Northern Trust Acquiring Digital Investment Platform for Advisors
The asset manager has entered into an agreement to acquire Belvedere Advisors, owner of Emotomy, an open-architecture digital advisor.
Northern Trust Asset Management is joining the growing list of asset managers that offer a digital advice platform.
The global investment manager with more than $900 billion in assets under management announced Tuesday that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Belvedere Advisors, the owner of Emotomy, an open-architecture, comprehensive, custom-branded digital investment advice platform that helps financial advisors build, manage and market their own investment strategies.
“This strategic acquisition reaffirms our commitment to partnering with the financial advisor community to deeply understand their needs and provide best-in-class investment solutions and technology to help them serve their clients more efficiently and effectively,” Northern Trust Asset Management President Shundrawn Thomas said in a statement. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The acquisition is expected to close before year-end, after which Emotomy will operate as an independent wholly owned subsidiary of Northern Trust.
According to a Northern Trust spokesman, once the deal is completed, advisors using Emotomy will be able to:
- Offer clients custom-branded, personalized investment advice, communication and reporting
- Offer a range of investment options and custodial services, including pre-constructed models and models built by the advisors themselves, plus a broad selection of asset servicers including custodians
- Provide advisors and clients a 360-degree view of portfolios based on real-time data, market insights and detailed investment portfolio reports
“This thoughtfully designed solution offers the flexibility they [advisors] require to suit their clients’ needs,” according to the Northern Trust statement.
After the Belvedere Advisors acquisition is completed, Northern Trust will remain “fully committed to supporting, expanding and investing in the Emotomy platform so users will continue to benefit from its state-of-the-art functionality and user-friendly experience,” said Sabrina Bailey, head of digital investment advice at Northern Trust Asset Management.