6 min read
Why Wealth Management Firms Are Rethinking Data Strategy for Greater Flexibility and Insights
Striking the balance between advisor autonomy and enterprise efficiency
Wealth management firms want the best of both worlds—the scale to operate efficiently and the independence to stay flexible. Broker-dealers and RIA aggregators are taking different paths to get there, but they’re chasing the same goal: run big and stay nimble.
While some firms are well served by their current systems and partners, others are exploring how owning more of their data could create greater flexibility and long-term optionality. But shifting to that kind of model can feel overwhelming.
No need to worry, though. This blog can help by outlining steps, trade-offs, and considerations if your firm is thinking about where it wants to go and how it can get there.
Data challenges facings wealth management firms
Broker-dealers are diversifying
They’re redefining independence, no longer just offering access to multiple custodians, but empowering advisors to choose their own tech stack, service partners, and workflows. Plus, advisors aren’t just selling differently—they’re working differently. The most forward-thinking broker-dealers are adapting, not resisting.
RIA aggregators are consolidating
They’re rolling up independent advisor firms under one umbrella, betting that scale and infrastructure will drive profitability and improve client experience. But with every acquisition comes a new platform, a new custodian, and a new set of processes.
While broker-dealers and RIA aggregators have different strategies, they’re both going toward the same destination. They do, however, require more custodians and more systems, leading to increased complexity. The challenges: Choosing flexibility—open architecture, best-of-breed platforms, and optionality—has clear advantages. But it also comes with trade-offs.
Flexibility without control can create problems
When your planning tool, CRM, and reporting software are all pulling data independently, you end up with duplication, inconsistencies, and manual cleanup. Add a few more custodians to the mix, and the whole thing can start to feel unmanageable.
That’s why the most successful firms aren’t just investing in front-end tools. They’re investing upstream, in a unified, normalized, firm-owned data layer that powers the entire technology stack.
But let’s be clear: While the why is compelling, the how can be daunting.
Let’s look at both…
The why: firms are chasing upstream data ownership
Wealth management firms are chasing ownership of the data to enable:
Portability: Data can move with you instead of the vendor.
Flexibility: Data can plug and play across tools, not get locked into one.
Speed: You don’t wait on vendors for answers.
Futureproofing: You can scale on your terms—not theirs.
That vision resonates.
The challenge? Execution for firms to be able to own and control their data. The related questions we hear most often are:
How do I get the data into my hands first, before it hits downstream tools?
How do I decouple from platforms that act as the system of record today?
How do I normalize the data across multiple custodians and make it usable?
The answers aren’t one-size-fits-all. But the shift toward data ownership is already underway, and firms that start laying the groundwork now are better positioned to evolve their tech stack on their own terms.
The how: you don’t have to do it all at once and you don’t have to do it alone
The idea of fully owning a firm’s data can feel overwhelming. And that’s OK. This isn’t about ripping everything out and starting over. It’s about taking the first step. Here’s how:
Start by getting your data into your own warehouse or lake regardless of who owns it today or where it comes from.
From there, begin shifting key data pipelines toward ownership, so that you become the origin point and not your downstream tools.
Over time, you’ll gain the flexibility to plug in new platforms, build analytics, and scale smarter.
And remember, you don’t have to go it alone. There are partners that can help you with:
Data acquisition from custodians and held-away accounts
Data normalization and enrichment
Orchestration and distribution of data across your tech stack
And even pre-built data connections to the platforms you already use
Start at the source: own the data before it hits your platforms
To own your data, you need to control the pipeline. That means collecting it first, directly from custodians or providers, and pushing it to the platforms you use. This isn’t about extracting data from systems after the fact. It’s about making those platforms, whether it’s portfolio reporting, a CRM, or financial planning, downstream consumers, not the source of truth.
That means:
You collect your custodial and held-away data first, through direct feeds, aggregation partners, or middleware solutions.
You store it in your own cloud-based data warehouse or lake —normalized, enriched, and fully owned by your firm.
Then, you send structured data to the platforms you use, on your terms: CRM, reporting, planning, billing, or whatever you’ve chosen for your tech stack.
This gives you:
Visibility into every data point before it’s transformed or filtered.
Consistency across platforms. No more conflicting account details.
Portability so your data moves with you if you ever leave a tool or add a new one.
And most importantly: control.
Yes, the tech plumbing is more involved. But that’s where data platforms, middleware layers, and aggregation partners come in. You don’t need to build it all yourself. You just need to own the core.
One path, two approaches
If you're committed to owning your data, you’ve got two viable paths—and neither has to be all or nothing.
For firms with strong internal tech teams: You can build and manage your own orchestration layer. With the right engineering resources, it’s possible to set up your own data pipelines, normalize and enrich what you collect, and distribute it across your tech stack.
For firms that want to move faster or reduce complexity: There are middleware providers that specialize in the seamless integration of financial systems. Many offer tools for normalization, orchestration, enrichment, and platform connectivity. So, you don’t have to build every integration from scratch.
And then there’s data acquisition: Custodial and held-away financial account data doesn’t flow on its own. That’s where specialized providers come in to establish and manage connections across thousands of institutions, normalize the data, and ensure consistency and uptime.
It’s also worth noting that many of the vendors in this space—including ByAllAccounts®—have been anticipating this shift. ByAllAccounts has been actively evolving our solutions to support data ownership and orchestration requirements. So even if you think you know the capabilities of a particular partner, it’s worth revisiting. What we offer today may look vastly different from the original ByAllAccounts you’re familiar with.
Why this matters
When all your custodial and platform data lives in one place—structured, normalized, and owned by you—something powerful happens: You start to see things you couldn’t before:
Patterns across custodians
Client behaviors across systems
Risks and opportunities that were previously buried in silos
You’re not just building for flexibility; you’re building for increased insight. This isn’t just a technical pivot. It’s a strategic one.
Your data, your advantage
You don’t have to do it all at once, and you don’t have to do it alone.
Start with control.
Build flexibility.
Own the foundation.
Owning your data isn’t a back-office decision, it’s a growth decision.
It gives you clarity.
It gives you leverage.
It gives you options.
Start upstream. That’s where your next competitive advantage begins.