In Episode 19, we welcome Kyle Wiggs, the founder and CEO of UX Wealth Partners, a platform known for its utilization of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in investment technologies. This episode provides insights into the services and technologies offered by UX Wealth Partners to Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs).We explore how UX Wealth Partners employs its technology to offer solutions that go beyond traditional asset management platforms, providing tools and resources aimed at improving operational efficiency, client engagement, and business growth for financial advisors.Join us as we discuss the current landscape of investment technologies, share insights on model portfolio best practices, and consider the circumstances under which a model provider might launch an ETF. For more information about UX Wealth Partners and their offerings, visit uxwp.com.
Deeper Dive: Insights from the Full Conversation
Beyond the headline strategy, the full conversation between Brad and Kyle Wiggs covered several additional themes worth highlighting for advisors and investors.
On Process and Philosophy
I'm Brad Roth, Chief Investment Officer of Thor Financial Technologies, and portfolio manager of THLV, the Thor Low Volatility ETF. Behind the Ticker, uncovers the inner workings of the ETF industry. We will interview portfolio managers and ETF service providers to dive deep into their work lives and their businesses. We will learn the inner workings of their strategies and what drives them as they continue to grow their company. Many of these individuals are entrepreneurs, and will have unique and compelling insights to share as much goes on behind the Ticker.
And so what we look for are strategies who have a very disciplined technology, almost rules base, that has proven whether it was 2008, whether it was fourth quarter of 2018, whether it was during COVID, they have a disciplined, on emotional way of derisking the portfolio and limiting drawdowns. You're not going to miss all of it and certainly you give up some of the upside. But it's the idea over a full cycle if you can keep a client fully invested through the ups and downs.
Market Context and Positioning
So you get an overnight sink and you have to, you need to send that data somewhere that is very good and accurate at processing the data. Then they need a piece of technology that can automate and handle trading. Some advisors may not trade that often, and it may not be as important. But as we see a wider adoption of technology driven investments, how you trade is almost as important as the investment itself. So I think that the trading component of the overmanagement piece is going to be really important.
And then let them use it for two to three years. Let's go raise a few hundred million bucks on your strategy. Then let's go to the very people that are using it and saying, hey, you've got a $25 million allocation to the SMA and half of that's in non-qualified business. If we launch an ETF, would you be interested in converting that? And so now you could see where you could get an ETF to a hundred million dollars over nine versus a lot of them launch because the firm thinks they have a good idea, but they don't show up on any screens.
Today we have Kyle Wigs. He is the founder of UX. Well, there are technology companies that help investment advisory firms put together an efficient tech stack. They also do trading, billing. They also have a very unique set of model portfolio strategies that are made available to their investment advisors. A lot of those strategies utilize technology or artificial intelligence in some way shape or form. So, Kyle has a very unique perspective from the investment advisory space as to what the best practices are and how advisors are utilizing technology to make their business more efficient also provide better outcomes for their clients.
Notable Insights
"And so we went out and we started asking a lot of questions of these various platforms, large institutions and really what we found was, it wasn't that they didn't believe that the technology could do a better job."
"Humans fundamentally, by the time you research analysis and we meet with the investment committee and vote, it's already priced into the market."
Key Takeaways
- The conversation explores important themes in quantitative investing relevant to today's advisor landscape.
- The conversation explores important themes in growth investing relevant to today's advisor landscape.
- The conversation explores important themes in portfolio construction relevant to today's advisor landscape.
What This Means for Advisors
For financial advisors evaluating options for client portfolios, this conversation with Kyle Wiggs highlights important considerations around quantitative investing. Understanding the strategy behind each fund—not just the ticker—helps advisors make more informed allocation decisions and better communicate the rationale to clients.
The themes of quantitative investing and growth investing discussed in this episode are particularly relevant in the current market environment, where advisors are increasingly looking for differentiated solutions that go beyond traditional benchmarks.
Listen to the Full Episode
This article is based on an episode of Behind the Ticker, hosted by Brad Roth, Founder and CIO of THOR Financial Technologies. For the full conversation with Kyle Wiggs, including additional nuances and details, listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or watch on YouTube.