Two Things: Avantis follows LPL as B2B seller that is advertising directly to its very B2C users' users; Envestnet sees yet another 'RIA' executive pop up at a rival as it embarks on its own HR fresh start
The improbable Los Angeles DFA-like, ETF-maker is micro-advertising to retail, while AssetMark shows, again, the intensity of its post take-private willingness to take action
5 min readAvantis Investors just followed LPL's lead by using a niche advertising agency to push a quirky concept to (hopefully) boost retail interest.
The Los Angeles factor-fund shop and manager of $75 billion just hired TiNY in New York City to tout its daily portfolio rebalancing as a step-up over monthly, or even annual rebalancing common to a number of more mainstream funds.
Avantis gave the agency a tiny budget and a one-day production turnaround, with the expectation that the ads would air only once – at the 36th American Century Celebrity Golf Championship in Lake Tahoe.
In response, TiNY produced nine shorts depicting most ETFs as overgrown golf courses; Avantis is the savior of a slew of fictional characters, including Hansel and Gretel and Bigfoot.
"With the growth of our Avantis brand and its capabilities, we thought it was the right time to bring this to market on this major stage,” says Erik Schneberger, chief marketing officer of American Century Investments, which owns Avantis.
“Some advisors have asked us to create a bit more public brand awareness, so, after consulting with them about this idea, they were excited for us to create something that, in a very limited amount of time, helps explain why [advisors] use Avantis," adds Avantis chief investment officer, Eduardo Repetto, in an email.
Invigorating the brand
The ads also follow LPL's own unusual ad, released earlier this year, replete with a cliché tagline and an Oscar- and Golden Globe-nominated actress.
New Envestnet CEO first reached out to his financial advisor before accepting Bain Capital's offer to take over one of the advisory industry's largest service providers
Anna Kendrick, who was nominated for a supporting role in the 2009 movie “Up in the Air,” stars and narrates the ad; she's featured pulling a seemingly endless blanket-like lawn through an urban streetscape, covering cars, roads and bridges until she arrives at LPL's offices.
“What if you can have the greener grass on your side?” she says. “With LPL, you can.”
The ad is an attempt to “invigorate” the Fort Mill, S.C., broker-dealer's brand, says Gavin Lester, partner and chief creative officer at the Zambezi ad agency, which produced the minute-long feature.
"We aimed to create something engaging, memorable – even poetic – to invigorate the financial category and show that these institutions can be interesting, culturally relevant and connect with people," he told Muse magazine, May 15.
AssetMark, Advyzon land Envestnet talent to lead critical growth driver – RIAs
AssetMark, Inc., has a new RIA head, again, a few months after the departure of Barrett Ayers – and just as it begins to invest $10 million.
Story Timeline
The Concord, Calif., TAMP added Phill Rogerson as senior vice president and head of the RIA Channel. He held almost the exact job at Envestnet until his departure in June. See: After hitting $2.7 trillion in RIA assets, Envestnet adds an RIA executive position to expand wallet share with existing wealth clients -- many of them Tamarac users
RIAs, unlike IBD reps, are often looking for a whole suite of software applications to run their practices. Rogerson believes that AssetMark has a good start.
“The team has already made significant progress with the Adhesion and Voyant acquisitions, and with a suite of integrated services that allow RIAs to focus less on operational tasks and more on growth," he says.
After hitting $2.7 trillion in RIA assets, Envestnet adds an RIA executive position to expand wallet share with existing wealth clients -- many of them Tamarac users
Evolving national strategy
In this role, Rogerson will lead the firm’s expansion in the Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) space and will report directly to President and CEO Michael Kim.
Rogerson will focus on accelerating growth in one of the industry’s fastest-expanding segments. His leadership will help advisors unlock greater efficiency, scale their businesses, and enhance enterprise value, the company says.
Kim makes no bones about why he needs a top-notch designated "RIA" executive.
“The RIA channel is a critical growth driver for AssetMark," he says.
Rogerson will be based in Charlotte, N.C, the site of AssetMark’s newly designated East Coast hub. The company is investing $10 million and creating 252 new jobs there to better serve a growing client base, strengthen its market position, and tap into a robust talent pool.
Key hires
The revolving door seems to have begun with the departure in March of Barret Ayers, founder and long-time CEO of Adhesion. AssetMark acquired the “RIA's TAMP” in 2022.
Advyzon also just made a key hire – a chief success officer -- from Envestnet. See: Advyzon's latest play to achieve Envestnet-level success is to hire chief success officer from the company
At Envestnet, Sean Meighan replaced Rogerson on June 2 as the newly created head of RIA distribution. For the last six years, Meighan was managing director of advisory services at Altria, which LPL Financial just acquired.
The departures follow on the heels of the arrival of Envestnet's new CEO, Chris Todd, who succeeded Bill Crager. He may be seeking to build a new team.
He is known to be taking a blank sheet of paper to formulate a master plan that includes listening to advisors. See: New Envestnet CEO first reached out to his financial advisor before accepting Bain Capital's offer to take over one of the advisory industry's largest service providers
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