In the world of finance, revolutions usually arrive on tip-toes. This time, however, it landed with the force of an earthquake on Wall Street. The protagonist? Jason Wenk, founder of Altruist—a company with a friendly name that is currently giving industry giants the chills.

Who is the man behind the revolution?

Jason Wenk isn’t your typical suit-and-tie CEO. At 46, he proudly describes himself as a “husband, father, math geek, and systems developer.” But don’t let the humble bio fool you: we’re talking about a former enfant prodige who was already working at Morgan Stanley at age 20 (as he playfully notes, he was likely the youngest professional in the world in that field at the time).

After building and selling successful firms like FormulaFolios—which managed over $3 billion in assets—he launched Altruist in 2018. His mission? To retire “ancient” systems and make financial advice independent, affordable, and accessible to everyone.

Meet Hazel: The assistant that never sleeps

The real “big bang” happened on Tuesday, February 10th, with the launch of Hazel. It’s not just an app; it’s an AI-powered command center that sent traditional brokerage stocks like Charles Schwab and Raymond James tumbling by over 8% in a single day.

So, what exactly does Hazel do that has the big players so worried? Simply put, it strips away the “boring work” from financial advisors, leaving them free to focus on the human side of the business.

• Goodbye, Paperwork: Hazel instantly reads and processes pay stubs, tax returns, and bank statements. No more manual data entry (and no more typos!).
• Flash Strategies: It generates personalized financial and tax strategies in minutes, simulating complex scenarios like selling a home or planning for retirement in real-time.
• The Ultimate Memory: It acts as a historical archive. An advisor can ask, “What did we discuss with the Smith family last quarter?” and Hazel will answer by analyzing emails and meeting notes.

The Advisor of the Future is (Almost) a Cyborg

Powered by technology from the startup Thyme, Hazel even handles the post-meeting bureaucracy. It records conversations (with guaranteed privacy), generates automatic summaries, and even drafts follow-up emails while mimicking the advisor’s specific “tone of voice.” Every morning, the advisor wakes up to a full briefing on everything they need to know for the day’s appointments.