EP Wealth Advisors, an RIA with $26 billion in AUM, is partnering with Opto Investments, an alts tech platform based mostly in New York Metropolis, to create customized fund methods to assist EP advisors higher present personal market investments choices to their high-net-worth shoppers.
The partnership will broaden personal markets entry for unbiased funding advisors by providing “institutional-type portfolios at scale,” that means in a decrease price, less complicated manner, the businesses stated.
“Whereas entry to personal markets has improved lately, investing in these asset lessons comes with challenges, together with excessive prices and operational and administrative complexities,” the businesses stated in a press launch.
Opto’s platform addresses these challenges by enabling advisors to assemble customized portfolios with the potential for increased returns and decrease volatility, the businesses stated.
EP Wealth, based mostly in Torrance, Calif., will leverage Opto’s fund choices and know-how “to create personal markets classic funds that present entry to bespoke funding methods” for its rich shoppers, EP Wealth stated.
“These custom-made methods assist to offer institutional-level investments at scale whereas aiming to get rid of pointless charges, reduce extra liquidity, and diversify publicity throughout vintages and managers,” the discharge stated.
“When introducing personal market methods to consumer portfolios, a one-size-fits-all strategy merely doesn’t work,” Adam Phillips, managing director of investments at EP Wealth, stated in an announcement. “Opto’s fiduciary-first strategy helps us construct personalised portfolios that meet the distinctive wants of our shoppers, whereas offering entry to institutional-grade investments from an enormous array of managers.”
EP and Opto stated they are going to “imminently” make obtainable completely to EP shoppers the proprietary EP Progress fund, which Jacob Miller, Opto co-founder and chief options officer, advised Monetary Advisor is the primary constructing block to creating a brand new fund of funds, probably providing investments in such lessons as personal fairness, enterprise capital and secondaries.
Opto’s take care of EP comes 4 months after it introduced a partnership with Mercer Advisors, a $64 billion RIA in Denver, which was the agency’s largest deal because it was created 4 years in the past.
Miller stated that his agency has relationships with “just a little greater than” 200 RIAs.
“Partnerships with huge, revered and spectacular gamers within the house like EP are crucial a part of our progress story,” he stated.
Within the press launch, Ryan VanGorder, chief government officer at Opto, stated his agency stays “hyper-focused on positioning advisors to confidently navigate the intricacies of personal markets in a extra scalable manner.”
Phillips emphasised the necessity for schooling, noting that his shoppers see personal markets as “intimidating.”
“It’s vital to know what these methods are and the way and when to appropriately use them,” Phillips stated. “For us the rationale this deal is smart along with offering assist on due diligence in addition to know-how is Opto gives us with the instruments to coach our shoppers.”
