Fintech’s Lesson For The Young Advisor: ‘The Only Way You Survive’

By Alexandria Cole-Davis

Have you heard of the Consumer Technology Association? Every year it holds the Consumer Electronics Show, or CES.

It’s the world's largest gathering for businesses that thrive on consumer technology. More than 175,000 people attended this technology conference in Las Vegas.

Every year I watch in amazement via Instagram stories and Twitter pages of leading technology companies that are showcasing and unveiling the innovative changes to technology. One thing I always wonder about this conference is what the fintech community is rolling out or what technology companies are beginning to venture into financial technology.

I added this huge conference to my list for 2021. If you’re in need of excitement, empowerment or encouragement to innovate, this is definitely a conference you should consider attending.

CES 2021 is scheduled for January 6-10th, 2021 in Las Vegas.

“The only way you survive is you continuously transform into something else. It’s this idea of continuous transformation that makes you an innovative company,” Ginni Rommetty, chairman, president and CEO of IBM said on the company blog.

Staying involved in new innovation and up to date on current trends is also extremely important to being a successful financial planner. It can be difficult to stay up to date with information but the Financial Planning Association’s February fintech content, resources and insights can make it easy to stay connected.

The “You’re a Financial Planner, Now What?” podcast is hosting a month full of fintech topics in February.

We kick off the month with an interview with Sean Brown, the CEO of Y-Charts, who will be discussing the innovative ways they’re impacting the research and reporting space through their annual client communication survey and using research to provide visual stories to support financial planners.

Another episode, hosted by Matt Fizell, will discuss the topic of fintech with Jason Wenk, CEO and founder of Altruist.

This episode is full of insight that breaks down the issues of scaling technology within a financial planning firm and discussing the large increase of technology being used among planners.

Jason does a great job pointing out the importance of having young associates and planners in the office who know their way around technology.

The final podcast episode for the fintech month will include an interview from Soraya Morris of Envestnet Moneyguide. Soraya shares her story of navigating as a woman in the fintech community while learning all the opportunities and benefits that technology companies offer NexGen professionals joining the financial planning profession.

This podcast is one you won’t want to miss, especially if you are wondering about some of the unique positions that financial technology companies are looking to fill as they grow as a company.

This February is the month where the Financial Planning Association celebrates and highlights all things fintech. They host live webinars with leaders from the fintech community, dedicated journals and publications to the topic, and produce weeks’ worth of podcasts on the topic.

So, when is the last time you checked in on the latest technology innovation? Or read an article that profoundly made you question how you use technology? Well it’s not too late to incorporate and adjust some of your goals and career aspirations to learn something new and embrace the new findings in the fintech space.

As I sign off of today’s column I will leave you with one final word from the Nerd’s Eye View blog that might help you be more open to the fast-changing fintech space transforming your career: “Transformation is creating innovative companies.”

Born and raised in Sacramento, Calif. Alexandria attended California State University- Sacramento where she received a degree in economics. She is currently starting a new role with Facet Wealth as a business development associate. She also founded her own tax business this year called BeyondTax. Alexandria is very interested in media and hosts the monthly podcast “You’re A Financial Planner, Now What?” Outside of work, Alexandria loves visiting unique coffee shops with her husband, working out, spending time with family and playing board games.

FPA NexGen, a community of the Financial Planning Association® (FPA®), aims to provide support and collaboration for those professionals new to the financial planning profession. With more than 2,500 like-minded young professionals, members of FPA NexGen are ready to share their experiences and further the future of the financial planning profession. Learn more about our engaged community and join the conversation on Twitter.