Investment Product and Service Launches

Betterment launches tax-smart transition features; Broadridge secures patent; and more.


Betterment Unveils Tax-Smart Transitions Features for Advisers
 

Betterment announced that Betterment for Advisors, its registered investment adviser custody division, has launched an integrated suite of tools providing financial advisers with granular control over how client assets are managed, transferred and sold. 

The new features will allow advisers to set specific capital gains allowances. Advisers can more easily turn rebalancing on and off for clients, transitioning client assets to new portfolio models with greater precision and tax optimization. 

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“Our tax-smart trading technology takes what was once a burdensome task and automates it, saving advisors time and effort that can be better spent growing their businesses,” Tom Moore, senior director of Betterment for Advisors, said in a statement. “This ultimately delivers a better experience for the advisors’ clients.” 

Broadridge Secures Patent for Machine Learning Technology  

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted Broadridge Financial Solutions a patent for its machine learning technology.  

The technology powers the firm’s ability to provide financial advisers with engagement-predicting scores and other valuable insights on securities-based lending.  

“This patent supports Broadridge’s commitment to providing wealth management firms and their advisers with innovative and personalized products in wealth lending to meet increasing demand,” Mike Alexander, president of wealth and capital markets solutions at Broadridge, said in a statement.  

Broadridge partnered with client The Bancorp Bank NA to train and productionize machine learning models to deliver borrower insights at the enterprise and adviser level. 

Victory Capital Introduces VictoryShares Free Cash Flow ETF

Victory Capital Holdings, Inc. announced that its wholly owned investment adviser, Victory Capital Management Inc., has launched a new rules-based exchange-traded fund, VictoryShares Free Cash Flow ETF.

The new ETF seeks to provide investment results that track the performance of the Victory U.S. Large Cap Free Cash Flow Index, which invests in profitable U.S. large-cap companies with high free cash flow yields and favorable growth prospects.

“With the launch of VFLO, we are evolving traditional value strategies by leveraging well-researched methodologies designed to provide investors with a compelling opportunity to capitalize on companies with attractive free cash flow yields without sacrificing growth potential,” Mannik Dhillon, president of VictoryShares and Solutions, said in a statement.

OneDigital Acquires $3.8B Retirement, Wealth Shop StoneStreet Equity

The deal is the fourth retirement and wealth acquisition of the year for OneDigital and expands its Northeast presence.

OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC, a division of insurance aggregator OneDigital, has acquired Armonk, New York-based StoneStreet Equity LLC to expand its retirement plan consulting and wealth management capabilities in the Northeast, according to a Thursday announcement.

Overland Park, Kansas-based OneDigital will bring on the $3.8 billion advisory founded by Robert Goldstein as a fiduciary to institutional retirement plans. Goldstein, principal and CIO; Heidi Sidley, principal and managing director; and their five-person team will continue to serve clients as members of OneDigital.

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“I have known Spencer, Heidi and Bob for the last few decades, and we are very excited about StoneStreet joining the OneDigital family,” Vince Morris, president of retirement and wealth for OneDigital, said in a statement. “Beyond their great success in the traditional 401(k) space, they bring to OneDigital additional abilities to support our clients who offer defined benefit plans.”

OneDigital’s deal comes a week after SageView Advisory Group announced it will acquire the founding team of Retirement Benefits Group overseeing $5.2 billion in assets under administration for retirement plan consulting and wealth management. Some other members of the RBG group will be continuing to work as advisers with Hub International and OneDigital.

“We are thrilled to join OneDigital to harness the power of partnering our specialization in pension risk transfer and defined benefit plans with OneDigital’s expertise and national reach in the retirement and wealth industry for the mutual benefit of all of our clients,” StoneStreet’s Goldstein and Sidley said in a statement.

The StoneStreet acquisition is OneDigital’s fourth retirement and wealth deal of 2023, according to a spokesperson. In April, the firm acquired Huntington National Bank’s 401(k) advisory and retirement plan servicing business, bringing on 1,300 workplace savings plan employees and $5.6 billion in assets under management.

M&A retrement and wealth advisory Wise Rhino Group advised StoneStreet on the transaction.

“The StoneStreet Equity partners have added some very unique capabilities to their thriving retirement and wealth advisory practice in providing expert ension risk transfer consulting to clients nationwide,” Peter Campagna, a partner in Wise Rhino, said in a statement. “This new partnership gives OneDigital a tremendous new resource for both their advisors and defined benefit clients.”

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