AssetMark adds a dozen SMAs to the platform

AssetMark Financial Holdings, Inc. is introducing a dozen separately managed account strategies in hopes that it will give advisers more personalized portfolio options for their clients. 

In an age when client experience is king, platform providers are working to help advisers face the growing demand from clients to access diversified investments and personalized portfolio strategies. The 12 new SMA strategies were launched Tuesday and include U.S. large cap growth, large cap value, large gap core, dividend equity and thematic growth strategies, among others, according to the announcement. 

“Some of the strategies are by Franklin Templeton that are technology geared, and then Neuberger Berman has a technology disruptive SMA solution,” said AssetMark executive vice president David McNatt in an interview.  

AssetMark, which managed $84 billion in assets, added SMAs because the strategies can serve as a tool to provide clients with more targeted exposures, said McNatt. SMAs also provide clients with ownership of the positions and effective tax-loss harvesting, he said. 

“SMAs can be used to address clients that have preferences for more transparency and want to have more transparency into the direct ownership of securities, or maybe have more of a connection to what they're actually investing in holding,” McNatt said. 

On top of that, these SMAs strategies give advisers and their clients the ability to apply platform rules that may be important to clients, such as restricting securities, McNatt said. “So for us, this is really about just adding more tools for advisers to use on our platform in order to build client portfolios that are a little bit more distinct and unique and responsive to client client goals and preferences.”

The turnkey asset management platform has been in growth mode after reporting 5,500 new households and 201 new producing advisers joined the platform. In total, there were over 8,400 advisers and over 196,400 investor households as a part of the platform as of June. 

AssetMark’s rapid growth is due in part to a change in leadership, with CEO Natalie Wolfsen taking the helm in March succeeding Charles Goldman, who stepped down in February. Under Wolfsen, AssetMark quickly made moves to evolve alongside the growing RIA channel. The firm launched AssetMark Institutional to offer tailored services for RIAs and closed a major M&A deal with the acquisition of financial planning software Voyant. 

AssetMark ranks third largest TAMP by assets right behind SEI at $226.8 billion in AUM and Envestnet at $286 billion in AUM.