By: Gerelyn Terzo
The advisor-Tech segment has been bustling with deals, including new partnerships, mergers and more.
- Andes Wealth Tech: Boston-based Andes Wealth Technologies secured a spot as a finalist in the 2021 WealthManagement.com Industry Awards. Andes was selected as a finalist in two categories: Risk Tolerance and Client Profiling as well as Portfolio Analytics. The firm is behind a risk tolerance test that gives clients a chance to select their risk and return tradeoff to be matched with one of its advisory models.
- Archer: Berwyn, Penn.-based Archer, a tech service provider to the wealth management industry, announced that it has received a growth investment from LLR Partners, a Philadelphia-based investor. The proceeds will be directed toward Archer’s growth initiatives for its middle and back-office solutions. Investment managers use Archer’s technology to streamline their investment products and create greater efficiencies.
- Hoover Financial Advisors: Wealth Enhancement Group is scooping up Hoover Financial Advisors, a Pennsylvania-based RIA with $1.46 billion under advisement. As a result of the deal, Wealth Enhancement Group, which is a hybrid advisory firm, will oversee close to $35 billion in client assets. The firm is on the acquisition trail and in March announced it was buying North American Management, with $1.75 billion in client funds.
- LPL Financial: Wealth adviser LPL Financial has decided it will use SmartAsset, a marketplace matching consumers with financial advisors in the U.S., for its Vendor Affinity Program. Starting this month, more than 18,000 advisors on LPL’s platform can access the SmartAdvisor platform. SmartAsset CEO Michael Carvin said RIAs and firms are increasingly turning to digital marketing channels.
- Orion Advisor Solutions: Omaha, Neb.-based Orion Advisor Solutions and HiddenLevers have reached an agreement with Atlanta-based RIA Cardea Capital in their maiden post-acquisition deal. Cardea, an existing Orion client, will use fintech platform HiddenLever’s portfolio stress-testing and risk analytics coupled with Orion Advisor Solutions’ wealthtech platform. Orion announced the acquisition of HiddenLevers in April.
- Practifi: Chicago-based Practifi, a business management platform for wealth advisors, has expanded its sales team with the addition of a trio of professionals. Vlad Anghel, Eric Peters and Roger Romero have joined as senior account executives to serve the wealth management market. Vlad is an eight-year alum of Salentica, which is part of SS&C Technologies, where he served in sales and product roles. Eric was previously with InvestCloud as a senior sales exec. Before that, he spent a decade at McKinsey’s PriceMetrix as director of sales. Roger joins from Fiserv, where he spent the past two years as director of business development and senior sales executive. He also spent 13 years at eMoney Advisor in a sales leadership capacity.
- Riskalyze: Fintech software provider Riskalyze has inked an agreement with RIA Foundations Investment Advisors to deliver its risk alignment and portfolio analytics platform to more than 180 financial advisors. For its part, Foundations was looking to standardize its risk assessment workflow across the company. Foundations’ advisors will gain access to Riskalyze’s risk tolerance questionnaire, portfolio alignment tools, analytics and research tools, plus a suite of tools for to engage with clients.
- Vestwell: Digital recordkeeping platform Vestwell and robo-advisory tech provider Bambu are partnering to enhance the retirement plan investment process for clients. Vestwell will use Bambu’s wealth management API to deliver personalized investment strategies so clients can better reach their retirement milestones. This partnership influenced Vestwell’s recently introduced advisor-managed account offering with Franklin Templeton using the asset management firm’s Goals Optimization Engine.
