The economics are interesting. Avant does not charge advisors for its tools, but Channel Dive reported that it has privately acknowledged something costing millions to build can’t stay free,¹ and its chief innovation officer said token economics will play a role in platforms like this for years. The options under consideration are a direct fee, a commission split, a partner-tier gate or, least likely, nothing at all. Advisors have spent their careers being paid in residuals, so it’ll be interesting to see how a tool meant to protect their income would look with a meter on it. Avant’s CEO observed that public models sound confident even when they’re wrong, and it will be worth seeing whether a metered one sounds more or less confident per token. TSDs have long held the posture of not charging advisors for tools.
TSDs already earn a share of the commissions on the deals advisors place, and the data behind The Grid was gathered as those advisors earned that business, so advisors will want to know why they should pay again to query it. The same question applies on the supplier side. If a handful of suppliers account for most of what gets recommended, it isn’t clear whether the rest will appear in a token-based tool at all, or whether placement can be bought. Some suppliers do not surface on Avant’s website. Whether they will surface in Orion, or whether suppliers face a separate fee there, is something Avant hasn’t said.
The sensible move for any advisor invited into the beta is to ask for a rate card before their first prompt. Shavings make a pile so they say.
Alex Rollins, co-founder, The Channel Standard