Wealthtender offers affordable done-for-you digital marketing benefits to complement your favorite tools and replace others not meeting your expectations. Below are a few comparisons of Wealthtender to other digital marketing tools available to financial advisors.

Wealthtender vs. Find-An-Advisor Websites

Beyond the opportunity for prospects to discover you on find-an-advisor websites, SEO ranks as one of the most valuable digital marketing benefits of your profile page. This is one of the reasons why listing platforms like Wealthtender ranked in a recent survey conducted by Michael Kitces as a top 5 marketing strategy.

When you join Wealthtender, you benefit from our industry-leading Domain Authority (a search engine ranking score that predicts how likely a website is to rank in search engine result pages). Here’s a comparison:

💡 Learn more about the benefits of creating profiles on find-an-advisor-websites.

Wealthtender vs. "Get Quoted in the Media" Services

For financial advisors on a very tight budget, free services like HARO offer opportunities to get quoted in the media, but with considerable noise and competition that can make it challenging to stand out.

On the other end of the spectrum, you'll find PR agencies that charge thousands of dollars a month or hundreds of dollars per quote placement they secure on your behalf.

When you sign up for a monthly Wealthtender Growth ($39/month) or Elite ($59/month) subscription plan, you gain opportunities every month to get quoted on wealthtender.com, MSN.com, popular finance websites in our network, and media outlets affiliated with the Associated Press for no additional cost.

Here's a comparison of Wealthtender to two "get quoted in the media" services:

Wealthtender vs. Review Platforms

Where you choose to collect, display and promote testimonials and endorsements matters. This is especially true for financial advisors and wealth management firms interested in making the most of the new SEC Marketing rule to succeed with online reviews compliantly.

When you're ready to get started with testimonial marketing, Wealthtender offers the industry's first playbook with templates and checklists to turn your online reviews into a powerful source of digital referrals for years to come. Below is a quick comparison of Wealthtender to Google reviews, or click here for a deeper dive with tips to choose the right online review platform for you.

💡 Learn more about Certified Advisor Reviews™ from Wealthtender.

The Industry’s First Done-For-You Digital Marketing Toolkit for Advisors Who Prefer Working Smarter, Not Harder

Wealthtender helps advisors succeed online to build authority, gain national media recognition, strengthen their SEO, and attract their ideal clients with done-for-you digital marketing services. For example:

🛎️ We create your profile page; You personalize it if you choose.

🛎️ We write and publish articles on wealthtender.com that reach thousands of people each month; You simply provide a quote to gain visibility and SEO benefits.

🛎️ We syndicate articles on sites like MSN.com and Associated Press affiliates; You simply provide a quote to reach a national audience.

🛎️ We amplify your best content on social media each week; You simply provide a link.

And when you’re ready to get started with testimonials, Wealthtender is the first financial advisor online review website compliant with the SEC Marketing rule. We provide you with the playbook to succeed with testimonial marketing and attract the next generation of investors to your practice.

We're dedicated to helping advisors work smarter, not harder, with plans beginning around $1/day.

According to a 2020 industry benchmarking study conducted by Michael Kitces at Nerd's Eye View, paid web listing platforms like Wealthtender rank as a category among the Top 5 Most Cost-Effective Marketing Strategies for advisors.

This article authored by Michael Kitces offers valuable insights into the marketing strategies of more than 800 financial advisors who participated in a 2020 industry benchmarking study.

We're grateful for the tireless efforts by Michael Kitces and his team whose passion for advisor excellence positively influences how we design Wealthtender to help financial advisors grow their business with modern advisor marketing.

Please click the link below to read this article on Nerd's Eye View.

The Most Efficient Financial Advisor Marketing Strategies And The True Cost To Acquire A Client

Click here to learn more.

🎙 Model FA Podcast Episode 38 - Host David DeCelle interviews Brian Thorp, Wealthtender Founder and CEO, on Modernized Marketing Rules for Financial Advisors.
(Listen to the Interview: Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify)

It's ok. You're not alone. We know it could take some time before you're able to move forward depending upon your registration status at federal and state levels (and when your compliance team is ready to give you the green light). When you’re ready, we’ll be here to help you get started. 

Join Wealthtender today to strengthen your online reputation, build authority in your areas of specialization, and attract your ideal clients. With so many benefits to help you grow your business, you're in good company as the majority of financial advisors on Wealthtender aren't able to get started with testimonials either.

We'll be the first to admit if we're wrong. But we're not wavering in our belief that forthcoming SEC guidance will clarify that review platforms like Google and Yelp simply aren't compatible with the SEC Marketing rule, thus limiting acceptable use of these platforms to only include unsolicited reviews.

Here’s What We Know with Certainty:

Google and Yelp are well-known review platforms popular with consumers. And many advisors already have unsolicited reviews written about them visible on these sites. If these are favorable reviews and are truly unsolicited, that’s terrific as advisors gain SEO benefits and visibility among consumers visiting these sites.

But because reviews on Google and Yelp lack the required SEC disclosures to be considered advertisements (e.g. testimonials and endorsements you can promote to grow your business), advisors can’t direct prospects to check out their reviews on these platforms. 

Here’s What We Don’t (Yet) Know:

Unlike unsolicited reviews published on Google or Yelp, the SEC has not formally offered guidance to clarify if solicited reviews on Google and Yelp are deemed an advertisement, and therefore subject to the prohibitions and disclosure requirements described in the SEC Marketing rule. So the question we need the SEC to answer is: Does the act of a financial advisor simply asking for a review to be written on specific platforms like Google or Yelp entangle an advisor in its creation and trigger the prohibitions and disclosure requirements?

While industry opinions are mixed on the guidance the SEC will ultimately provide, we believe it’s highly likely the SEC will take issue with advisors proactively soliciting reviews on platforms known to be incompatible with the Marketing rule. With its principles-based rule intended to ensure consumers gain important information to make more informed decisions, we don’t expect the SEC to look favorably upon a rampant proliferation of advisor reviews on platforms incapable of addressing the Marketing rule’s prohibitions and disclosure expectations.

Further, we believe the SEC could point to FINRA Regulatory Notice 17-18 that addresses this topic covering testimonials of registered representatives. In the notice, FINRA states: “FINRA does not regard unsolicited third-party opinions or comments posted on a social network to be communications of the broker-dealer or the representative for purposes of Rule 2210, including the requirements related to testimonials in paragraph (d)(6).”  

Wealthtender has submitted written requests for clarification on this matter to the SEC (likely along with many other industry participants) and we monitor the SEC’s Marketing rule FAQ page daily. We’ll share updates as additional SEC guidance becomes known.

October 12, 2021 Update: The SEC Investment Adviser Regulation Office (within the Division of Investment Management) responded by email to Wealthtender confirming their team will consider updating the SEC Marketing rule FAQ page to address the analogous question answered by FINRA in Regulatory Notice 17-18 that could put this matter to rest.

“… Wealthtender is launching a more centralized “Advisor Reviews” platform, where advisors can sign up for a page on Wealthtender that centralizes all of their Google, Yelp, and other third-party website reviews, and repackages them as “Certified Advisor Reviews” (reviewed by Wealthtender) for which the advisor can add a Reviews badge to their website (linking to their Wealthtender profile).

...Nonetheless, the reality is that because testimonials have long been recognized as such a powerful marketing tool – including in financial services, where for decades they were only banned because they were deemed too influential and at risk for abuse! – it seems inevitable that client testimonials will soon become a core part of advisor marketing. The only question is how, exactly, advisory firms will find it best to collect and share them for the (right) prospects to see?”

- Michael Kitces at Nerd's Eye View
The Latest in Financial #AdvisorTech (June 2021)

Wealthtender is the first financial advisor online review website compliant with the new SEC Marketing Rule. We provide you with the playbook to succeed with testimonial marketing so you can attract the next generation of investors to your practice.

How Wealthtender Compares to General Review Platforms

Where you choose to collect, display and promote testimonials and endorsements matters. This is especially true for financial advisors and wealth management firms interested in making the most of the new SEC Marketing Rule to succeed with online reviews compliantly.

When you're ready to get started with testimonial marketing, Wealthtender offers the industry's first playbook with templates and checklists to turn your online reviews into a powerful source of digital referrals for years to come. Below is a quick comparison of Wealthtender to Google reviews, or click here for a deeper dive with tips to choose the right online review platform for you.

💡 Learn more about Certified Advisor Reviews™ from Wealthtender.

Introducing Certified Advisor Reviews™

Certified Advisor Reviews™ help consumers make smarter hiring decisions when choosing a financial advisor.

Wealthtender is the first financial advisor review platform designed to be fully compliant with the SEC Investment Adviser Marketing rule. (Learn More)

With Certified Advisor Reviews™, you can:

• Confidently ask your clients (and acquaintances) for reviews
• Promote your reviews to attract new clients
• Strengthen your online reputation with clients and prospects 
• Establish your trustworthiness with Google and Bing
• Demonstrate your consumers’ interests first mindset
• Unlock reviews trapped on sites like Google and Yelp
• Import and certify reviews from Google & all other platforms

Michael Kitces Offers His Perspective on Certified Advisor Reviews™

“… Wealthtender is launching a more centralized “Advisor Reviews” platform, where advisors can sign up for a page on Wealthtender that centralizes all of their Google, Yelp, and other third-party website reviews, and repackages them as “Certified Advisor Reviews” (reviewed by Wealthtender) for which the advisor can add a Reviews badge to their website (linking to their Wealthtender profile).

...Nonetheless, the reality is that because testimonials have long been recognized as such a powerful marketing tool – including in financial services, where for decades they were only banned because they were deemed too influential and at risk for abuse! – it seems inevitable that client testimonials will soon become a core part of advisor marketing. The only question is how, exactly, advisory firms will find it best to collect and share them for the (right) prospects to see?”

- Michael Kitces at Nerd's Eye View
The Latest in Financial #AdvisorTech (June 2021)

Thinking about asking for reviews on sites like Google or Yelp? Think again.

We'll be the first to admit if we're wrong. But we're not wavering in our belief that forthcoming SEC guidance will clarify that review platforms like Google and Yelp simply aren't compatible with the SEC Marketing rule, thus limiting acceptable use of these platforms to only include unsolicited reviews.

Here’s What We Know with Certainty:

Google and Yelp are well-known review platforms popular with consumers. And many advisors already have unsolicited reviews written about them visible on these sites. If these are favorable reviews and are truly unsolicited, that’s terrific as advisors gain SEO benefits and visibility among consumers visiting these sites.

But because reviews on Google and Yelp lack the required SEC disclosures to be considered advertisements (e.g. testimonials and endorsements you can promote to grow your business), advisors can’t direct prospects to check out their reviews on these platforms. 

Here’s What We Don’t (Yet) Know:

Unlike unsolicited reviews published on Google or Yelp, the SEC has not formally offered guidance to clarify if solicited reviews on Google and Yelp are deemed an advertisement, and therefore subject to the prohibitions and disclosure requirements described in the SEC Marketing rule. So the question we need the SEC to answer is: Does the act of a financial advisor simply asking for a review to be written on specific platforms like Google or Yelp entangle an advisor in its creation and trigger the prohibitions and disclosure requirements?

While industry opinions are mixed on the guidance the SEC will ultimately provide, we believe it’s highly likely the SEC will take issue with advisors proactively soliciting reviews on platforms known to be incompatible with the Marketing rule. With its principles-based rule intended to ensure consumers gain important information to make more informed decisions, we don’t expect the SEC to look favorably upon a rampant proliferation of advisor reviews on platforms incapable of addressing the Marketing rule’s prohibitions and disclosure expectations.

Further, we believe the SEC could point to FINRA Regulatory Notice 17-18 that addresses this topic covering testimonials of registered representatives. In the notice, FINRA states: “FINRA does not regard unsolicited third-party opinions or comments posted on a social network to be communications of the broker-dealer or the representative for purposes of Rule 2210, including the requirements related to testimonials in paragraph (d)(6).”  

Wealthtender has submitted written requests for clarification on this matter to the SEC (likely along with many other industry participants) and we monitor the SEC’s Marketing rule FAQ page daily. We’ll share updates as additional SEC guidance becomes known.

October 12, 2021 Update: The SEC Investment Adviser Regulation Office (within the Division of Investment Management) responded by email to Wealthtender confirming their team will consider updating the SEC Marketing rule FAQ page to address the analogous question answered by FINRA in Regulatory Notice 17-18 that could put this matter to rest.

Turn Certified Advisor Reviews on at any time. We're ready when you are.

💡 Learn more about Certified Advisor Reviews™ from Wealthtender.

When you gather reviews from clients on your Wealthtender profile page, Google begins to take notice.

Usually, once you have collected around 5 Certified Advisor Reviews on Wealthtender, Google will begin to display the gold stars you've earned next to your name when people search for you online.

This is a great way to get more clicks and stand out in search results.

✅ Click any screenshot example below to view LIVE Certified Advisor Reviews that help these advisors stand out in Google search results.

Turn your online reviews into an evergreen source of digital referrals.

It's ok. You're not alone. We know it could take some time before you're able to move forward depending upon your registration status at federal and state levels (and when your compliance team is ready to give you the green light). When you’re ready, we’ll be here to help you get started. 

Join Wealthtender today to strengthen your online reputation, build authority in your areas of specialization, and attract your ideal clients. With so many benefits to help you get more clients online, you'll be in great shape to get started with testimonials and online reviews when you're ready.

Use Content Boost to create or supplement your content library on your website.

🧲 Get more prospects to your website by creating social media posts with excerpts from Content Boost articles with a link to the full article on your website.

📩 Strengthen your email communications to prospects and clients by featuring excerpts from Content Boost articles as teasers with links that drive more traffic to the full article on your website.

🤝 Save time when meeting with clients or answering their questions about a particular financial planning topic by using Content Boost excerpts and articles to support your talking points.

💡 Build authority and demonstrate your knowledge of financial planning topics by adding callout quotes to Content Boost articles featuring your own insights and perspectives.

👩‍💻 Create links from Content Boost articles to your original articles that can improve search engine optimization (SEO), helping your content rank higher in Google search results.

Each article in the Content Boost library is available in a Google Doc, viewable online, or downloadable as a Microsoft Word document.

Articles are formatted and optimized for publishing on the web and are easy to copy and paste into your content management system.

While other benefits offered by Wealthtender help your ideal prospects discover you and get to your website, Content Boost helps you keep them there. Turn your website into a powerful marketing tool to attract more prospects while driving deeper engagement with your current clients.

If you currently serve clients who work for a large employer, you've likely gained valuable insights by reviewing their benefits and compensation packages to create financial plans tailored to their unique circumstances.

Wealthtender can help you attract more clients employed at these firms.

The Wealthtender Large Employer Q&A article series showcases advisors in our community who have experience helping employees and executives at large employers, including Fortune 500 companies and beyond.  

Here's an example of a Q&A article we published featuring Kushal Shah, a financial advisor based in Thousand Oaks, CA. The article is designed to help Kushal gain recognition among Amgen employees as a financial advisor who knows the company and can speak their language:

Your Amgen Benefits & Career: Financial Planning for Employees and Executives 

The Benefits of Being Featured in a Q&A

When you're featured in a Q&A article on Wealthtender as an advisor with specialized knowledge working with employees of a large firm, the benefits are many, including:

✅ Greater visibility among company employees and executives actively searching online for financial planning help specific to their firm's benefits and compensation plan.

✅ Highly shareable content. Employees who discover the article online are more likely to share the article with other employees because it's prepared specifically for them.

✅ An easy way to ask for referrals. Send an email to your current client(s) who work at the firm with a link to the article on Wealthtender. Beyond feeling proud they're working with an advisor who knows their firm, they will quickly recall this article in future conversations with colleagues when discussing their benefits or compensation.

✅ Search Engine Optimization (SEO) benefits via the link back to your website (and/or landing page you have/create for employees of the company on your website).

✅ Boost your credibility with reporters and media outlets. When large companies announce an acquisition, round of layoffs, or another event impacting employees, reach out to industry/local business reporters to offer your commentary and help them write their story. Sharing a link to your Q&A article demonstrates your credibility as an expert source. 

Many advisor lead gen platforms take a percentage of your management fee when they match you with a prospect. While these services can be effective in adding new clients, the cost can be steep.

When you join Wealthtender, your flat fee digital marketing investment compounds over time, paying dividends when an increasing number of your future clients find you directly online. And when they do, your advisory fee is yours to keep.

Your Wealthtender profile page is SEO-optimized to ensure you benefit from our industry-leading Domain Authority (a search engine ranking score that predicts how likely a website is to rank in search engine result pages). 

📰 We create your SEO-optimized profile. You can personalize it if you choose.

🏆 You benefit from our industry-leading Domain Authority.

📞 Prospects book introductory meetings with one-click access to your calendar.

If you already have a profile page on websites like Fee Only Network, IndyFin, Wiser Advisor, or other directory sites, you benefit from their Domain Authority (DA) that influences how you rank in online search results. And many of these sites have done a nice job in the past helping advisors strengthen their online presence.

But unlike many other sites, Wealthtender continues to invest significantly in growth initiatives to propel our DA to new heights for the benefit of financial advisors in our community. For example, we frequently:

• Publish fresh content to attract more visitors and increase search engine visibility
• Syndicate Wealthtender articles on popular finance sites, MSN.com, and via Associated Press
• Gain national media recognition for our content and thought leadership boosting our DA

In a 2020 industry benchmarking study conducted by Michael Kitces at Nerd’s Eye View, paid web listing platforms rank as a category among the Top 5 Most Cost-Effective Marketing Strategies for advisors.

By joining Wealthtender, you benefit from a top 5 marketing strategy, plus your digital marketing ROI is supercharged with our DA score that's unprecedented in the category, along with many additional benefits all designed to help you get more clients online.

For around $1/day, your profile page on Wealthtender strengthens your SEO to help you attract your ideal clients and rank higher in search results. You're unlikely to find a better bang for your buck.

For personalized insights with tips to help you get more clients online, request your free digital marketing report from Wealthtender. Simply fill out this brief form, and we'll email your personalized report to you within one business day.