Sean Brown (SB): YCharts is a ten-year-old Chicago-based fintech company born from the idea that it shouldn’t require a Ph.D. to make smarter, data-driven investment decisions. Founded in 2009 to address a gap in the market for non-terminal-based financial research solutions, YCharts has grown its user base to nearly 5,000 wealth advisors, asset managers, broker-dealers and individual investors. YCharts provides a modern technology platform that leads to growth in assets under management and better communication around investment strategies accompanied by unparalleled customer support.
 
YCharts has grown significantly year-over-year and continues to innovate in a space in need of modernization. YCharts’ data and tools streamline user workflows in a way that no other competitor in the market can claim, including data-enabled client communications, improved transparency, and faster more robust analyses on a multi-device, web-based platform.
 
MutualFunds.com: What is the problem that your products are trying to solve?
 
SB: Advisors have seemingly infinite choices when it comes to selecting funds for client portfolios, which can make the job of a wholesaler challenging. Traditionally, wholesalers have limited access to sales enablement tools that provide real-time data and on-the-fly analysis. YCharts recently emerged as the platform to solve this problem. In short, YCharts helps wholesalers close new businesses and increase assets under management with real-time access to tools and data to better tell their story in a more visual way.
 
Time is of essence when meeting with today’s advisors, which is why more than 25 asset management firms have armed their wholesalers with YCharts’ comprehensive data, powerful visualization tools and advanced analytics. With YCharts, asset managers have a one-stop-shop for equity, mutual fund and ETF data and analysis to optimize portfolio construction, improve idea generation and have a better understanding of what’s happening in today’s markets.
 
YCharts helps advisors and asset managers easily demonstrate their value to clients and prospects. With its newest product rollout, Model Portfolios, YCharts enables asset managers and wealth advisors to scale production, testing and evaluation of model investment strategies. Model Portfolios simplifies portfolio construction and enables the seamless creation of customized reports that reduce friction and improve objection-handling in sales meetings.
 
MutualFunds.com: Why is this problem worth solving?
 
SB: Wealth advisors are more time-constrained than ever, and when asset managers are finally able to get on their calendars, it’s imperative that they have data-enabled conversations about their products. YCharts’ web-based and intuitive tools allow for on-the-fly analysis that can keep the momentum going during sales meetings.
 
In today’s real-time world, data is one of the most powerful tools at the disposal of asset managers, and YCharts aims to arm users with the data they need to increase sales while quickly comparing funds and analyzing portfolios. With access to powerful data, wholesalers can overcome challenges and save their internal partners’ time, allowing for deeper advisor conversations and more trust built. With access to data on all mutual funds and ETFs, amongst additional data on stocks, popular indices, as well as more than 300,000 economic indicators, YCharts offers a compelling and modern solution to asset managers.
 
MutualFunds.com: What is differentiated about your solution?
 
SB: Access to real-time data to reduce the friction in advisor meetings is what sets YCharts apart as a sales enablement tool for wholesalers. Armed with an iPad, wholesalers are able to conduct on-the-fly analysis with real-time data when showcasing their funds to advisors. Whether it be showing how their funds stack up to their competitors, digging into performance metrics, asset allocation and exposure data or demonstrating how their funds could lead to higher returns in client portfolios, YCharts serves as a critical tool for asset managers and leads to improved sales efforts.
 
In addition to the powerful functionality within the platform, YCharts’ customer support is a differentiator. Each client is paired with a dedicated account manager who not only ensures that users are getting as much value as possible from the platform but also actively assists in the development of sales strategies. By embracing customer feedback as a core asset to its product-development strategy, YCharts’ largest product launches were born from an intensive focus on client-use cases.
 
MutualFunds.com: What is the best way for prospective clients to learn more about you?
 
SB: Visit our website at ycharts.com or follow us on Twitter at @ycharts.
 
MutualFunds.com: Where can attendees find you at the conference?
 
SB: The YCharts team will be at the Technology Kiosk area at Kiosk #34.