Envestnet, a wealth management technology company, said Thursday acquired Upside, which provides registered investment advisers with online investment services, for an undisclosed sum. Upside advises and manages client investments on an automated platform. Executives from both companies said that the combination of Upside and Envestnet will help place RIAs ahead of their "robo-adviser" competition. (More: 3 'must do's' from the T3 Conference) "There's been a lot of attention around the robo-adviser," Bill Crager, president of Envestnet, said. "What Upside does is gives us that front end portal but behind the scenes, Envestnet has the infrastructure to help advisers perform." Envestnet will use Upside's portal for financial planning and investment management alongside its own services, which include portfolio analytics, reporting and account servicing. Juney Ham, co-founder and president of Upside, said Envestnet and Upside shared the same goals. "The visions are so closely aligned," Mr. Ham said. "We've been focused on building the next generation, we both support the same group of people and we both want advisers to win." Mr. Ham and Tom Kimberly, co-founder and CEO of Upside, will join Envestnet as senior vice presidents. Envestnet's Advisor Suite offers advisers management tools.
While industry statistics pointing to a succession crisis can cause alarm, advisor-owners should be free to consider a middle path between staying solo and catching the surging wave of M&A.
New joint research by T. Rowe Price, MIT, and Stanford University finds more diverse asset allocations among older participants.
With its asset pipeline bursting past $13 billion, Farther is looking to build more momentum with three new managing directors.
A Department of Labor proposal to scrap a regulatory provision under ERISA could create uncertainty for fiduciaries, the trade association argues.
"We continue to feel confident about our ability to capture 90%," LPL CEO Rich Steinmeier told analysts during the firm's 2nd quarter earnings call.
Orion's Tom Wilson on delivering coordinated, high-touch service in a world where returns alone no longer set you apart.
Barely a decade old, registered index-linked annuities have quickly surged in popularity, thanks to their unique blend of protection and growth potential—an appealing option for investors looking to chart a steadier course through today's choppy market waters, says Myles Lambert, Brighthouse Financial.
