Arca taps Altruist's real-time API as AI-native RIA scales past $1 billion

Arca, the artificial-intelligence-driven registered investment advisor that emerged from stealth this summer, has selected Altruist as its preferred custodian and technology partner, embedding the wealthtech firm's Realtime Custodial API directly into its proprietary platform.

The move deepens ties between two of wealth management's most closely watched growth stories. Arca launched three months ago with $64 million in funding and has since surpassed $1 billion in client assets, a pace that has made it a reference point for how far artificial intelligence can go in reshaping advisor workflows.

Altruist, for its part, has spent the past year speedrunning through its product roadmap, expanding well beyond custody and into more advanced planning and investment capabilities. That's not to mention its broader business expansion, including the decision to launch its own corporate RIA for breakaway advisors.

The deal with Arca – which counts Altruist founder and CEO Jason Wenk among its board members and strategic backers – makes the AI-native firm the first to build on its newest real-time infrastructure layer.

Under the arrangement, Arca's AI agents now draw directly on Altruist's live custodial data to manage core client and operational workflows. The goal, according to the companies, is to strip out the manual administrative work that typically eats into an advisor's day, freeing that time for planning conversations and client relationships instead.

In a statement announcing the partnership, Wenk said Arca "represents a new category of wealth management firms, operating with the discipline and velocity of a frontier AI company, and scaling through acquisition and proprietary software rather than solely traditional growth."

Read more: AI-enabled RIA Arca raises $64M, works with an Anthropic client

Arca founder and CEO Rron Rexha, who Wenk called "a true visionary," described the integration as central to Arca's broader thesis about where the industry is headed.

"The future of wealth management isn't about replacing advisors – it's about removing the operational complexity that prevents them from delivering truly personalized advice at scale," he said. "Our deep integration with Altruist helps eliminate operational friction, giving advisors more time to focus on their clients – staying ahead of their needs and delivering the proactive, personalized advice they deserve to ultimately enable improved financial outcomes."

Arca's trajectory has been unusual even by wealthtech standards. The firm has built out its board with names that carry weight across the industry, including former Vanguard chief executive Bill McNabb, former Charles Schwab chief financial officer Peter Crawford, and "Psychology of Money" author Morgan Housel.

For its part, Altruist has been on a tear, quickly emerging as the custodian of choice among a still-growing network of independent RIAs drawn the strength of its tightly integrated platform.

Read more: Altruist secures exclusive partnership with $1B breakaway advisory firm in Boston

The wealthtech firm's success story came to a head late last month with Vanguard announcing an agreement to acquire Altruist and expand its reach among advisors.

"As we continue building the next generation of wealth management, we’re thrilled to partner with Altruist because they're building for the future, not adapting the past," Rexha said.

Following Arca, more tech-forward advisory firms are expected to adopt Altruist's real-time API this year, according to the Thursday announcement.