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Envestnet buys baby robo-advisor to add 'last mile' to its grown-up platform

Upside will cast its lot with the Chicago outsourcing giant in Sunnyvale, becoming the first robo to get consolidated

Author Brooke Southall March 2, 2015 at 9:08 PM
4 Comments
no description available
Stuart DePina: All that plumbing is there but it's not what the end investor sees. This Upside technology is the last mile

Robo-Advisors

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TAMPs

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Technology


Fiduciary Man

Fiduciary Man

March 3, 2015 — 3:15 PM

$1.5mm in investment and sold for $2mm? That doesn’t appear to be a very successful exit considering the trajectory they appeared to be on. Hopefully there is some kind of earn-out provision.

CE

CE

March 3, 2015 — 4:21 PM

There was no trajectory, that’s why they were sold. The cost to build that type of software compared to the revenue coming in from advisors requires deep, deep pockets that Envestnet has. They were smart. Despite what RIABiz and other RIA media outlets portray, the vast majority of advisors will never adopt or create their own robo solution. Money is a relationship business and robos have just jolted many RIAs to realize they need to not be so far behind in their tech.

Mike

Mike

March 3, 2015 — 10:02 PM

This will be a great addition to the Envestnet platform IMHO. Tom and Juney built a really nice robo platform. It will be interesting to see (1) If the full suite of UMA options are overlayed on top of Upside at Envestnet or it’s just some simple ETF portfolios, and (2) how Betterment/Fidelity responds to the increased competition. At Hedgeable we have a RIA robo partner platform that is focused on advisors looking for tactical strategies, hedging, and alts – https://www.hedgeable.com/partner

Craig Iskowitz

Craig Iskowitz

May 26, 2015 — 4:32 PM

Another advantage Upside will have as part of Envestnet is access to their manged accounts products and technology. No robo-advisor currently offers UMA’s, SMA’s or other managed solutions. But they will need to soon in order to stay ahead of the innovation curve and have some control over the change occurring in the market.

Stifel Financial just launched a client-directed UMA that could be useful in their fight against robo-advisors: http://wmtoday.com/?p=4593


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March 20, 2024 at 1:25 AM

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Mentioned in this article:

Envestnet Inc
TAMP
Top Executive: Jud Bergman

Technology Tools for Today
Consulting Firm
Top Executive: Joel Bruckenstein

Upside
TAMP
Top Executive: Tom Kimberly

Envestnet | Tamarac
Portfolio Management System, CRM Software, Trading/Rebalancing
Top Executive: Stuart DePina



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