Riskalyze co-founder gets leadership role at estate planning fintech startup

by James · April 26, 2023

It might not be as catchy a hook as Prince’s chart topping 1982 singlebut Matt Pistone and Matt Morris are ready to party like it’s 2015.

More specifically, the two finance veterans are ready to recapture the energy of their days working together at Rice bowl in the mid-2010s. Pistone is one of the founders of the well-known fintech and served as chief technology officer for more than a decade before stepping down last spring.

Morris, meanwhile, was a financial advisor who became the then-startup’s first sales hire and the 10th hire overall before climbing to the role of director of sales. He left Riskalyze in early 2020 before becoming vice president of sales at the estate planning firm Helios integrated planning before it was closed at the end of 2021.

But as excited as they are to kick it old school, the two Matts are even more excited about what happens next. On Wednesday, it was announced that Pistone will join EncorEstate plans as its first Chief Technology Officer.

Morris is the CEO of Seattle-based startup which continues where Helios left off and develops estate planning software specifically for financial advisors.

So instead of Prince, Pistone and Morris might be better off hum some Peaches & Herb. With which the two fintech leaders shared their enthusiasm for the new collaboration Financial planning in an interview it was clear that it feels so good to be reunited.

“This is the reunion of two really good friends and two people who have gone from taking a wealth technology firm from nothing to an industry leader,” Morris said. “And it was just an amazing ride for both of us. I think we got a PhD in wealth technology startups, and the second time around is even more fun. All those learnings are already there now. So we’re celebrating the ability to establish a new category, just like we did in the Riskalyze days. And do it with all the things we know now that we didn’t know the first time.”

Pistone echoed those sentiments.

“The stage that EncorEstate Plans is in … is pretty exciting to me,” Pistone added. “We’ve already got the product market fit, we’ve got some revenue, and we’re building on that foundation. It’s a pretty cool starting point to dive in from, and we’ve got a little more momentum out of the gate to get things rolling.”

Matt Pistone and Matt Morris ride together during a recent ride.

In his new role, Pistone will be responsible for the firm’s software development, including UI/UX design, API development and implementation, product roadmap and more.

Morris said estate planning is an important, but often overlooked, aspect of client service in the wealth management industry, and as many as 67% of people do not have some form of estate plan in place.

A recent one Merrill Lynch survey found that only 55% of Americans age 55 and older have a will, and only 18% have the recommended essence of a will, health care directive, or power of attorney and durable power of attorney.

“And the problem is really wrapped up in procrastination. And it’s because the client experience isn’t great that people aren’t taking action to go and get those documents done,” Morris said. “The other side of it is that there are millions of estate plans out there that are outdated, and nobody is there to help people understand that what they did in the past may not be what they want today.”

But more advisers are turning to wealthtech to repair what Morris calls a broken part of the client experience. According to the firm, the number of advisors using an estate planning tool has increased by 200% in the past two years.

Since its inception, EncorEstate Plans has completed nearly 10,000 estate plans, working with thousands of advisors at more than 600 firms in all 50 states. For Morris, Pistone is the perfect person to lead the firm’s product teams and ensure they leverage both existing and new technologies to meet the needs of advisors and their clients.

In addition to will and trust plans starting at $350, EncorEstate Plans recently added a service that allows advisors and clients to update outdated plans, providing a one-page visual summary that makes it easy to review all relevant information and identify any gaps or outdated information.

As he prepares to step into his new role, Pistone is focused on creating new opportunities for advisors through estate planning as the potential client base evolves. He’s thinking about the big wealth transfer, and he wants to make sure hard-working advisors aren’t left behind.

“A lot of money is changing hands. And it’s important to those customers directly. But it’s also important to keep their kids or whoever that wealth is passed on in the conversation and to be able to work with the whole family,” Pistone said. “I think that’s one of the big things we can do here … cut out the busy work and go straight to what we’ve always thought counselors are.

“You’re really there to guide and guide clients. And I think, right now, it seems like most of the industry is starting to wake up to the realization that estate planning is a huge ingredient and can’t be skipped. “