This edition of the Investments Roundup features Ameriprise launching flexible UMAs, Nitrogen partnering with Artha on portfolio management tools, BetaNXT acquiring Delta Data, Morningstar opining on private market investments, Sowell partnering with Goldman and GeoWealth on HNW investment strategies, LPL offering alts education for advisors, TCW introducing a private assets income fund, Goldman adding an ETF Look Through feature, VanEck adding two new ETFs, HFR on May hedge fund gains, L1 introducing hedge fund strategies via blockchain and State Street staying bullish on gold.
Larry's Take
While AI has sparkled and dazzled its way into our offices and imaginations, another developing technology is putting points on the board this month – crypto. We can no longer assume that “crypto” implies “cryptocurrency.” We must reframe our thinking to the larger ecosystem of blockchains.
Recent VanEck and L1 announcements are bringing this larger “digital economy” into focus, and cryptocurrencies occupy only one piece of the landscape. Blockchain technology has been steadily developing for years, including decentralized finance, smart contracts, e-commerce and other front end and support aspects for the digital economy. When it bursts onto the scene, it, too, will change everything. For your summer reading have an AI book in one hand and a digital economy book in the other. And don’t forget about quantum computing – that’s on the horizon and also has the potential to revolutionize our industry.
If you would like to discuss this Larry’s Take further, including how these trends might impact your business, please contact me at larry.roth@rlrstrategicpartners.com.
Ameriprise Rolls Out UMAs To Enable Greater Personalization, Increase Efficiency
Ameriprise Financial introduces new unified managed accounts (UMAs), giving advisors access to more investment products, greater options for customization and better functionality. The Signature Wealth Program gives advisors access to 10 investment providers with a range of models, mutual funds and ETFs. It allows them to personalize investment strategies while also letting clients themselves customize up to 25% of their portfolios with mutual funds and ETFs.
The platform lets clients track multiple strategies in a single account instead of having to maintain multiple accounts. The firm said it combines more than 25 systems to help advisors reduce time spent on tasks like creating client presentations.
“Ameriprise offers one of the most powerful and competitive advisory platforms in the industry, and the Signature Wealth Program is the next evolution,” said Matt Huss, Senior Vice President, General Manager and Head of Product and Platform Solutions at Ameriprise. “Signature Wealth is differentiated by its highly intuitive and flexible design, allowing advisors to efficiently create custom, institutional quality portfolios across their entire book of business while serving their clients’ best interests.”
Nitrogen Partners With Artha For Portfolio Optimization Tools
Nitrogen partners with West Chester, Pennsylvania-based Artha on new portfolio optimization tools. The deal provides Nitrogen users with access to Artha’s portfolio optimization tools, which can be used together with Nitrogen’s Risk Number scores.
Current Nitrogen users are eligible for a trial subscription and discount, according to Artha. Artha’s digital platform for RIAs, which has over $650 million in AUM, was created by Global Beta Advisors.
“This partnership with Nitrogen was a no-brainer, where we can marry portfolio construction and optimization with Nitrogen’s risk analytics,” noted Justin Lowry, Co-Founder and President of Artha. “We believe Artha’s portfolio management tools are a perfect fit for Nitrogen users and how they manage portfolio risk.”
BetaNXT Acquires Delta Data Of Georgia For Operational Solutions
Wealthtech provider BetaNXT acquires Columbus, Georgia-based Delta Data for its software solutions for fund distributors, asset managers and transfer agents. The deal provides BetaNXT with capabilities such as trade management, mutual fund sub-accounting, revenue management, transfer agent functionality, fee management and compliance tools.
Delta Data’s solutions will be integrated with BetaNXT’s DataXChange data management platform. BetaNXT was advised by Sidley Austin advised BetaNXT on the transaction. Delta Data was advised by D.A. Davidson and JonesSpross advised Delta Data. BetaNXT is backed by Clearlake Capital Group and Motive Partners.
“We are always enthusiastic about acquiring enterprises that improve the client experience,” said Bob Santella, CEO of BetaNXT. “Delta Data's products, and commitment to simplifying investment fund processing and oversight through innovative technology that enables data connectivity, will enhance our ability to address pain points for a broader spectrum of clients in the asset and wealth management industry.”
Morningstar: Vanguard And Others Partner With Private Market Investors
Morningstar reports on the trend of asset managers teaming up with private market investment firms to widen access to private assets for a variety of investors. The firms plan to offer them through interval funds, model portfolios or ETFs.
Wellington Management launched the first such pairing through a collaboration with Vanguard and Blackstone. Its WVB All Markets Fund will allocate 25% to 40% to private markets and the remainder to public investments, Morningstar reports. Other partnerships include State Street with Apollo, Capital Group with KKR, and BlackRock with Partners Group.
“In April, Capital Group launched a pair of interval funds focused on public and private credit in collaboration with KKR,” wrote the Morningstar analysts, Jason Kephart and Bridget Hughes. “Earlier this year, State Street introduced the SPDR SSGA IG Public & Private Credit ETF PRIV. It also announced a new target-date strategy that will allocate 10% to a private-markets fund from Apollo.”
Sowell Partners With Goldman And GeoWealth For HNW Portfolio Strategies
Sowell Management partners with Goldman Sachs Asset Management and GeoWealth to equip advisors with investment solutions. The Sowell Visionary Allocation Strategies are exclusive to Sowell and are designed for high net worth clients and personalized to their tax situations, preferences and objectives.
The initial launch includes three strategy suites that use a mix of ETFs and equity SMAs. A fourth model, which includes direct indexing, alternatives and fixed income SMAs, is expected to launch later this year.
“At Sowell, we are hyper-focused on helping independent financial advisors scale with confidence, which is why we are thrilled to work with Goldman Sachs to offer investment solutions that help advisors meet and exceed the needs of their clients,” said Daryl Seaton, President at Sowell Management.
LPL Launches Alts Education Platform For Advisors
LPL Financial launches an alternative investments education platform for advisors. The Alts Learning Hub is available to all advisors wanting to incorporate alts in their practices, and the program qualifies for 15 CE credits for CIMA and CFP professionals, the firm said.
The launch follows the March debut of LPL Alts Connect, an advisor-focused platform for alternative investment purchases. LPL has approximately $1.8 trillion in brokerage and advisory assets.
“As investors seek sophisticated and specialized ways to differentiate their portfolios and manage volatility outside of the stock-bond model, LPL is committed to providing our advisors with the best-in-class alternative investment resources,” said Cheri Belski, Executive Vice President and Head of Investment Management Solutions at LPL.
TCW Launches Private Asset Income Fund
The TCW Group announces the launch of an interval fund focused on asset-backed finance investments. TCW Private Asset Income Fund (TPAY) launches with over $450 million in subscription commitments, including from Apollo S3 Credit Solutions.
The fund is led by Co-Portfolio Managers Dylan Ross, Max Scherr and Peter Van Gelderen. Ross has 20 years of experience in alternative credit investing, focused on structured credit and asset-backed finance. Scherr previously worked on securitized and structured credit at Brigade Capital. Van Gelderen is Co-Head of Global Securitized for TCW’s fixed income group.
“As capital markets continue to evolve, asset-backed finance offers significant opportunities for scaled, non-bank lenders to provide flexible capital to borrowers and potential to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns for investors,” said Dylan Ross, Co-Portfolio Manager of TPAY. “The TCW Private Asset Income Fund delivers private market access to wealth investors supported by TCW’s multi-decade experience record investing across the public and private credit spectrum and deep expertise in securitized assets.”
Goldman Adds ETF Look Through Feature For Direct Indexing
Goldman Sachs Asset Management announces a new ETF Look Through feature, available to advisors on Goldman Sachs Tax-Advantaged Core Strategies (TACS), to help advisors holistically understand their clients’ ETFs and their underlying holdings.
When investors move their eligible ETFs into a Goldman direct indexing account, advisors can use ETF Look Through to monitor their clients’ ETF positions in a single account, manage them for risk and tax efficiency, and rebalance their portfolios with respect to the underlying holdings of the ETFs. Goldman Sachs had $3.2 trillion in assets under supervision as of March 31.
Monali Vora, Global Head of Wealth Investment Solutions at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said, “We are excited to enhance our capability to now consider eligible ETF holdings to more holistically manage risk and tax efficiency for our clients, customized at the individual account level.”
Hedge Funds Up In May, Led By Event-Driven And Equity Hedge Strategies
HFR reports its broad HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index gaining 2% in May, with the global equity market recovery “driven by progress on trade negotiations and an improving economic outlook for 2H25.” Highlights of the industry’s performance include a 12.7% jump for the HFR Cryptocurrency Index, its strongest gain since November 2024.
Meanwhile, the new sub-strategy HFR Cryptocurrency-Fundamental Index rose 24.7% for the month. The HFRI Multi-Manager/Pod Shop Index rose 1% for the month driven by equity, event-driven, crypto and fixed income exposures, the firm said.
“Hedge funds posted strong gains in May, led by Directional and cryptocurrency strategies, as volatility subsided from the April spike and technology equities led global gains on progress in tariff negotiations and improved global economic outlook for 2H25,” said Ken Heinz, President of HFR. “Opportunistic positioning quickly transitioned from defensive portfolio protection to targeted and concentrated exposures positioned for equity market improvement and recovery.”
L1 Platform Puts Hedge Fund Strategies Onto Blockchain In Effort To ‘Democratize’ Access
Miami-based wealth management platform L1 introduces a set of onchain investment strategies managed by hedge funds available through partnerships with Fasanara Digital, FalconX and Bastion Trading. “Onchain” means the transactions occur directly on the blockchain of a cryptocurrency. The firm said the platform is designed to “democratize” access to products traditionally available only to institutions and ultra-high net worth investors.
L1 said its platform utilizes smart contracts (self-executing contracts embedded into code) and tokenization (digital representations of assets) to change how investors interact with and redeem the funds. According to the firm, accredited investors can complete know-your-customer checks “instantly,” subscribe in minutes and receive tokenized fund shares directly in their digital wallets.
“Hedge funds have traditionally catered to those who can afford million-dollar minimums, locking out countless investors,” said Miguel Kudry, CEO and Co-Founder of L1. “By bringing strategies onchain and streamlining onboarding, custody, and operational hurdles, L1 is redefining access to high-alpha strategies, making them more accessible to a wider range of investors and the advisors who serve them.”
VanEck Launches ETFs Focused On Digital Assets And Private Markets
VanEck announces two additions to its ETF lineup: the VanEck Onchain Economy ETF (NODE) and the VanEck Alternative Asset Manager ETF (GPZ). NODE is an actively managed fund that invests in companies focused on the onchain, or digital assets, economy. At the time of launch, the fund’s holdings include crypto miners, exchanges and holding companies; energy and infrastructure providers; fintech and blockchain-integrated e-commerce platforms; and data center and computer infrastructure, the firm said.
VanEck’s other new ETF, GPZ, provides exposure to publicly traded asset managers focused on private markets. Companies included in its index must derive at least 75% of their revenue from private equity, venture capital, private credit, private infrastructure and private real estate, VanEck said. At launch, holdings in the new ETF include Apollo, Blackstone, Brookfield and KKR.
“We’ve seen growing interest from clients and investors who want a way to gain equity exposure to alternative asset managers, and existing ETFs weren’t meeting their needs,” said Brandon Rakszawski, Vice President and Director of Product Management at VanEck. “This idea is a great example of specific client demand aligning with VanEck’s efforts to improve and expand access to long-term structural trends in the financial markets.”
State Street Finds Gold Prices Still Have Room To Go Up
As gold prices topped $3,000 per ounce in the first five months of 2025, State Street Global Advisors says it remains bullish on gold due to the combination of the continuing trade war, ETF flows, recession risks, central bank demand and de-dollarization. State Street forecasts price levels between $3,100 to $3,500 per ounce on the low end, or as high as $4,000 per ounce if the economy experiences stagflation and accelerated de-dollarization.
Further supporting gold prices is the likelihood that investors will expand their gold ETF holdings, which have not yet regained 2020 levels despite strong inflows so far this year. Other reasons include demand for gold from central banks and institutions, as well as from Chinese consumers. High global debt levels support gold continuing to rise, as well.
An expected Fed rate cut could also be favorable. “While it may be only one or two 25 basis point rate cuts in 2025, we think that will likely incrementally benefit gold via the real rates and duration channel (though that relationship has not been strong in recent years),” according to the report’s authors, led by Aakash Doshi, Head of Gold Strategy at State Street. “But with nearly US$7 trillion parked in money market funds, lower short-end rates should help a zero-coupon asset like gold.”
Wealth Solutions Report can be reached at info@wealthsolutionsreport.com.
