FinTech Interview with David Knoch, Chief Executive Officer of Docupace

Uncover the future of secure and compliant document management with David Knoch, CEO of Docupace, in our insightful interview.

David, can you tell us about your background and how you became the CEO of Docupace?
After 20 years at 1st Global in Dallas, where I served as president, I was appointed chief executive officer of Docupace in 2020. Aspects of my experience at 1st Global – building strong teams, setting growth-oriented goals, and meeting those goals, were at the forefront of Docupace’s agenda. Since 2020, we’ve moved quickly to position ourselves from a back-office solutions provider to a full wealthtech platform with impactful capabilities.

What inspired you to join the financial services industry, and how has your career evolved over time?
Financial services is an industry on a critical mission in these unpredictable times: making financial advice easily accessible and reaching the customers and prospective clients who need it the most – by supporting advisors. Over time, my career has evolved to serving in positions, whether at Docupace or at the Financial Services Institute, where I leverage my industry expertise to put advisors’ needs first.

What do you consider to be the most significant challenges facing the financial services industry today? How is Docupace addressing these challenges?
The most significant challenge facing the industry today is the issue of siloed, legacy platforms. Advisors focused on holistic planning and their home offices processing paperwork need a streamlined process that eliminates the “swivel chair approach” that requires the re-entry of data across different platforms. The Docupace platform turns financial planning into financial planning well-executed which includes a single-sign-on experience, and workflow automation – with all features designed to get advisors to their goals faster with significantly lower errors and omissions rates.

Can you walk us through how Docupace’s digital solutions are transforming the way financial advisors operate?
Docupace recently released the RIA Productivity Suite, a cloud-based solution for advisors that allows them to streamline, integrate, and automate business and operational workflows. The Productivity Suite already is changing the way advisors conduct business, by introducing automation at every level of operations. We also wanted the solution to work with other fintech partners, which is why the Productivity Suite comes with “out of the box” capabilities and integrations, including Redtail CRM, Salesforce, Wealthbox, and others.

What are the key benefits of using Docupace’s platform?

• Systems integration, data integration
• Utilizing APIs through partners like Envestnet that enables real-time data exchange
• Automation that allows advisors to save hours of processing time and reduce NIGO (Not In Good Order) rates

Can you share some examples of successful implementations of Docupace’s solutions in the financial services industry?
We recently partnered with Orion Portfolio Solutions to automate workflows for their wealth management platform, at a time when automation and streamlined workflows have become imperative across the industry. Together we’re preparing a future where end-to-end automation is becoming increasingly common in financial services.

How do you see the financial services industry evolving over the next five years, and how is Docupace positioned to capitalize on these changes?
A recent study from Accenture showed that 93 percent of executives surveyed expected to have optimized front-to-back process automation across internal and external partners by 2025, a 50 percent increase from where their operations stand today. Docupace is on a journey of evolution, expansion, and transformation. Our acquisition of PreciseFP, an award-winning onboarding platform, changed our strategy – from a back-office solution provider to wealthtech firm with game-changing resources.

Our platform now features an automated workflow that keeps the relationship moving forward from the moment an advisor onboards a new client, and we stand ready to bring to market solutions that help financial firms and wealth management firms of all sizes.

How does Docupace prioritize customer feedback and incorporate it into its product roadmap?
Docupace currently supports 200,000 financial advisors and we support all our clients at the point of sale and beyond. Our roadmap includes teams of experienced professionals helping our clients get up to speed quickly on our platform, after going through a standard onboarding procedure. The success of our clients deeply matters to us at every stage of the partnership.

Can you discuss any notable awards or recognitions that Docupace has received?
We’ve been globally recognized for our products including making the WealthTech 100 2022 List, Business Insider’s 11 Rising WealthTech to Watch, and more. Most of all, I’m proud of the Docupace staff. Our executives have been recognized for their excellence: Chief Marketing Officer Ryan George was named a ThinkAdvisor Luminaries finalist in 2022, and our Chief Human Resources Officer Christina Cavalli was named HR Leader of the Year by Wealth Solutions Report.

How does Docupace measure the success of its solutions and customer satisfaction?
Docupace is continually working on enhancing the client and user experience. We conduct Voice of the Customer surveys twice a year to gather comprehensive feedback and our Customer Success Teams conduct monthly customer calls to review project timelines and platform successes. In addition, we’ve recently engaged with a group named Metalab, a leading UX firm, to overhaul the entire platform and modernize the user experience across stakeholders.