In a significant move that enhances the landscape of asset management technology, GeoWealth, a leading turnkey asset management platform provider, has joined forces with Halo Investing, a Chicago-based fintech firm known for its platform that facilitates the comparison, purchase, and management of portfolios including structured notes and other illiquid investments. This strategic partnership, announced on Thursday, aims to expand the capabilities of financial advisors by integrating customizable structured note portfolios as a component of a Unified Managed Account (UMA).
GeoWealth’s collaboration with Halo Investing marks a milestone in providing sophisticated investment tools, allowing advisors to leverage GeoWealth’s proprietary sub-accounting software for detailed viewing, reporting, and billing at the individual sleeve level. This integration signifies a leap forward in offering advisors more dynamic and diverse portfolio management options.
Halo Investing, co-founded by Biju Kulathakal and Jason Barsema in 2015, has notably impacted the financial services industry by facilitating approximately $12.5 billion in issuance. Its platform empowers advisors to engage with various investment options, including structured notes, market-linked CDs, buffered ETFs, and annuities. With tools designed for the analysis, customization, execution, and management of portfolios, Halo Investing has garnered significant investment, including $100 million in Series C funding in 2021 from notable investors such as Owl Capital, managed by Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners, along with support from Allianz Life Ventures and William Blair.
In March, GeoWealth’s acquisition of First Ascent Asset Management, a Denver-based pioneer in flat-fee asset management, further solidifies its position in the market. This acquisition brings together $21 billion in platform assets, with GeoWealth’s team comprising around 100 employees, half focused on product and engineering. First, Ascent brings approximately 80 RIAs and $1.4 billion in AUM, showcasing the combined strength of the two entities in the asset management sector.
Founded in 2010, GeoWealth announced in November 2021 that it had raised $19 million in Series B funding, with Kayne Partners Fund leading the round and a follow-on investment from JP Morgan Asset Management. This funding round underscores the financial industry’s confidence in GeoWealth’s innovative platform and potential for future growth.
In parallel developments, Two Sigma, a New York-based portfolio analytics platform, unveiled its latest innovation, Report Lab, an analytics and presentation tool designed to generate client reports and proposals. This new tool, available on Two Sigma’s Venn software for an additional fee, aims to enhance the proposal process by consolidating analytics from multiple sources into comprehensive presentations and investment summaries. NewEdge Wealth, a boutique RIA subsidiary of NewEdge Capital Group, played a crucial role as a beta tester and advisor for Report Lab, contributing valuable insights that shaped the tool’s development.
Meanwhile, ForwardLane, a machine intelligence developer, announced the launch of its generative AI product, Emerge. This advanced technology is engineered to assist advisors, wealth managers, and insurance professionals in analysing client data and deriving actionable insights, proposing subsequent best actions. Emerge combines the best features of ForwardLane’s Visual Insight Generator (ViGOR) and Emerge-GPT, offering a privacy-friendly, generative AI solution that leverages existing data and data science investments to enhance financial services. Among its notable achievements, ForwardLane has attracted investments exceeding $8 million from SEI Ventures and SixThirty Global Fintech Fund, highlighting the industry’s recognition of its innovative solutions.
These developments represent significant strides in the financial technology sector, offering advisors, wealth managers, and financial institutions access to cutting-edge tools and platforms that promise to redefine the asset management landscape. As these companies continue to innovate and collaborate, the future of financial advising and asset management looks increasingly promising, driven by technological advancements and strategic partnerships that aim to deliver more efficient, personalized, and sophisticated investment solutions.
