Vendor Spotlight: Asset-Map

There might be one or two accountants out there who like digging through documents over and over again to find the information they need, but for everyone else there's Asset-Map.

The "software-as-a-process" solutions provider, based in Philadelphia, gathers disparate information and presents it in a graphical format laid out in a single area — or map, if you will. This map provides a visual, intuitive interface for accounting professionals helping their clients. The goal was to offer a simpler, more engaging way to help clients understand their financial landscape and make informed decisions.

Founder Adam Holt had been a financial advisor for over 25 years, and at first he had the software developed for his own use. He funded an early version of the platform in order to more easily organize his client households' finances and decisions visually. Once he began talking to others about this best practice, more professionals became interested in the idea, and the current version of Asset-Map Platform was born. Since then, it has grown into a robust financial technology platform devoted to creating visual communication tools that can be used by both the customer and advisor. Over 1.25 million people now use Asset-Map. 

Holt shared Asset-Map's unique approach to financial advising, the company's latest collaborations and initiatives, and its plans for the future, which include expanding its visual engagement experience and pioneering the use of cutting-edge financial planning tools.

How would you best describe what your company does? 

Holt: Asset-Map is a software-as-a-process experience for financial professionals who provide in-person and remote advice in the wealth management, investment and insurance markets. Typically included as part of the financial planning engagement process, Asset-Map centers around the digital visualization of household facts to build highly customized, design-thinking presentations in minutes that help advisors and their customers make better financial decisions. 

What is in your product line, and what is your flagship product? 

Holt: Where Asset-Map Platform is truly unique is in its Asset-Map Report household visualization, Discovery data collection tool, Signals proprietary algorithm feedback on financial event risks, Stencil peer overlays, Target-Map one-page goal planning, and our newest release, Custom Questionnaire for DTC data gathering. 

What product of yours do you think should be better known among accountants? 

Holt: Signals and Signals Plus, earning recognition in Accounting Today's 2023 Top New Products, are extremely valuable to accountants who want to deliver proactive financial guidance and client advisory services 2.0. Signals are algorithmic indicators based on a household's financial inventory fact pattern, that tests the ability to fund up to six financial fire drills. Accountants can easily communicate to their clients that they may be at risk of funding these disruptive life events financially and start a conversation that has been previously dominated by financial planners alone. These color-coded Signals assess the ability to fund emergency reserves, disability, loss of life, long-term care, outliving one's assets and liability attacks.  

What was the last big initiative or project your company completed?

Holt: We announced a strategic collaboration with Morningstar, which will provide our visual financial advice engagement experience and specialized planning tools to Morningstar Advisor Workstation subscribers, allowing financial professionals to facilitate more meaningful guidance conversations with clients. As professionals demand financial diagnosis insight faster than ever, Morningstar's world-class investment research will be one step closer to advisors using Asset-Map directly with their clients.

What is the most exciting new thing you're working on? 

Holt: Asset-Map is currently developing an exciting new feature called Asset-Map Proposals, allowing professional subscribers to visually illustrate recommended changes for a household's financial portfolio. This will encompass adding, modifying or removing financial instruments, all within Asset-Map's award-winning visual engagement experience. By presenting clients with holistic recommendations, professionals can foster empowerment and financial literacy, while creating a defensible record of advice.

What makes you different? Unique, even? 

Holt: Asset-Map Platform provides a more effective way to engage with clients through an interactive visual experience. Our cloud-based platform visually organizes a household's financial instruments in a clear graphical layout, providing accounting professionals with a straightforward way to apply their unique experience and address gaps in their clients' financial wellness to uncover new opportunities. By giving them the opportunity to scale advisory services and strengthen client relationships, professionals are equipped to deliver the strategic insights and proactive financial advice their clients are seeking. ...

Specifically, the Asset-Map Platform is unique in that it can accelerate the entire early advice journey to minutes versus days. By removing the typically intimidating data collection process in favor of a 15-minute direct-to-consumer mobile experience, Asset-Map enables professionals to scale data gathering to start an advice conversation. Turning the fact patterns into consumable visualizations of the household helps determine where there are immediate concerns and where to focus early on. Our Signals algorithm immediately indicates the severity of at-risk financial events that require attention and Target-Maps enable financial planning discussions in 30 seconds to determine savings and investment decisions. 

Asset-Map at a Glance:

Location: Philadelphia
Number of staff: 40 employees
Customers: 1.25 million
Financial instruments mapped: $1.5 trillion
Website: https://asset-map.com/

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