that we’re going to explore.”
Together, Garrison and Grimes underscored the transformative potential of collaboration and innovation in wealth management. Equita’s innovative approach to supporting women-led firms exemplifies how strategic tech stacks and shared resources can drive success in the industry. By prioritizing efficiency and flexibility, Equita is empowering its members to thrive and deliver exceptional value to their clients.
