Fintech unicorn Vise partners with Morgan Stanley alum's new RIA aggregator

Vise, a fintech startup that provides advisers with custom indexing and automated portfolio management, is looking to boost growth by partnering with a new RIA aggregator.

Vestria Capital, which the former vice chairman of Morgan Stanley Wealth, Paul Hatch, launched in December for breakaway advisers, has signed an agreement to make Vise available to advisers on its network. The announcement comes after reports that Vise has struggled to grow in the RIA market despite raising $128 million in funding and being valued at $1 billion.

Vise’s most recent Form ADV, filed March 31, indicates the fintech manages $362 million, a 35% decline from its previous filing in December. The company also had several members of its executive leadership team depart in February, according to Citywire.

In an interview with Business Insider, Vise CEO Samir Vasavada attributed the loss to an investor that moved its book of business because it was focused on alternative investments, which Vise doesn’t currently support.

However, the company sees an opportunity to ride the ongoing growth in the RIA market, citing McKinsey data showing that each year, 1,600 advisers join the RIA channel and 700 new independent firms are created. Inflation, rising interest rates and sustained market volatility all make the case for more customized portfolio management technology, Vasavada said.

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“This is a critical partnership for us as we continue to roll out our technology to financial-planning focused RIAs who not only want to level the playing field, but also capitalize on opportunities to drive their businesses forward in a time of market turmoil,” Vasavada said in a statement.

Vestria provides capital to help new RIA firms. According to Hatch, Vise provides Vestria with a unique technology offering for advisers that lets it stand out from competing aggregators like Dynasty Financial Partners, Hightower Advisors or Focus Financial.

Hatch did not immediately respond to questions about the number of advisers on the network, but “expects to onboard many advisers representing significant assets under management” by the end of the year, according to a statement.

“Financial advisors help their clients through all stages of their lives and manage a substantial amount of our nation’s wealth, but much of the technology available to them is outdated and not designed to address today’s challenges,” Hatch said. “Vise’s ability to build personalized portfolios in minutes, while also taking a lot of the manual legwork off of advisor’s plates, makes it a game changing tool Vestria’s RIAs will be excited about.”

[More: Portfolio management platform Vise lands $14.5 million in funding]