Concerned about an AI bubble? Sign up for The Daily Upside for smart and actionable market news, built for investors. There’s one clear winner in the technological arms race playing out among wealthtech firms: financial advisors, who want tax-savvy investing tools. AssetMark announced this morning the upcoming launch of new features on its Adhesion wealth platform for registered investment advisors, including more advanced direct indexing and separately managed account capabilities. The goal is to help RI ...

Concerned about an AI bubble? Sign up for The Daily Upside for smart and actionable market news, built for investors. If you need a loan you go to the bank, right? Not so fast. Wealthtech firms are now offering lending products to close a competitive gap between RIAs and traditional banks and wirehouses, which have long used mortgage rate incentives to lure clients and assets away from independent advisors. The latest such firm, Flourish, added residential mortgage lending capabilities to its registered i ...

Might as well jump, go ahead and… Jump, an AI-powered financial services platform for advisors, raised $80 million in Series B funding, four times the amount it secured in its Series A last year. Insight Partners led the round, with additional investments from F-Prime Capital and Allianz Life Ventures. The new capital will go toward expanding the AI meeting assistant’s tools that are aimed at making advisors’ lives easier. The raise underscores how quickly artificial intelligence is reshaping the wealth ...

Here’s to a cool $25 mil. Avantos, an AI-powered operating system for advisors, raised $25 million in Series A funding this week, led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with additional backing from powerhouse wealth management firms like Vanguard, Guardian Life and SEI. The raise comes just over a week after Altruist launched an AI-powered tax planning tool that sent shares of wealth management firms including Charles Schwab and Morgan Stanley tumbling. The company plans to use the capital to expand research a ...

Core Insights - Envestnet has appointed Jonathan Linstra as chief growth officer to enhance its growth leadership model, focusing on scalable distribution and relationship management to meet rising client complexity and demand for personalization [1][2]. Group 1: Leadership and Role - Linstra joins Envestnet from Morningstar, where he was managing director for the Americas, and will report to CEO Chris Todd while leading growth priorities in sales execution, revenue generation, and advisor engagement [2][4]. - The new role is designed to work alongside Andrew Stavaridis, the chief relationship officer, who will continue to manage existing client relationships and expansion efforts [2]. Group 2: Strategic Initiatives - Envestnet is committing $1 billion in product investment over the next five years to enhance its managed accounts capabilities across broker/dealers and RIAs [4]. - The company has been advancing its Unified Managed Account (UMA) platform, incorporating features such as advisor-traded sleeves, flexible householding, alternatives, and improved portfolio management [4]. Group 3: Market Position and Assets - Envestnet manages $7.0 trillion in platform assets and serves over one-third of all financial advisors across banks, wealth managers, brokerages, and RIAs [6].

Core Insights - Aquilance has raised $16 million in funding from Ten Coves Capital, marking its first institutional capital raise in 39 years [1] - The company rebranded from My Accountant in 2021 and underwent a recapitalization with private individual investors [2] - Aquilance has been expanding its executive team with experienced professionals from wealthtech and banking sectors [3][4][5] Company Developments - John Carey was appointed as CEO in June 2024, succeeding Kenneth Eyler [3] - Kevin Reed joined as the first chief revenue officer in October 2024, focusing on branding and marketing for financial advisors [4] - Craig Setera was appointed as the first chief technology officer in 2024, enhancing the company's tech platform to serve clients with $10 million or more in assets [5] Client Base and Services - Aquilance primarily serves ultra-high-net-worth individuals, with a significant portion of business referred by financial advisors [6] - The company provides services such as bookkeeping, bill pay, investment, and entity accounting through financial advisors [6] - Aquilance aims to offer a high-net-worth money movement service similar to mobile banking apps for advisors and their clients [7]

Core Insights - The Carlyle Group Inc. has announced an agreement to acquire intelliflo from Invesco Ltd. to enhance its exposure to financial software [1] Group 1: Acquisition Details - intelliflo, founded in 2004 and based in London, supports over 30,000 professionals across 2,600 advisory firms, managing approximately £450 billion in client assets [2] - The acquisition includes intelliflo's cloud-based practice management software in the UK and its US subsidiaries, RedBlack and intelliflo Portfolio, which serve Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) [3][9] - The total purchase price is valued at up to $200 million, with $135 million payable at closing expected in the fourth quarter of 2025, and up to an additional $65 million in potential future earn-outs [4][9] Group 2: Strategic Implications - The acquisition is expected to accelerate Carlyle's growth in wealthtech across the UK, the United States, and Australia [4] - intelliflo's US subsidiaries will be carved out into a standalone entity named RedBlack, focusing on supporting RIAs, while intelliflo will concentrate on the UK and Australian markets [5][9] - Carlyle aims to scale both platforms independently while driving innovation and client-centric growth by combining intelliflo's UK leadership with RedBlack's US specialization [7] Group 3: Broader Strategy - The acquisition is backed by Carlyle Europe Technology Partners V, a €3 billion fund focused on technology investments across Europe, with a strong track record in financial software and vertically focused SaaS [6] - Recent investments by CETP include SER Group, CSS, SurePay, and Calastone, indicating a commitment to expanding its portfolio in the financial software sector [6] Group 4: Market Performance - Over the past year, shares of Carlyle Group have surged 62.3%, significantly outperforming the industry's growth of 17.9% [8]