Blucora to Rebrand HD Vest, 1st Global as Avantax Wealth Management
The move is intended to increase awareness of the firm's tax-focused approach.
Blucora Inc. said Monday that it plans to unify its two wealth management divisions, HD Vest and 1st Global Inc., into a new brand called Avantax Wealth Management that will focus on tax planning.
The move, the company said, is designed to bring broader awareness to the firm’s Tax-Smart wealth management approach, providing tax-focused advice with cutting-edge tools and software.
Blucora acquired tax-focused broker-dealer 1st Global in early May, which added scale and expanded Blucora’s established tax-optimized financial services footprint.
Together, HD Vest and 1st Global have a total of 4,200 affiliated advisors who oversee more than $67 billion in client assets.
The rebranding is expected to take place in two phases, with HD Vest converting to the Avantax Wealth Management name in mid-September, followed by 1st Global pending regulatory approval.
“With the launch of Avantax, we are creating a powerful brand for HD Vest and 1st Global that aims to redefine what Tax-Smart wealth management means,” said Blucora’s President of Wealth Management Enrique Vasquez, in a statement. “Each year investors give up 1-2 percentage points of performance to taxes — we look forward to working with our advisors to elevate their businesses, communicate the importance of a tax-focused approach, and most importantly provide better solutions and results for clients.”
In June, the company launched a new proprietary Tax-Smart investing software platform, which seeks to help advisors systematically capture tax alpha for clients.
The first Tax-Smart module included at launch focused on tax-loss harvesting, with additional modules slated to be added by year end.
“Unlike the broader financial industry, which treats taxes as a once-a-year event, we believe that every financial decision is, at its core, a tax decision,” said Blucora President and CEO John Clendening, in the statement. “With this unification and rollout of new tools, Blucora, the first and largest holistic tax-focused financial provider, further strengthens its position and ability to provide clients with integrated tax and wealth management.”
— Check out HD Vest-1st Global Deal: ‘The Consolidation Continues’ on ThinkAdvisor.