AssetMark to snap up multibillion-dollar TAMP business from Morningstar

AssetMark is taking over billions of dollars in TAMP assets from Morningstar as part of a landmark mega-partnership between the two firms.

Under the strategic alliance announced Thursday, Assetmark’s wholly owned RIA subsidiary will acquire roughly $12 billion in assets from the Morningstar Wealth Turnkey Asset Management Platform.

As a result of the deal, advisors and clients utilizing Morningstar Wealth’s TAMP will gain access to AssetMark’s comprehensive platform, which includes advanced advisor technology, business consulting, and a curated selection of investment strategists.

Michael Kim, chief executive officer of AssetMark, hailed his firm’s partnership with Morningstar with its “rich heritage of providing comprehensive investment insights and services to advisors and financial professionals around the globe.”

“This relationship represents best-in-class firms strategically aligning to provide innovative solutions and high-quality service to financial advisors and their clients,” Kim declared in a statement.

“Our alliance with AssetMark marks a significant milestone for our business,” added Daniel Needham, president of Morningstar Wealth. “We are aligning our efforts with a clear vision to combine the strengths of our unique capabilities, enabling the advisors we support to serve investors more effectively.”

The firms expect a seamless transition process, requiring minimal collection of new paperwork from clients – a headache-inducing experience called “repapering,” as it’s known in the industry – and preserving clients’ portfolio performance histories.

Advisors currently affiliated with AssetMark will also benefit from access to a variety of model portfolios and separately managed accounts managed by the Morningstar Investment Management team, which oversees over $290 billion in assets under management and advisement globally.

The partnership will also broaden Morningstar Wealth’s reach in the investment management business as it will continue to operate as a third-party strategist on the AssetMark platform.

“AssetMark has a long track record of providing financial advisors with the service, tools, and investments they need to build a thriving practice, and we look forward to making our models accessible to more advisors,” Needham said.

The alliance builds on AssetMark’s solid record of strategic acquisitions, including its deal for financial planning software firm Voyant in 2021 and its 2022 purchase of Adhesion Wealth, an RIA-focused TAMP, from Vestmark.

In April, AssetMark itself became the object of an acquisition deal when PE firm GTCR announced plans to snap AssetMark up for $2.7 billion in a take-private transaction set to close in the fourth quarter.