In|Vest Insights

COVID-19 is bringing business to PayPal, Blend, Symphony and others as homebound consumers and commercial clients seek more electronic services. But demand could cool if the economy slows further.

For firms that haven't recently updated their capabilities, the next few months will be a rough wake-up call.

The tumult is the latest example of the pressures that the firm faces as an upstart in the hyper-competitive and tightly regulated brokerage business.

Financial advisor Alex Chalekian started out his career with a mentor “who was not the nicest person.” Ever since, he has wanted to serve as a resource to fellow planners, he explains in an episode of Financial Planning’s Invest Podcast.

Customers criticized the company on Twitter, with some saying they were unable to place orders.

Wealth management firms have a “massive opportunity” to use new methods of reaching clients and the wider industry, FiComm Partners CEO Megan Carpenter says in an episode of Financial Planning’s In|Vest Podcast.

A client's lawsuit claims the snafu caused users of its app “to miss out on some of the highest single-day market gains in recorded history.”

RIAs already on the platform can stick with the old pricing model or transition to the new one.

The deal is the latest by a larger company seeking to gain fintech market share.

For planners who embrace the potential to provide these services, it can be a natural next-generation service offering.