PreciseFP is an AI-enabled platform that helps financial advisors streamline data gathering, client onboarding, and lead generation through interactive fact-finders, secure document sharing, and integrations with CRM systems, enhancing the efficiency of the onboarding process. Pulse 2.0 interviewed PreciseFP Executive Vice President of Product and Strategy Richard Thoeny to learn more.
Richard Thoeny’s Background
Tell us a bit about your professional background and how you arrived in your current role. Thoeny said:
“I’ve spent more than three decades in financial services—running brokerage, self-clearing firms and leading technology and product strategy teams. My career began at Microsoft, where I built a strong technical foundation before transitioning into financial operations at Bidwell & Company, a national self-clearing broker-dealer, where I served as Vice President of Operations. Over the years I’ve worn many hats — equities and options trader, Chief Compliance Officer, and senior operations and product executive — giving me a 360-degree understanding of the business, technical and regulatory sides of the industry.”
“I went on to co-found a hybrid broker-dealer/RIA, led operations at COR Clearing (now Axos Clearing), and directed product strategy at Talisys Software Systems. In 2014 I joined PreciseFP, where today I serve as Executive Vice President of Product and Strategy. My focus is uniting technology, process, and people to transform how advisory firms collect, manage, and act on client data—making their operations faster, more accurate, and more client-centric.”
Company Mission
How would you describe your company’s mission and value proposition in one sentence? Thoeny shared:
“At PreciseFP, our mission is to help financial advisors build deeper client relationships through intelligent, automated data gathering—simplifying the way firms collect, validate, and leverage information to deliver exceptional advice.”
Differentiation In The Market
What sets PreciseFP apart in the market? Thoeny affirmed:
“PreciseFP was built specifically for financial professionals—not retrofitted from another industry. Our platform delivers a fully customizable client engagement and data-gathering experience, integrating seamlessly with the leading CRMs, financial planning tools, and portfolio management systems that advisors already rely on.”
“What makes us unique is how we turn data gathering into relationship building—automating client input while keeping the experience elegant, compliant, and personalized. Combined with our intelligent templates, digital forms, and deep integrations, we help firms improve data quality, reduce NIGO (not-in-good-order) rates, and eliminate repetitive data entry—saving time while strengthening client and operational trust.”
Biggest Challenges
What are the biggest challenges your clients face today, and how do you help address them? Thoeny acknowledged:
“Advisors and wealth management firms are navigating increased client expectations for digital engagement, tighter regulatory oversight, and shrinking operational margins. The biggest challenge is often inefficient data collection—manual, inconsistent, and error-prone.”
“PreciseFP solves this by creating a seamless digital bridge between clients and their advisors. Our automated data-gathering tools ensure accuracy at the source, integrate directly into advisors’ core systems, and allow teams to focus on advice rather than administration. The result is a smoother onboarding experience, higher client satisfaction, and measurable gains in operational efficiency.”
Product Strategy
What role does product strategy play in your leadership responsibilities? Thoeny explained:
“Product strategy is the heartbeat of my role. My team and I translate market needs and trends into an actionable roadmap—balancing innovation with practical application. That includes defining the 1-, 3-, and 5-year product vision, prioritizing key integrations across the advisor tech stack, and ensuring our UX and workflow capabilities continually evolve with industry demands.”
“At PreciseFP, I focus on aligning our development initiatives with what matters most to advisors: client experience, compliance readiness, and operational simplicity.”
Milestone
Can you share a milestone or achievement that you’re particularly proud of? Thoeny cited:
“One of the milestones I’m most proud of is elevating PreciseFP’s role as a core enabler of advisor efficiency and client engagement. We’ve strengthened our integration ecosystem, modernized the platform’s UX, added AI assistants and expanded intelligent automation—creating a truly connected experience from data entry to financial planning delivery.”
“Being named one of The Software Report’s Top 25 Software Product Executives of 2022 was a deeply rewarding recognition of my team’s efforts to create technology that is not only functional but deeply meaningful. Winning the WealthBriefing WealthTech Americas Award for Onboarding Product in 2024 also marked a significant milestone for our PreciseFP team in an intensely competitive industry.”
Evolution Of Wealth Management Technology
How do you see technology in wealth management evolving in the next few years? Thoeny noted:
“We’re entering an era where intelligence and integration will define success. I see three big trends shaping the next wave:
- Adaptive automation — AI-driven, predictive systems that learn from advisor workflows to pre-populate, validate, and enhance client data.
- Unified data ecosystems — Advisors will demand deeper, real-time integration between a multitude of data sources, not just CRMs, and planning tools.
- Personalized digital experiences — Technology will increasingly mirror the advisor’s personal touch—simple, secure, and human-centered.
At PreciseFP, we’re already building for that future—where data is accurate, engagement is frictionless, and advisors can focus entirely on serving clients.”
Balancing Innovation With Compliance
How do you balance innovation with compliance in such a regulated industry? Thoeny pointed out:
“In our industry, compliance isn’t a constraint—it’s a design requirement. At PreciseFP, we architect security, audit trails, and permission controls directly into the platform so innovation and compliance evolve together. Security-by-design is critical. It’s a principle I’ve embraced through my experience as a compliance executive and reinforced by cybersecurity training and certifications from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Our approach ensures firms can embrace automation confidently, knowing their data integrity and regulatory readiness are protected at every step.”
Corporate Culture
What corporate culture or leadership philosophy do you bring to your team? Thoeny described:
“I lead with clarity, collaboration, and accountability. My philosophy is to set a clear product vision—why we’re building something—and empower people to own how we get there. We maintain an open dialogue across engineering, design, and client success, because innovation happens fastest when ideas move freely.”
“I also believe culture is built on trust: transparency in goals, recognition of achievements, and learning from missteps. Those principles have guided me through every leadership role I’ve held, from brokerage operations to SaaS product strategy.”
Advice For Leaders
What advice would you give other company leaders navigating digital transformation? Thoeny suggested:
“Start with the client journey. Technology should simplify, not overwhelm. Focus early on data quality and integration, since those two things determine long-term scalability. Also, prioritize people—change management is as critical as technology adoption.”
“Finally, embrace continuous improvement. Transformation isn’t a single event; it’s a mindset of measuring, iterating, and adapting to stay aligned with client needs and market evolution.”
Measuring Success
How do you measure success for your product teams and for the company? Thoeny unpacked:
“We measure success through client impact. That includes metrics like user adoption, reduced manual data entry, decreased NIGO rates, and faster onboarding. Internally, we look at team velocity, cross-functional alignment, and how quickly feedback turns into product improvement.”
“Our mission at PreciseFP isn’t just to build software—it’s to make advisors’ daily workflows simpler, smarter, and more rewarding.”
Vision For The Company
What is your vision for PreciseFP over the next 3–5 years? Thoeny emphasized:
“My vision is for PreciseFP to become the data-gathering and engagement platform of record for time-constrained financial professionals everywhere. That means expanding AI-driven automation, deepening integration with every major tool in the advisor ecosystem, and continuing to redefine what “client engagement” means in a digital-first era.”
“We’ll continue to innovate in areas such as personalization, compliance readiness, and operational intelligence—so that firms not only collect better data but also use it to create better outcomes for their clients.”
Motivation For Work
What motivates you personally in your work? Thoeny concluded:
“What motivates me most is impact—seeing how technology can transform the advisor-client relationship. When advisors tell us that PreciseFP helped them save time, improve accuracy, or deepen client conversations, that’s the ultimate reward.”
“Outside of work, I recharge in Colorado’s mountains—skiing, hiking, and mountain biking. That balance keeps me creative and focused on building tools that make advisors’ lives easier and their clients’ experiences better.”
