Axos Clearing on Friday announced a strategic partnership in which Envestnet’s managed account solutions are being integrated into the Axos Complete portal.
The pact will enable hybrid broker-dealers (BDs) and RIAs to enhance their client services and streamline operations, the firms said.
“Partnering with Envestnet to integrate their managed account technology into our professional workstation allows us to provide our clients with the tools and technology they need to thrive in a fee-based advisory model,” said David Crow, EVP and Head of Axos Clearing, a subsidiary of Axos Financial. “This is a key step as we continue developing Axos Complete, our comprehensive platform for advisory and operational solutions.”
Before joining Axos Clearing last year, Crow worked for approximately 23 years at BNY Mellon | Pershing. Most recently, he served there as a Managing Director and Co-Head of Relationship Management. Before that, Crow served as Managing Director, Head of Strategic Client Group, at BNY Mellon | Pershing.
Goals of the integration are for Envestnet’s managed account technology to enable Axos Clearing clients to streamline portfolio management, automate routine tasks including rebalancing and reporting, and offer a wider range of investment options. These enhancements are expected to help advisors to serve clients more effectively and scale their practices.
“This new partnership further expands the reach of our managed account solutions,” according to Molly Weiss, Group President, Wealth Management Platform for Envestnet.
“Envestnet and Axos Clearing share a commitment to enable advisors to seamlessly meet clients where they are and address the gaps that many firms face due to a lack of comprehensive solutions,” she said. “This collaboration will empower more advisors to better serve their clients and grow their practices, which is central to our mission.”
As the industry continues to move more toward fee-based models and investors increasingly favor advisory relationships, Axos Clearing and Envestnet’s partnership aims to provide more RIAs and hybrid BDs with access to a wealth management platform, and help them manage client relationships more effectively and efficiently, according to a news release.
Axos Financial is the holding company for Axos Bank, Axos Clearing and Axos Invest. Axos Clearing, including its business division Axos Advisor Services, had approximately $35.7 billion of assets under custody and/or administration as of June 30, according to the release.
In September, stockholders of Envestnet approved the pending acquisition of the company by affiliates of vehicles managed or advised by Bain Capital. Over 99% of the votes represented at a special meeting supported the transaction, which Envestnet expects to complete in the fourth quarter.
Envestnet agreed to go private in the acquisition at a valuation of $4.5 billion, with Reverence Capital Partners also participating and BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, Franklin Templeton, and State Street Global Advisors set to become minority holders. The transaction was set to pay shareholders $63.15 for each share of common stock.
As of June 30, Envestnet had $6.2 trillion in total platform assets across more than 110,000 advisors and more than 44 million paid subscribers, according to the company’s website.
Jeff Berman, Contributing Editor and Reporter at Wealth Solutions Report, can be reached at jberman@wealthsolutionsreport.com.
