Our Mission
To bring better advice beyond investing to more American families.
Via their caring financial advisor.
So that families thrive, and advisor practices grow.
What is Bento Engine?
Bento Engine is an integrated content and technology solution that helps client-centric Advisors deepen existing client relationships and convert more prospects faster by systematically leading with proactive advice during “Moments That Matter”™️.
We believe that impactful advice is still best delivered by humans to humans, supported by smart technology. Bento — making you more human more often.
Team
Our team is committed to supporting advisors who want to scale impactful advice beyond investing to their clients during key moments on their financial journeys.
Laura Holt
Growth Partner
Sean Kelly
Growth Partner
Christina Viglietta
Chief of Staff
Petek Pekgoz
Chief Marketing Officer
CRM Partners
Other Partners
Advisory Council
John Anderson
Sales, Management and Consulting Leader
Marty Bicknell
RIA Leader
Alex Chalekian
RIA Leader
Carley Dillon
CX Leader
Shannon Eusey
RIA Leader
Jennifer Fox
Trust & Estate Leader
Rodrigo Franco
Tech Expert
Greg Friedman
CRM Expert and RIA Leader
Doug Fritz
Technology Maven
Jen Goldman
Business Transformer, CFP®
Anton Honikman
Enterprise Leader
Matthias Kuhlmey
RIA Veteran
Michael Nathanson
Industry Thought Leader
Andy Putterman
Industry Sage
Greg Soueid
Operation Expert
John Sweeney
Fintech Leader
In Memoriam
Greg Quental
Business Leader, Entrepreneur
Gavin Spitzner
Industry Sage
Our Origin Story
As with many startup ideas, the impetus behind the formation of Bento Engine is not one big single “aha moment”, but rather a combination of professional observations and personal experiences. Let’s take them in turn.
Personal Experiences
Given that I am a Procter & Gamble-trained Brand Manager and recovering BCG Consultant, it will not surprise you to hear that I love to mystery shop our industry. I like to taste my peers’ cooking, I want to experience first-hand what it feels like to be a client of firms X, Y, and Z. So for a long time, I have been working with multiple wealth management providers, across business models: Private Banks, RIAs, Wirehouse Brokers, Asset Managers, and Insurance Agents. When I listen to their elevator pitches or review their marketing materials, all of them promise some form of “holistic” or “comprehensive” advice as part of their value prop — even my Insurance Agents insist on doing fulsome financial plans with me!
So yes, they all “talk the talk” … but how many “walk the walk”? What do you think:
- When I turned 50, how many of them reached out not only with a congratulatory note but actionable advice on making Catch-up Contributions in my retirement accounts, thus increasing my tax-advantaged savings and investing rate?
- When our twins turned 14, how many of them reached out on how to get them Working Papers so that they can legally start earning income? And then to put that legally earned income into Custodial IRA accounts under their name so that they get to experience and enjoy the power of tax-deferred compounding for decades to come?
If your hunch is “zero”, then you are unfortunately correct. Wow, what a missed opportunity to serve me and my family with personal, timely, actionable advice that creates real after-tax value. Yes, in their defense, my advisors are all very busy, and I am a small fish at the bottom of their book — but doesn’t my family deserve good advice as well? Why not use technology to scale the great work that great advisors are doing for their greatest of clients, and via efficient tech-enabled solutions bring that at scale to the middle and the bottom of the book, which is oftentimes woefully underserved, and represents a major built-in organic revenue growth opportunity.
Professional Observations
Our industry is shifting. Away from providing access to products … towards leading with advice. At the same time, technology is advancing fast — by now, CRM systems are broadly adopted, and the data housed in those systems is increasingly robust. We view the CRM as the hub of client-centric advisors going forward, and we proudly integrate into that hub via bi-directional APIs. Let’s mine all the great data in the CRM, and make that key system work even harder for advisors. So, value props are shifting, and technology has evolved. And last, but not least, more and more advisors and their firms are realizing that when they lead with advice, EVERYONE WINS — better client experiences and better client outcomes, plus organic revenue growth for the advisor via client deepening and prospect conversion.
There you have it, this is why we exist. And why we are excited about our Mission:
To bring better advice beyond investing to more American families. Via their caring Financial Advisors. So that families thrive, and advisor practices grow.
Thank you for your interest in Bento, we would love to serve you and your clients.
— Philipp Hecker, Co-Founder, and CEO
