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AddeConf23, our fifth developer conference and our first to include clients and partners, celebrated our dedication to building together better across the wealth and fintech ecosystem.
For AddeConf23, we launched a new format, welcoming members of our technology community to join us for a full-day deep dive into the products and platform enhancements in development at Addepar.
Harnessing quality data to gain efficiencies and speed
Addepar’s CEO Eric Poirier opened the event by recapping Addepar’s tremendous growth story as we hit $4.5T in assets on platform, nearly 1,000 clients in 40 countries and 8 offices around the globe. After a warm welcome by Poirier and VP Global Client Management Janeen France, Poirer sat down for a fireside chat with the Senior Managing Director and the Global Head of Data Science at Blackstone, Matt Katz. The two spoke broadly about how Blackstone’s portfolio companies leverage data and analytics to accelerate growth including potential uses for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.
A morning of brief product presentations followed, offering insights into recent technical achievements across widgets, report generation, trading and data imports. The morning was capped off by our keynote speaker, Addepar’s Vice President of Engineering Bob Pisani, who discussed Addepar's modern data platform architecture and how it applies to large scale financial data processing challenges.
“Data holds the power to reveal insights, patterns and trends that drive informed decision-making and innovation,” said Pisani. “And the Operating Platform is a critical enabler here at Addepar – giving our clients, developers and engineers the power to add and consume data at variable velocities, unlimited volume and scale, with security and governance built deep into the core platform architecture.”
Using technology to enhance the advisor-client relationship
Highlights of the afternoon program included demos and presentations from our partners StratiFi, YCharts and Fabric. We also hosted a panel discussion with the VP of Strategic Initiatives at HantzGroup, Anthony Endress, Head of Technology at RBC Wealth Management–U.S., Greg Beltzer, and the CTO of Cresset, Paul Algreen. The panel was asked to weigh in on how tech stack modernization helps improve the client experience.
Anthony Endress of HantzGroup explained, “Advisors love reports but our clients want simple, quick answers. For our clients, ‘less is more.’ Not less information – less at one time.” Paul Algreen of Cresset said, “Technology is an enhancement of the human relationship, not a replacement. We’re thinking about tech in terms of how it can speed up every process we have.” RBC’s Greg Beltzer said, “The client-advisor relationship is very much a human relationship. Addepar puts the advisor at the core of that connection.”
Addepar’s continued investment in product and R&D
The conference concluded with closing remarks from Addepar’s Chief Product Officer Don Nilsson and Chief Technology Officer Ruchir Swarup. Don Nilsson emphasized Addepar’s commitment to “innovation and client centricity that we’ve carried since the company was founded and will continue to honor.” Ruchir Swarup added, “Our upfront investment in R&D, flexibility and scale have set the stage for Addepar to become a common foundation for the future of the financial services ecosystem. Our team will continue to focus all of our energy on expanding long-term value for our clients.”
With nearly 60% of Addepar’s workforce in R&D and $100 million invested annually, the team emphasized our continued commitment to innovation that empowers our global client base. AddeConf provided an opportunity for clients to engage with and learn from the R&D teams directly – and an equally valuable opportunity for Addepar to garner feedback from our partners and clients.