Joel P. Bruckenstein, CFP®, President of Technology Tools for Today (T3), during a special lunchtime presentation at the T3 Technology Tools for Today Conference being held this week at the Cosmopolitan Hotel & Resort in Las Vegas, called on three award winners to join him on stage to accept the following 2023 technology awards: The T3 Lifetime Achievement Award for Innovation in Wealth Technology went to Eric Clarke, Board Member, Orion. Sora Finance and Syntax Data both won T3 Emerging Technology Awards.

“For 25 years, Orion, headed by Eric Clarke, has been an innovator and a thought leader in the wealthtech space,” Bruckenstein said. “From humble origins in 1999, Eric and his team grew Orion from a small, unknown provider of portfolio management software into a leading, diversified leader in the wealthtech space. Throughout a quarter century, Eric has been an advocate for advisors and a leader in the industry. Orion was one of the first influential third parties to help originate the TD Ameritrade VEO platform. Clarke also created the FUSE Conference, an annual gathering of fintech partners to help further the cause of advisor technology. Clarke and Orion were early to embrace behavioral finance and integrate it into Orion software.”

“Sora Finance was chosen for excellence in an overlooked area in most financial planning practices and in most software,” stated Bruckenstein. “Given the movement in interest rates over the last several years, there are significant opportunities to deliver value on the liability side of the balance sheet. Sora offers the tools that advisors need to better manage client liabilities.”

“Syntax Data brings a unique perspective to investment management analytics and processes,” commented Bruckenstein. “Drawing on proprietary methodologies derived from the biotech industry, they define the DNA of companies and investment portfolios with pinpoint clarity. Syntax Data allows advisors to differentiate themselves from others who offer name-brand indices and portfolios, while better matching the investment portfolios to the unique needs of each client, at scale.”

ABOUT ERIC CLARKE AND ORION

Clarke is the founding CEO of Orion Advisor Tech, launching the firm in 1999 to provide portfolio accounting software to help independent financial advisors scale their businesses. Eric retired as Orion’s CEO in 2023 and continues to serve as an active member of the Board of Directors. Over Clarke’s nearly 25 years of leadership, the firm grew and evolved into Orion Advisor Solutions – a premier provider of wealthtech solutions for fiduciary advisors. Today, Orion supports over five million technology accounts and thousands of independent advisory firms with an integrated suite of fully connected, disruptive technology and investment solutions on an open architecture platform.

Clarke guided Orion through seven major acquisitions between 2018 and 2022 and integrated these critical pieces of cutting-edge wealthtech into Orion’s ecosystem, including FTJ FundChoice, Advizr, Brinker Capital, HiddenLevers, BasisCode Compliance, Redtail Technology and TownSquare Capital. By integrating these disparate systems, Orion addressed advisors’ biggest pain point – disconnected technology. As a visionary leader and prominent voice in the financial advisory industry, Clarke is at the forefront of advancing and transforming the RIA and wealthtech industries. He has written frequent articles that have appeared in InvestmentNews and The Journal of Financial Planning. He has received numerous industry awards including WealthManagement’s CEO of the Year for 2022, ThinkAdvisor’s IA25 multiple times, received a ThinkAdvisor Luminaries award in 2022, and an InvestmentNews Icon & Innovators Award in 2019. Clarke lead the Orion team to four “Wealthies” Awards in 2023. Find the Orion booth in T3’s exhibit hall at the conference. Learn more at www.Orion.com/Advisor-Tech. 

ABOUT SORA FINANCE

Founded by two experienced technology professionals, Siddhartha Oza and Rohit Agarwal, in 2021, Sora Finance is an easy-to-use decision-support software that helps wealth managers and financial advisors visualize, analyze, and act to optimize the liabilities side of their clients’ balance sheets. Sora’s debt optimization and liability management software grew from the belief that financial advisors could do more than simply manage assets. The Sora solution supports financial advisors in managing the other side of their client’s personal balance sheet – providing the insights they need to offer a more comprehensive service, not just investment management and traditional financial planning. Sora leverages advanced AI technology to push the boundaries of the traditional financial advisory team. Find the Sora Finance booth in T3’s Emerging Tech section at the conference. Learn more at www.SoraFinance.com. 

ABOUT SYNTAX LLC

Led by founder and Executive Chairman Rory Riggs, and President and CEO Patrick Shadow, Syntax LLC (a.k.a. Syntax Data) is an index provider and financial analytics company that has developed a family of Stratified Indices, which give investors rules-based, diversified exposure to business risks. The company’s mission is to build innovative, transparent financial products and technologies that meet the investment objectives of a broad range of institutional and retail clients. The company’s flagship indices, the Stratified Benchmark Indices, reweight the constituents of widely-used benchmarks, including the S&P 500, MSCI EAFE and Wilshire 5000 using Syntax’s Stratified Weight™ methodology. In addition to the Stratified Benchmark Indices, Syntax provides Stratified Sector and Stratified Thematic indices, custom index solutions and data licensing services. Find the Syntax Data booth in T3’s Emerging Tech section at the conference. Learn more at www.SyntaxData.com. 

ABOUT T3 (TECHNOLOGY TOOLS FOR TODAY)

T3 was founded in 2003 by financial services experts (and former financial advisors) David Drucker and Joel Bruckenstein. Together they are the authors of three books on applied practice management and technology for financial advisors. In the early years, they produced the T3 Technology newsletter, a first-of-its-kind publication in the financial services industry. From the newsletter, T3TechnologyHub.com, an online info-portal for financial services firms and financial advisors, was born. Twenty years ago (in 2004), the duo began hosting what has now become the industry’s leading conference on technology as it directly relates to practice management and building a profitable business. The 2024 T3 Conference in Las Vegas celebrates T3’s 20^th anniversary and the vibrant ecosystem of support this community of innovators has provided to propel further/faster investment advisors, insurance professionals, financial planners, wealth managers, and the financial services industry. To learn more about T3, visit T3Conferences.com.