Schwaner & Co. provides partnership development for robo-advisors, brokerage and investing apps, retirement providers, advisor platforms, alternatives platforms and equity management companies, from target selection and executive outreach through negotiation and launch coordination. We open the employer and payroll channels, advisor and custodian relationships, bank and credit union programs, and embedded investing partnerships that put your product where assets already are.
Every engagement is run by a senior partnerships executive, supported by a team that handles research, materials and follow-up.
Wealthtech partnerships built around where money already sits
Investors do not go looking for a new place to put money. Money moves when something else happens. A new job, a 401k enrollment, a bonus, a bank balance that got big enough to notice, an advisor who recommends a change. Paid acquisition tries to catch people between those moments. Partnerships put you inside them.
Our wealthtech partnership work starts with the partner's reason to offer your product and the investor's reason to move money. Then we work out which employers, advisors, institutions and platforms reach the right people, what the arrangement looks like, how accounts get opened and funded and whether the assets justify the integration and the partner's share.
For a brokerage or robo-advisor, the goal is usually funded accounts through employers, banks and the apps people already use. For a retirement provider, it is plan sponsors through payroll, benefits brokers and PEOs. For an advisor platform or custodian, it is advisors through broker-dealers, networks and the technology they already run. For an alternatives platform, it is the advisors and plan menus where retail money is finally allowed in. We build the approach around your product, your economics and the asset number you have to hit.
What is happening in wealthtech right now
Three things are moving in this market in 2026, and each one is a distribution story.
The leader is turning a brokerage into a primary relationship, and everyone else needs a way in
Robinhood reported 28.4 million funded customers, $369 billion in platform assets and a record $21.7 billion of net deposits in the second quarter of 2026. Retirement assets grew 82% to $34.5 billion, its advisor network reached $50 billion, and its new banking product had 240,000 customers with 40% on direct deposit. When the largest app in the category is moving into retirement, banking and advice at the same time, every other wealthtech has to find investors somewhere other than the app store. The same release reported more than 7 million sign-ups for the new federal child investment accounts in the weeks after their July 4 launch, a reminder that when a new account type appears, the platforms with distribution partners capture it first. [2]
Retirement plans are opening to alternatives, and the plan menu is now a channel
After the August 2025 executive order, the Department of Labor published a proposed rule on March 30, 2026 creating a safe harbor for fiduciaries who add asset allocation funds containing private equity, real estate, digital assets and other alternatives to defined contribution plans. Comments closed June 1, 2026. For alternatives platforms, that turns recordkeepers, advisors and asset managers into the distribution partners that decide whether retail retirement money reaches you. For retirement providers, it is a new reason for plan sponsors to re-evaluate who runs their plan. [3, 4]
Investing is becoming a feature inside other brands
The largest US neobank launched commission-free stock and ETF investing in the second quarter of 2026 through a third-party advisory provider rather than building it. Banks, neobanks, payroll platforms and consumer apps are adding investing the same way, which means the wealthtech that supplies the brokerage, advice or custody behind the brand wins the accounts without acquiring a single customer directly. That is a partnership, and it is signed in a conference room, not a growth dashboard. [5]
Put those together and the picture is clear. Assets are consolidating around primary relationships, new account types and plan menus are opening, and investing is being distributed through brands that are not investing companies. More growth runs through partnerships now, and the wealthtechs that build that capability will compound.
Where wealthtech companies can find distribution
Wealthtech companies reach investors in different ways. These are examples of partner categories we would evaluate based on your product, market and operating capabilities.
| Wealthtech segment | Potential distribution partners | What we would evaluate |
|---|---|---|
| Robo-advisors and brokerage apps | Banks and neobanks, payroll and HR platforms, employers, consumer brands and membership organizations, personal finance apps, creator and community platforms | Funded account rate, average first deposit, the partner's incentive to promote and the cost per funded account against paid channels |
| Micro-investing and round-up apps | Debit and credit card issuers, neobanks, retailers and loyalty programs, gig and earned wage platforms | Transaction volume that feeds the product, enrollment friction and the partner's share of revenue |
| Retirement plan providers | Payroll providers and PEOs, benefits brokers and consultants, accounting firms, industry associations, state auto-IRA programs, pooled employer plan sponsors | Plan sponsor reach, integration path with payroll, the broker's compensation and who owns the sponsor relationship |
| Advisor platforms, custodians and TAMPs | Broker-dealers and advisor networks, RIA aggregators, advisor technology vendors, consultants to advisory firms, asset managers | Advisor count and asset fit, conversion and transition support, overlap with the partner's own products |
| Alternatives platforms | RIA custodians and TAMPs, advisor networks, recordkeepers and plan advisors, private banks, asset managers, family office networks | Suitability and compliance path, platform placement, the advisor's reason to allocate and the fee split |
| Equity and cap table management | Law firms and formation services, venture investors and accelerators, payroll and HR platforms, brokerage and liquidity providers | Who sees the company first, integration with payroll and legal workflows and the referral economics |
Partnership models for wealthtech growth
Embedded investing and white label partnerships
Embedded investing places your brokerage, advice or custody inside another company's product. A bank offers its depositors a managed portfolio, a payroll platform offers employees an investing account at setup, a consumer app adds a buy button for stocks or funds. The partner's customers open and fund accounts where they already are. You supply the engine, the licenses and the servicing, and you win assets without acquiring a single customer directly.
We identify banks, neobanks, payroll platforms and consumer brands where investing solves a real customer problem and the partner has a commercial reason to offer it, build the case for the executives who own that product decision and negotiate placement, revenue sharing, customer ownership and launch requirements. Your product, compliance and engineering teams own the integration and the regulatory review. We keep the commercial side moving until the first accounts fund.
Employer and payroll partnerships
The paycheck is where most Americans start investing, and the employer decides what is on the menu. Payroll providers, PEOs, benefits brokers and the employers themselves can put your retirement plan, your investing account or your financial wellness product in front of every new hire during onboarding.
We identify the payroll platforms, brokers and employer groups whose workforce fits your product, build the case for benefits and HR leaders and work through integration, enrollment, co-marketing and economics. Pooled employer plans and state auto-IRA mandates have changed what small employers need, and the providers that get there through payroll and brokers rather than one sponsor at a time are the ones growing.
Advisor channel partnerships
Advisors control more assets than any app, and they adopt what their custodian, broker-dealer and technology vendors put in front of them. For a custodian, TAMP or advisor platform, the partners are the broker-dealers, networks and aggregators that bring advisors in groups. For a product company, the partners are the custodians and TAMPs whose platforms decide what an advisor can allocate to.
We map which networks, custodians and platforms reach your target advisors, build the case for the executives who own platform and product decisions and negotiate placement, transition support, co-marketing and economics. Your product and compliance teams own suitability, due diligence and the integration. We handle the relationship and the commercial terms.
Bank and credit union partnerships
Banks and credit unions have the depositors and the trust, and most of them have no modern investing product for members below the private banking threshold. A wealthtech can be the investment service behind the institution's brand, reaching members at the moment a balance gets large enough to invest.
We identify institutions with the member base and appetite for a digital investing program, open conversations with the executives who own wealth and digital strategy and negotiate the program structure, economics, branding and launch. Your compliance team and the institution's work through the regulatory structure. We keep the commercial conversation moving and make sure the institution's own staff have a reason to promote the program.
Alternatives distribution partnerships
Retail and retirement money is being allowed into private markets, and the gatekeepers are advisors, custodians, recordkeepers and asset managers. An alternatives platform grows by getting onto the platforms those gatekeepers already use, with the due diligence, education and operational support that make an allocation easy to say yes to.
We identify the custodians, TAMPs, advisor networks and plan partners where your products fit, build the case in the partner's own terms, suitability, liquidity, fees, reporting, and negotiate placement, revenue sharing and launch. Your legal and compliance teams govern the offering. We find and close the partners who decide whether the money reaches you.
What makes a wealthtech partnership worth pursuing
A partner's customer or advisor count is only a starting point. We look at how many of those people would open an account, how many would fund it, how much they would move and whether the assets and the revenue they produce justify the integration and the partner's share.
- Investor fit. Which customers, employees or advisors can the partner actually reach, and how many of them look like your best accounts?
- The moment. Does the partner meet the investor when money is already moving, a new job, a plan enrollment, a balance threshold, an advisor recommendation?
- Conversion. What moves someone from seeing the offer to an opened, funded account, and what does the first deposit look like?
- Economics. What is the cost per funded account and per dollar of assets after the partner's share, and how does that compare with your paid channels and your revenue per account?
- Compliance path. What suitability, licensing, disclosure and partner oversight requirements apply, and can both sides clear them in a reasonable time?
- Partner commitment. Who owns the opportunity on each side, and will the partner's own teams actually promote the program?
For example, a consumer brand with millions of customers may have limited near-term value if its customers rarely invest and its marketing team will not lead with the offer. A payroll provider serving ten thousand small employers could deserve priority, because every new plan it sets up is a decision about who runs it.
Our approach to partner selection is explained further in how we identify strategic partners.
How we develop your partnership pipeline
Identify the right targets
We agree on the product, the investor or advisor segment, the asset objective and the partner categories to pursue. Research then narrows the opportunity to specific companies, relevant decision-makers and a clear partnership rationale. You can see why each target belongs on the list and which assumptions still need to be tested.
Engage the decision-makers
We open executive conversations with an explanation of why the partnership could matter to that company and what revenue or customer benefit it could produce. Existing relationships help where there is relevant overlap; we also develop new conversations through targeted outreach. Follow-up addresses the partner's questions and keeps the next decision clear.
Qualify the opportunity
Discovery tests investor fit, conversion assumptions, economics, compliance requirements and the partner's willingness to act. We establish who needs to be involved and what each side needs to evaluate. Every active opportunity has a next step, an owner on each side and a target date for the next decision.
Scope and negotiate the agreement
We develop the commercial proposal and lead negotiations around the agreed partnership model. Topics may include revenue sharing or referral fees, attribution, customer ownership, exclusivity, marketing commitments, minimum volumes and responsibilities for launch, servicing and support. We coordinate with your legal, compliance, product and operations leads so decisions and outstanding requirements stay visible.
Coordinate launch and handover
Once an agreement is signed, we coordinate the commercial work needed to prepare the partnership for launch. That includes agreed responsibilities, supporting materials, launch milestones and the handover of contacts and deal documents. Your teams retain responsibility for technical implementation, regulatory approvals and servicing. Ongoing partner management stays with your team unless separately scoped.
Weekly pipeline reviews distinguish outreach, qualified opportunities, proposals, signed agreements and launched partners. Once a partner is live, reporting should separately show accounts opened, accounts funded, assets and revenue.
See our business development consulting services for the broader deliverables and reporting.
Senior partnership leadership and execution
Every engagement is run by a senior partnerships executive who leads partner strategy, executive conversations and commercial negotiations. That ownership continues through agreement and launch coordination. Kevin Schwaner is the person on every call.
We have 200+ enterprise relationships across insurance, banking, lending, automotive and consumer platforms, built over nearly a decade, and have driven over $200M in partnership revenue for the companies our team members have worked for. One of them says more about how we work than any process diagram.
It was a partnership with a top-five property and casualty carrier. There was no introduction and no existing relationship. Our team reached 173 people across that organization before the right conversation started, and that conversation became a signed partnership. Large financial institutions are not closed. They are layered, and the work is finding the person whose problem you solve.
A supporting team handles research, materials, scheduling and follow-up. Your team receives regular pipeline updates with clear next steps, outstanding decisions and an owner for each opportunity. This engagement fits a wealthtech with a working product, a defined asset or revenue target and internal capacity to integrate and support partners. We can lead a specific channel, employers or advisors for example, alongside your growth and partnerships team. If you need senior ownership across a broader mandate, our fractional head of partnerships service explains that structure.
Wealthtech partnership FAQs
What is embedded investing?
Embedded investing is the placement of a brokerage, managed portfolio or retirement account inside another company's product, such as an investing account inside a banking app or a payroll platform. The partner owns the customer experience and the brand. The wealthtech supplies the licensed brokerage or advisory service, the custody and the servicing. White label investment platform and brokerage as a service describe the same arrangement from the provider's side.
What is a turnkey asset management platform?
A turnkey asset management platform, or TAMP, is a service that gives financial advisors outsourced portfolio management, trading, reporting and operations so they can focus on clients. For a wealthtech or asset manager, TAMPs and custodians are a distribution channel, because the products and services on their platforms are what thousands of advisors can allocate to.
Can you help us become the investing product inside a bank or app?
Yes. We identify banks, neobanks, payroll platforms and consumer brands where investing fits the customer and the partner has a commercial reason to offer it, open conversations with the executives who own that decision and negotiate placement, revenue sharing, customer ownership and launch. Your compliance and engineering teams own the integration and the regulatory structure.
Can you help a retirement provider build a payroll and broker channel?
Yes. We identify payroll providers, PEOs, benefits brokers and employer groups whose clients fit your plans, build the case for the people who decide which provider gets recommended and negotiate integration, referral economics and co-marketing. Your operations team owns plan setup and compliance. We keep the channel filling.
Do you work with advisors, custodians and asset managers?
Yes, as partners. We map the broker-dealers, networks, custodians and TAMPs that reach your target advisors or that decide what advisors can allocate to, open conversations at the executive level and lead the commercial discussion through agreement and launch. Direct advisor sales stay with your sales team. We agree on account ownership at the start so the two motions reinforce each other.
Can you work alongside our internal growth or partnerships team?
Yes. We can own a defined channel or partner category while your team manages the rest. We agree on account ownership, decision authority and reporting at the start so both teams know who leads each relationship and when product, compliance or operations specialists should participate.
How long does it take to launch a wealthtech partnership?
Timing depends on the model, the partner's priorities, integration work and compliance review. Referral and affinity programs built on your existing onboarding move faster than embedded integrations, bank programs or plan menu placements. We establish milestones after discovery and track progress against them. A signed agreement, a launched partner and a funded account are separate milestones; the timeline should make each one clear.
How are wealthtech partnership engagements priced?
Schwaner & Co. works on a monthly retainer plus a performance fee on closed partnerships. The scope reflects the products, partner categories and work involved. We agree on responsibilities, commercial terms and how a closed partnership is defined before the engagement begins.
Discuss your wealthtech partnership goals
Tell us about your product, the investors or advisors you want to reach and the asset or revenue target partnerships need to support. We will prepare an initial map of eight to ten potential partners for one channel and use a 20-minute conversation to discuss where there may be a fit.