Senior Software Engineer

WealthTech safari mar 13, 2026. Your guided tour of the interesting events in WealthTech for the week. Robinhood's $658 million private markets fund for retail investors goes public * Robinhood Markets has listed its flagship venture fund on the NYSE, allowing non-accredited retail investors to trade shares of pre-IPO technology companies like Databricks and Stripe. * The move demonstrates a significant shift in democratizing institutional-grade alternative investments through mass-market distribution and a traditional closed-end fund structure. Knote: On paper, this is a fine idea. But I don't think a closed-end fund structure is the best way to trade illiquid securities and I'm not a huge fan of the way this was marketed. Still, it shows the power of mass distribution encountering demand for alternatives, for good or evil, as $650 million is not a shabby figure to raise on light analysis and market chaos. However, it is possible that at least some of those purchases were based on the trust of the Robinhood brand, which may be on probation at the moment since the investment declined 16% on the first day. Granted, there were market forces at play, but they may need to wait a bit for their next effort. Fidelity(R) Q4 2025 Retirement Analysis: Average Annual 401(k) Account Balances Increase by Double Digits for Third Year in a Row * Average 401(k) balances reached a record $146,400 at the end of 2025, driven by steady savings rates and double-digit annual growth across multiple account types. * The surge in million-dollar retirement accounts and high Gen Z engagement highlights a massive opportunity for advisors to capture the accelerating rollover market. Knote: With more people turning 65 in the US this year than ever has done, growth-minded advisors should triple-down on the 401k rollover market or Fidelity will have all the fun. OneVest and Merit Financial Advisors Forge Strategic Partnership to Fuel Next-Gen Growth and Advisor Innovation * OneVest and Merit Financial Advisors have partnered to create a unified operating model designed to streamline the acquisition and onboarding of 15 advisory firms in 2026. * This alliance underscores the critical role of agile technological architecture in executing successful RIA rollup strategies by eliminating manual labor and data fragmentation. Knote: One look at Farther and even the least imaginative realize that technology is a big factor in the growth of RIA rollup platforms. This is just Merit being smart and intentional around its growth goals this year after doubling assets last year. The AI pension advisers are already here * A significant portion of UK adults are now using generative AI platforms for financial advice, prompting warnings from regulators regarding data accuracy and "hallucinations." * While AI offers accessible scenario planning, wealth managers emphasize that current models lack the deep reasoning and tax-specific nuances required for full advisory replacement. Knote: At least WealthTech Strategy Partners LLC know that the AI scare is hitting the UK as well. I will point out that, in the article, they cite a study by "Which?" where they "Put leading AI platforms to the test on personal finance." Perplexity was ranked the highest for "accuracy" but they only scored 73%. I'm not sure what that score is exactly, but if it means 27% of what you get back is not accurate, I would consider that a problem. ChatGPT, the most popular platform for financial advice according to the FT, had an accuracy rating of 65%. I hope I am misinterpreting that stat and look forward to being corrected. U.S. Bank's RIA Arm Launches Service for Mass Affluent Clients * U.S. Bancorp Advisors is launching a wealth management suite with a $25,000 minimum to transition retail banking customers into managed investment relationships. * This initiative reflects a broader industry trend of major banks scaling professional advice to mid-tier clients to capture emerging wealth and build long-term loyalty. Knote: If you want to capture Millennials, self-directed trading seems like a good way to go. Trading, investing, and banking all in one app can be an attractive package for folks who like to control their financial lives (and all other aspects of their lives) through one app. If you capture them now, you have a chance to keep them later. That's how Schwab got started. WealthStream Launches Advice Intelligence Platform to Develop and Retain the Next Generation of Advisors * WealthStream debuted an AI-native advice intelligence platform at T3 designed to standardize expert-level planning and provide advisors with digital paraplanner capabilities. * By integrating specialist AI agents into existing tech stacks, the platform aims to supplement emerging advisor expertise and ensure consistent quality across organizations. Knote: WealthStream is taking the approach of partnering with the advisor vs replacing. As WealthTech Strategy Partners LLC (hopefully) bring new advisors into the ecosystem to replace retiring advisors, having a dedicated digital paraplanner can go a long way to supplementing emerging expertise and standardizing quality of care across an organization. AdvisorEngine Portfolio Solutions re-imagines TAMP experience to deliver a fully-connected practice platform * AdvisorEngine Portfolio Solutions has launched a unified TAMP that integrates a marketplace of 1,500 strategies directly into its wealth management technology ecosystem. * The platform enables RIAs to scale through automated onboarding and tax-smart investing while allowing them to maintain personalized investment approaches for high-net-worth clients. Knote: This is just plain smart. TAMPs are a great business about to get even better when they become the gatekeepers for alternatives distribution into the wealth channel. And, if Orion is anything of an indication, advisors appreciate having their models tightly integrated into their advisorOS.

Tech roundup: Toronto wealthtech launches AI operating system. Plus, Canadian fintech investment moderates to US$2.4B in 2025 Toronto-based wealthtech OneVest launched an agentic AI operating system for its platform, the company announced Tuesday. OneVest claims the new operating system will automate workflows, so AI performs administrative tasks in addition to providing and summarizing textual information. "We have focused on execution," Amar Ahluwalia, co-founder and CEO of OneVest, said in an interview. "It enables the completion of operational tasks... everything from onboarding to uploading documentation to processing a query to sending batch jobs down." Administration staff can use it to automate billing and compliance documentation, Ahluwalia continued. For example, it can take 20 hours to open an account, but automation can save five hours of work. "We want to automate everything," Ahluwalia said. "The intent is really to use the [AI] agent to run your day to day tasks... mundane items that bring barriers as you start to think about administration." Since the US$20-million Series B fundraise in January 2025, OneVest has expanded its presence in the U.S. with banks, registered investment advisers and broker-dealers. The company is prepared to expand to a European country later this year. US$2.4B invested in Canadian fintech in 2025. Investment in Canadian fintech moderated last year to more historical levels, pointing to a more measured and disciplined investment environment, according to a KPMG report. It noted that there is sustained interest in later-stage companies, platform acquisitions and subsectors like AI and digital assets. Venture capital, private equity and mergers and acquisitions in Canadian fintech added up to US$2.4 billion across 113 deals in 2025, according to PitchBook data. This came after a bumper year in 2024 with US$9.9 billion invested in 161 deals, mainly from two large transactions. Investment accelerated in the second half of 2025, with US$327 million invested in the third quarter across 26 deals, and US$662 million across 16 deals in the final quarter, according to KPMG. While deal counts declined quarter over quarter, average deal values increased. The three largest deals in Canada were the US$898-million private equity buyout of Toronto-based Converge Technology Solutions by San Francisco-based H.I.G. Capital; Wealthsimple's US$536-million equity raise; and San Francisco-based Ripple's US$200-million acquisition of Toronto-based stablecoin payments startup Rail. The Canadian federal government's promise to introduce a regulatory regime for stablecoins was a "pivotal" shift for digital assets, Kareem Sadek, KPMG Canada's national technology risk services leader, said in a statement. It provides institutional investors with regulatory clarity and aligns the country's ecosystem with global financial standards. "The investment appetite for Canadian fintechs will continue to grow in 2026, as investors prioritize quality, scale and strategic fit, signalling a market that is maturing and aligning more closely with long-term value creation," Dubie Cunningham, a partner in KPMG Canada's banking and capital markets practice, said in a release. The expected rollout of Canada's open banking framework later this year will be a catalyst for challenger banks, where funding and scale are maturing, Cunningham added. Webull preps for round-the-clock trading. Online trading platform Webull launched its consolidated market data feed for overnight U.S. equities trading, the company announced recently. It was designed for Asia-Pacific traders to access U.S. market information during their local daytime hours. The data feed brings together real-time information from two U.S. equities overnight trading venues: Blue Ocean and Bruce Markets. Best bid and offer data is free while deeper information costs US$4.99 per month. Webull Canada's trading hours were extended in December 2024 to 4:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. EST, Monday to Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. - and extended again in 2025 to 8:00 p.m. CRA announces CPP maximum pensionable earnings for 2026 | Investment Executive CIRO says 750K investors affected by August cyberbreach | Investment Executive Advisor's notes inadmissible, court finds | Investment Executive