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Financial Services Review: Specials Magazine
When solving a jigsaw puzzle, the most important element is not the pieces themselves. Each fragment, a corner, an edge or a hint of color is incomplete on its own. What truly matters is the picture on the box. That image provides the clarity to assemble the diverse parts into what the final image is supposed to look like. For Invenio Wealth Partners, a client’s financial life is the puzzle and the picture on the box is a personalized financial plan that shows what their clients’ financial futures should look like. What makes the process reassuring is that, as independent fiduciaries, Invenio has no proprietary products or solutions. This clarity allows them to carefully select the right pieces— investments, trust accounts, estate planning, and more— maximizing the likelihood of achieving objectives tailored to each client’s unique circumstances. Joseph “Joe” Fernandez, CFP®, president and CEO explains, “We start by understanding the client's ultimate goal, and create a complete, coherent picture of their financial future. With that clear vision, we strategically assemble the right elements to make the picture come to life, offering a customized approach rather than applying a one-size-fits-all strategy.” The firm focuses on crafting a tailored, long-term financial strategy built on trust, expertise, and personalized service. Once the plan is in place, the team carefully selects the right pieces to achieve the client’s vision, ensuring each part of the financial picture fits together seamlessly. Christina Hudson, chief investment officer, builds on this concept by explaining how they go beyond just building the puzzle, “Once we understand the picture we’re trying to create, we focus on assembling the assets that will help achieve the client's goals with while managing the inherent risk.” This philosophy is rooted in the firm’s dedication to put their clients' needs first. It explores a wide range of investments, from traditional equities and fixed income to alternative assets, providing nation-wide clients with a well-diversified and risk-managed portfolio designed to withstand volatility and achieve meaningful results.
Top Custody Solution 2025
American Trust Custody is recasting the role of custody from a back-office function into an essential operating infrastructure at the core of AmericanTCS’s retirement ecosystem. Acting as an integrated B2B partner, it helps financial intermediaries outsource complexity, enabling them to scale more confidently. The fabric of the broader AmericanTCS retirement ecosystem includes trust and custody, fiduciary oversight, recordkeeping and administration, and technology-driven workflow automation. Together, these capabilities enable bank trust departments, 401(k) recordkeepers, TPAs, and insurers to consolidate vendors without compromising specialization or control over the client front end. The value lies in fewer handoffs, tighter data continuity, and faster implementation, at a time when margins are narrowing and regulatory cadence is accelerating. “We support financial intermediaries through a collaborative wholesale model that spans the full retirement plan lifecycle,” states Tim Friday, president and CEO. The Custody Cornerstone As the cornerstone of custody within AmericanTCS, the business delivers trust and custody services, including directed trustee, paying agent, and participant distributions, as well as clearing and settlement, and IRA solutions. Clients can then connect to adjacent capabilities as needs evolve across the plan lifecycle, supported by over 700 dedicated employees and a platform serving over 125,000 retirement plans and more than $178 billion in aggregate assets. The proposition scales within a wholesale ecosystem that supports a little over 60 percent of defined contribution plans nationally, aligning specialization with operating leverage. Its differentiator lies in combining relationship centric service with proprietary technology to enable institutions to tailor operations to their own workflows rather than conforming to rigid vendor templates. The proprietary trust accounting system is purpose built for the nuances and edge cases of retirement plan lifecycles—trading complexity, cash controls, participant distributions, and data integrity— where off the shelf systems fall short. Custody’s role within the platform ensures a single, accountable architecture that standardizes the plumbing, creating efficiency while preserving customization, which in turn shapes client outcomes. American Trust Custody also emphasizes the expertise of its people, which includes teams of subject matter experts, program leaders, and strategists who bring decades of experience and industry certifications. Clients benefit not only from technology, but also from talent handpicked to understand the nuances of trust and custody at scale.
Top EOD Market Data and Trading Software 2025
For commodity traders, every nugget of information on the history and price dynamics of traded items can make or break a trade. Access to comprehensive market data significantly increases their chances of winning deals. Commodity Systems Inc. (CSI)’s financial market data archive, combined with advanced trading software and seasoned in-house expertise, provides traders with an edge that no contemporary database or search engine can match. The firm brings the largest database of meticulously preserved financial market statistics on futures, options and stocks, compiled over decades and updated daily. It delivers current as well as historical end-of-day (EOD) data on every major commodity traded on exchanges worldwide, giving traders unparalleled access to market intelligence. “Our commodity data goes back farther than anybody else out there,” says Jack Stauffer, CEO. CSI’s futures data is maintained since the earliest days of trading. It extensively covers commodity markets from the 1940s onward, even starting from 1922 in some cases. On the equities side, it maintains the complete data of every stock traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), dating back to 1962 and on NASDAQ since its inception in 1971. Focused on due diligence, CSI ensures that the data undergoes rigorous checks before being released to customers. Traders can analyze the data with Unfair Advantage, CSI’s proprietary trading analysis software package. Bundled with its data subscription plan, the powerful software is designed to transform extensive market data into actionable insights with over 100 technical analysis tools. It compresses massive amounts of financial data for use on personal computers, making in-depth analysis accessible to traders. The software also provides custom studies based on clients’ trading analysis ideas. One such instance is when a user proposed a customized Donchian Channel indicator to track commodity price volatility. Developed in collaboration with CSI’s experts, the study is now part of the package as an analysis tool.
Top Investment Advisory And Financial Planning Service 2025
The financial services industry has never been short of options. From sleek digital platforms to established advisory firms, entrepreneurs encounter a steady stream of promises about smarter returns and secure futures. Still, the experience often feels incomplete, with conversations focused on portfolios instead of people. The missing element is a genuine connection, where values and ambitions matter as much as financial assets. Braden Draggoo, the founder of Draggoo Financial Group, addresses the industry’s missing element of connection by approaching clients not merely as an advisor, but as a fellow entrepreneur partnering with other visionaries. His role is more akin to that of a coach, a builder, or even a mechanic. “I’m in the people business and this requires the deepest form of connectivity,” he says. “When dealing with people, financial expertise and money management are the baseline. Entrepreneurs and business owners need advisors who think in terms of vision, expansion, and legacy.” This, he says, changes outcomes dramatically. Aligning with someone who shares an entrepreneurial mindset creates a wealth trajectory that is both higher and more enduring. This philosophy is anchored in five core values—faith, fitness, finance, fun, and family—that guide every client relationship. Draggoo focuses on holistic growth, ensuring that clients’ ambitions, values, and strategies are fully aligned to achieve a meaningful and long-term impact. The Framework for Meaningful Engagement Draggoo Financial Group developed its own framework called CLEAR to bring this philosophy to life. CLEAR stands for clarity, learning, execution, alignment and relationship. The process begins with clarity, where in-depth conversations uncover client needs and aspirations, transcending conventional assessments. These clarity meetings incorporate Draggoo’s five core values to gain a holistic understanding of the client’s life, focusing on meaningful issues rather than just dollars and cents. Once their individual needs are articulated, clients embark on an insightful journey of financial learning. By identifying whether they are advancing or stagnating in their learning, Draggoo Financial Group emphasizes educating clients on the values and behaviors that drive entrepreneurial wealth-building through strategic investments. This step precedes execution, equipping clients with the knowledge to strengthen their financial decision-making, relationships and overall wellbeing.
Top Financial Wealth Management Advisors 2025
Smart financial planning is more than a numbers game; it’s how families create stability, businesses build resilience, and legacies take root. Ulrich Investment Consultants focuses on multi-generational wealth management that aligns with family values, with the goal of safeguarding economic well-being for the future. Ulrich offers customized financial guidance and investment oversight with a focus on tax efficiency. The firm caters to high-net-worth families, institutional clients and Native American tribes, blending traditional and alternative strategies. Through its insurance arm, it offers risk management services and access to trusted advisors, aiming to deliver a client experience that demonstrates the true benefits of its holistic offerings. “We measure success in terms of our clients achieving their goals,” says John Ulrich, founder and president. “They gain greater financial security and expanded opportunities, leading to higher satisfaction.” What sets the firm apart is its combination of deep experience, fiduciary independence and collaborative team culture. They strive for consistent, accurate, and reliable service, along with comprehensive support through well-informed advice and practical solutions. Each client engagement begins with a strategic financial planning process that extends beyond traditional risk assessment. Clients undergo an in-depth evaluation to identify their specific needs and expected rate of return. The Ulrich team assesses the client’s risk tolerance, which helps tailor an investment framework aligned with their long-term objectives. For private clients, Ulrich integrates long-term estate planning with investment management, aiming to synchronize various aspects of their financial holdings and develop strategies for sustainable growth to support future generations. The integrated focus seeks to create a well-structured course of action that supports lasting wealth transfer and financial security.
CXO INSIGHTS
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Enhancing Organizational Performance Through Strategic Planning
Paul Young, Chief Financial Officer, Liberty Bank − CT
The Financial Advisor Retirement Wave
John Turner, VP - Investment Advisor Lending, Live Oak Bank
4 Commonly Used Wealth Transfer Strategies
Jeanne Krigbaum, Chief Wealth Planning Officer, Old National Bank
Effective Financial Risk Management
Gilbert Asamoah, Credit Risk Manager, NiSource
IN FOCUS
Strategic Financial Guidance Powered by Innovation and Trust
Financial planning services are evolving with customized strategies and AI tools, enhancing accessibility and compliance while providing ethical, scalable guidance for diverse stakeholders.
Elevating Security Through Advanced Custody Solutions
Custody solutions evolve to meet market demands, overcoming challenges through innovation while unlocking new opportunities for asset security and growth.
EDITORIAL
Empowering the Future of Intelligent Finance
Artificial intelligence (AI) and real-time analytics are redefining how investors and businesses approach financial planning. As markets grow more dynamic, investors are seeking strategies that respond to data and anticipate trends. Across wealth management, trading, custody, and financial planning sectors, technology is enabling more personalized, data-driven solutions, making financial decisions faster, smarter, and more precise. In wealth management, top financial advisors are using AI to craft tailored investment strategies that evolve with each client’s goals and risk profile. Predictive analytics and data insights empower advisors to deliver timely, actionable recommendations, transforming wealth management into a more adaptive and goal-oriented discipline. In trading, advanced end-of-day (EOD) market data and software are transforming analysis and strategy. By integrating comprehensive EOD data, traders can assess patterns, back-test strategies, and make informed decisions grounded in historical and predictive insights, which are essential in today’s fast-paced market environment. Meanwhile, custody solutions are evolving beyond traditional asset safekeeping. Through blockchain integration, AI automation, and intelligent reporting, modern custody platforms now deliver enhanced transparency, security, and efficiency, ensuring compliance and operational excellence for institutional investors. In financial planning, leading firms are combining AI-driven analytics with holistic advisory approaches. These platforms unify investment planning, tax optimization, and retirement management, adapting strategies in real time to reflect market shifts and client needs. In this edition, we highlight organizations at the forefront of innovation, those harnessing AI, predictive analytics, and blockchain to reshape financial services. Insights from Jacqueline Breslauer, Executive Vice President - Chief Audit Executive at Valley Bank, and Aura Rebelo, CEO of Fully Ecosystem and VP of Marketing and Digital at Prudential International Insurance, show how these innovations are driving efficiency and enhancing the financial landscape across wealth management, trading, and custodial services. We hope the insights from industry leaders and the innovative solutions featured here will help guide your decisions and advance your organization’s goals.
