"Quarantine day 6: Went to this restaurant called The Kitchen. You have to gather all the ingredients and make your own meal. I have no clue how this place is still in business."

-- @mommajessiec




Stay safe,
Craig

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We are accustomed to new ideas spreading like wildfire not just in the US, but across the globe, at speeds once thought to be impossible. Advancements in software development, specifically application programming interfaces (APIs), have drastically reduced the time required to go from OMS concept to production.

But what are the criteria to know if an OMS vendor has the infrastructure that you will need? We believe that if you find the right vendor, you can implement an API-based OMS in just a few months.
 
 
Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop: After Motif Closes, Which Roboadvisors Will Survive?

While the COVID19 crisis has severely damaged thousands of companies in sectors like travel, lodging, and automobiles, to name just a few, one sector that actually boomed was digital advice. 

Last week Motif founders announced they were shutting down and all customer accounts were being transferred. The conventional wisdom is that they were a victim of the economic crisis brought on by the coronavirus global pandemic. We won't know for sure unless we are given the details.
 
 

The number of solutions in this category keeps growing every year with seemingly no end in sight. It's a veritable cornucopia of options. Every year I say that we've got enough vendors in this space and we're ripe for some consolidation. But it doesn't happen and then more new products appear!


How all of these vendors can make make enough profit to stay in business?
 
 


When Corey Westphal and Mobile Assistant were ramping up capacity in advance of this year's tax season, he had no idea that he was actually preparing for the largest volume increase in their 20 year history due to the COVID-19 crisis. And while work hasn't slowed down for Corey and his firm, he was able to take a few minutes to speak to me about some of the trends he's been seeing and where the industry is heading from here.
 
 
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Podcasts I'm Listening To:

I thought I would share a few non-wealth, non-fintech podcasts with you, since I expect everyone is going to have a lot more time on their hands and could use some distractions from work and the news!
 
 

Stuff You Should Know

 

 

If you've ever wanted to know about the collapse of the Easter Island civilization, satanism, nuclear forensics, giraffes, or how the Antikythera Mechanism works, look no further - Josh and Chuck have you covered. 


Join Josh Clark and Chuck Bryan as they get to the bottom of weird questions like how Twinkies work, or if zombies exist in a unique combo of education and entertainment.
 
 
 

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Craig is currently accepting invitations to speak at in-person (if possible) & virtual events in 2020.
Please send inquires to elana@ezragroupllc.com
 
 

About Ezra Group Consulting


Craig Iskowitz founded Ezra Group in 2005 to provide unbiased advice on technology, business and marketing strategy to wealth managers, TAMPs and fintech providers. Our areas of expertise include:

  • Fee-based Advisory Platform Implementation & Optimization 
  • Competitive & Market Analysis 
  • RFP's & Vendor Selection 
  • Target Operating Models
  • Original Content Development

We can be reached at consulting@ezragroupllc.com
 
 
Please contact our content development team at elana@ezragroupllc.com
 
 


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