FIS, InvestCloud team up to give advisors mobile apps

FIS has partnered with InvestCloud to provide financial advisors with mobile, client-facing apps that link FIS back-end recordkeeping and accounting systems to InvestCloud’s front-end wealth tools. The companies plan a July rollout for six clients that currently use both firms’ systems.

Under the agreement, FIS will supply the financial and operational backbone around its recordkeeping and accounting platforms. InvestCloud, a California-based wealthtech firm backed by Motive Partners and Clearlake Capital, will provide mobile apps and advisor-facing interfaces for investment management and financial planning.

Services will first be available to six shared clients in July, then extended more broadly to firms that work with FIS’ wealth division. FIS serves about 600 institutions through that business; roughly half run FIS’ recordkeeping platform and are immediate targets for the offering.

Firms are positioning the platform to engage younger, mobile-first clients and to present banking and wealth-management data in a single digital experience. Sherry Baker, head of FIS’ wealth business, described the partnership as a faster route to market than building a comparable product internally and said advisors often log into three to five systems to prepare for client conversations.

Dan Bjerke, president of digital wealth at InvestCloud, said clients want a single household view that brings together retirement, career and family goals rather than separate accounts across multiple products. He added the platform’s tools can help coordinate advice across banking and wealth teams.

InvestCloud has developed artificial intelligence features that monitor client accounts and economic indicators and flag events that may require adviser attention. The firms say those alerts can help relationship managers, wealth teams and other specialists respond more quickly when client circumstances change.

Research from January by Cerulli Associates found more than half of bank- and trust-based advisors rate technology as at least somewhat important when comparing firms, and nearly 30% call it very important. Matt Zampariolo, a research analyst at Cerulli, noted banks are looking to differentiate through their technology stacks as advisors move into independent channels or seek platforms with more flexible client engagement tools.

FIS and InvestCloud plan to market the combined product to independent advisors, registered investment advisers, banks and law firms that offer wealth services. Baker said delivering timely information about market events or account changes will be a key differentiator for firms that adopt the new tools.