Stone Stanton is CEO of Advisor Credit Exchange (www.advisorcreditexchange.com)
Russ Alan Prince: Tell me about Advisor Credit Exchange.
Stone Stanton: Advisor Credit Exchange – ACE – is a technology-enabled network that brings lenders and wealth managers together to make it easier for investment firms and advisors to provide the financing solutions that help build and maintain value of their clients and to best achieve their financial objectives. ACE’s key innovation is that advisors can know, before they speak with their clients, what loan options are available for presentation, along with clearly presented prices and terms. This breakthrough literally demystifies loans for advisors and their clients. By integrating liability management with asset management, ACE creates new opportunities for advisors to help clients achieve financial wellness.
Prince: If credit is so important, why aren’t more advisors proactively offering it?
Stanton: Most advisors know that sound liability management is essential to building client net worth and therefore important to deliver. Still, that’s not their traditional strength, so they generally treat the loan as an accommodation. They react to funding instead of being proactive with it.
We’ve partnered with Envestnet to make it easier for wealth managers to advise clients on their credit needs and showcase the best-fit solutions from lenders selected for their high quality of service. The Envestnet Credit Exchange, powered by ACE, provides advisors with access to a wide range of secured and unsecured loans, from $10,000 to $25 million and more, all in a single, easy-to-access and secure platform. fully integrated.
These financing solutions include residential real estate, equity-backed loans and signature loans and are selected from a list of opportunities based on each client’s financial data and matched with product offerings from our lending partners. The exchange provides pre-screened, data-driven credit options that allow advisors to recommend loans to their clients with confidence, minimizing credit downside risk and concerns about competitive pricing. In short, we’re leveraging technology to demystify lending for advisors and their clients, so advisors can proactively meet their clients’ credit needs.
Prince: What trends are advancing in the industry regarding how advisors provide loans to their clients?
Stanton: Through finance professionals, securities-backed loans have traditionally been the most commonly offered loans. But recently, the industry has recognized that real estate and unsecured personal loans account for over 90% of customers’ personal liability balances – home loans alone account for over 70% of consumer borrowing.
We see growing demand for the full suite of credit solutions and expect it to continue to grow in the industry. To meet this need, Envestnet Credit Exchange now offers advisors who rely on the Envestnet ecosystem access to the three main categories of personal credit. And now we’re also gearing up to meet growing interest from advisors to offer a full range of business loans – working capital, term loans and home loans. In particular, many of an advisor’s best clients are small business owners.
Prince: How does credit help clients achieve The Intelligent Financial Life™?
Stanton: For clients to experience the smart financial life, advisors need to recognize that it’s not just about the assets they should advise on. Investors today want advice based on their entire financial picture, which includes planning, investing, credit management and protection.
With this in mind, advisors should include loans as part of their financial plan for investors and focus on the two sides of the balance sheet, which are both equally important. Doing so could lead to the discovery of unknown assets that can have a significant impact on the planning and advice that advisors provide to better position clients for success.
Credit is a vital area of a client’s financial life, and our technology, along with our advisor-supporting subject matter experts, helps advisors seamlessly integrate credit products and advice into their practices. This level of engagement shows clients that you really care, which can foster trusting relationships that naturally last over time and position you to serve as the primary financial contact for your clients, able to provide funds when they need it most, which can lead to additional referrals or growth opportunities over time.
Prince: How does the Advisor Credit Exchange compare to other platforms offering credit in the advised client space today? And in the future?
Stanton: ACE believes that the key to success is providing all the tools advisors need to proactively meet their clients’ credit needs. Unlike other credit providers, Credit Exchange presents pre-selected credit options based on financial data and customer profile. Additionally, we provide advisors with the tools, training and coaching necessary to provide a thoughtful assessment of a client’s credit needs and advice on financing that will best meet their overall financial goals. From now on, financial advisors can truly be their clients’ financing advisors! That’s what the exchange is for.
As for the future, ACE is currently active, thriving and growing based on demand from advisors and investors. We are constantly adding and planning additional lenders, new loan types and broader market expansion throughout the year, with the goal of maintaining a strong suite of lending capabilities that will align with the vast majority of investor loan applications.
Although we are a powerful consulting platform that integrates the services and software you need to deliver value and streamline your business, the technology itself is just a gateway that can enable you to offer truly unified advisory support and advice on all aspects of your clients’ finances. . With lending opportunities tailored to each client’s unique financial situation, you can leverage ACE to help you become a more effective and efficient advisor, provide expert support, and enable your practice to grow. This is what makes us so unique.
RUSS ALAN PRINCE is executive director of Private Wealth magazine (pw-mag.com) and chief content officer for High-Net-Worth Genius (hnwgenius.com). He consults family offices, quick-and-rich entrepreneurs and selected professionals.
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