June 07, 2022
ACA Group  and Foreside Financial, two of the leading governance, risk and compliance (GRC) firms in financial services, have officially completed their merger. According to ACA, this will make the newly formed company one of the largest providers of tech enabled GRC solutions globally. Through the deal, Foreside’s distribution business be rebranded as ACA Foreside and will become a division under ACA. Shvetank Shah – CEO of ACA – will be the CEO of the combined entity. ACA said, “The combination of ACA and Foreside will bring together the industry’s most experienced professionals to provide a full suite of GRC advisory, technology, managed services, analytics, distribution, and outsourcing solutions to the financial services industry. At the completion of the merger, the firm will have over 1,250 employees and 18 offices globally and will serve over 6,300 clients.”
ACA remarked that combining its technology, regulatory compliance, ESG, cybersecurity and performance capabilities with Foreside’s distribution and broker-dealer capabilities creates the industry-leading end-to-end GRC platform financial services companies need to achieve growth in a compliant way. Shah said, “Clients are looking for a comprehensive, one-stop solution for their GRC needs and we are thrilled to step up to the plate together to make GRC a competitive advantage for our clients. Foreside and ACA have earned outstanding reputations and our aligned vision and culture, client-centric focus, and commitment to innovation will help our customers navigate their most complex GRC challenges.”
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Copyright © 2022 RegTech Analyst

ACA Group, Foreside merge to create GRC juggernaut

It was a bit slower this week in adviser fintech land, with many presumably taking advantage of the three-day weekend to enjoy an early summer vacation, or, if my Twitter feed is any indication, flying down to Florida for the WealthStack conference. Read on to catch up on the rest of the week’s fintech headlines, and be sure to let me know what you think either on Twitter or email . TIFIN GETS INTO THE STREAMING WARS
Adviser fintech company Tifin launched Magnifi+, a service offering streaming video content and investing insights from financial professionals like Jeffrey Gundlach, Cathie Wood, Kyle Bass and Mark Fisher. The launch comes after a six-episode pilot series that the company says attracted millions of views and sparked a 44% increase in the number of financial advisers registered for Magnifi, Tifin’s investment marketplace. Given the short lifespan of CNN+ (notice the similar names), I’m skeptical about the viability of an even more niche video streaming platform. But Tifin’s ongoing growth and ability to attract investments continues to surprise, so we shall see. GEOWEALTH INTEGRATES TAMP WITH J.P. MORGAN’S 55IP FINTECH
55ip, the tax optimization software that J..P. Morgan Asset Management acquired from Tifin in 2020 , is adding tax transition and automated tax overlay services to GeoWealth, a new turnkey asset management and fintech company. GeoWealth is one of several newcomers to the TAMP space hoping to ride a wave of increasing adviser outsourcing. The company says 55ip’s tax capabilities, which were obviously attractive enough for a firm like JPAM to scoop it up, can help advisers through this period of market volatility, but it remains to be seen if it’s enough to drive advisers to GeoWealth. ADVISORENGINE UPGRADES PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT TECH
AdvisorEngine, the adviser fintech brand under the Franklin Templeton umbrella, released an upgraded version of its portfolio management software that the company says has been in development for 18 months. The enhancements include performance reporting capabilities within the client portal, optimized rebalancing and new automated fee billing. The company is working hard to make AdvisorEngine an all-in-one solution for advisers’ tech stack. It released a redesigned CRM in January, and the enhancements to its portfolio management capabilities are likely to aimed at winning business from companies like Orion Advisor Solutions, Morningstar Office and Envestnet. INVESCO FINDING SUCCESS WITH REDBLACK
Intelliflo, the fintech company owned by Invesco, announced that it has signed 20 financial advisory firms for the cloud-based version of its portfolio rebalancing and trading software, RedBlack. The benefits of the cloud allow firms to be more efficient and improve business continuity, said Steve Tuttle, chief investment strategist at Signet Financial Management, which moved to RedBlack Cloud in 2022. It’s a positive development for a company that so far hasn’t generated much traction in the adviser market. Among trading and rebalancing fintechs, intelliflo RedBlack has a 0.40% market share, according to T3’s 2022 survey of financial adviser software . The leaders in the space, iRebal and Envestnet Tamarac, control 9.03% and 8.63% of the market, respectively. EMONEY PARTNERS WITH BLX INTERSHIP PROGRAM
Aspiring financial planners participating in the BLX Internship Program, a nonprofit organization that helps Black and Latinx individuals enter the industry, will now get access to technology from eMoney Advisor, the financial planning fintech brand owned by Fidelity Investments. BLX interns can use eMoney Premier, the company’s top-of-the-line planning software, and can earn a certification in the ability to use the software to show future employers. Providing students with free access to fintech is nothing new for the industry, or even for eMoney, which in 2019 counted 60 schools using its software in financial planning courses. The hope is that students become advocates for the software at firms that hire them and help increase industrywide adoption. If it helps increase diversity in the industry, then everyone wins. TWO COMPLIANCE FINTECHS COMPLETE THEIR MERGER
ACA Group and Foreside Financial Group, two providers of governance, risk and compliance technology for financial advisers, have merged to become one of the world’s largest providers of GRC services. The combining business will have more than 1,250 employees and serve 6,300 clients. Foreside’s distribution business will be rebranded as ACA Foreside and operate as a division under the ACA brand name. This merger has been anticipated since private equity firm Genstar Capital acquired a majority stake in Foreside in July 2021. As advisers increasingly look to automation to keep up with changing regulatory demands, it’ll be interesting to see how ACA’s size helps it claim market share. CRYPTO RISK MANAGEMENT STARTUP RAISES $6.3 MILLION
Cloudwall Capital, which describes itself as a digital asset risk management startup, raised $6.3 million in seed funding to bridge the traditional finance world with digital assets and decentralized finance. The company is building a product called Serenity to provide institutional investors with risk management insights for building portfolios using digital assets. Despite the recent pullback of the cryptocurrency market, there’s no shortage of entrepreneurs hoping to get rich by bringing asset managers, banks and financial advisers into the asset class. The hope is that adding institutional investments will raise the price high enough to rekindle retail investors’ hopes, but Cloudwall will face stiff competition from dozens of other startups hoping to accomplish the same goal. The venture capital may be flowing, but this isn’t a field of dreams. Just cause you build it, doesn’t mean they will come. ABRDN BUYS A DIY INVESTING APP
Formerly Aberdeen Asset Management, the company now known as abrdn has acquired interactive investor, a UK-based retail investing fintech for do-it-yourself investors. Interactive investor has more than 400,000 customers with an average account balance of $181,000 (£145,000). First, what’s with both companies insisting on going all lower-case with their names? Apologies to my editor in advance. Second, while this deal doesn’t really touch the U.S. adviser market, it’s interesting how the trend of institutional firms investing in going directly to retail investors spans markets beyond the U.S. If asset managers can successfully build pipelines with retail investors and introduce them to proprietary wealth management and advice, it could make things tougher on independent advisers.

Fintech Bytes: AdvisorEngine, eMoney and Invesco’s intelliflo

The merger brings together two of the industry’s most well-respected GRC solutions providers. ACA and Foreside together will be positioned to transform the future of GRC, creating a world-class platform for the financial services industry. ACA Group (“ACA”) and Foreside Financial Group, LLC (“Foreside”), two of the leading providers of governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) solutions to clients in the financial services industry, today announced the completion of its merger, to become one of the largest providers of tech-enabled GRC solutions globally. Foreside’s distribution business will be rebranded as ACA Foreside and will become a division under ACA. Genstar Capital (“Genstar”), a leading private equity firm, is the lead investor in the combined business. ACA’s current CEO Shvetank Shah will be the combined entity’s CEO. The combination of ACA and Foreside will bring together the industry’s most experienced professionals to provide a full suite of GRC advisory, technology, managed services, analytics, distribution, and outsourcing solutions to the financial services industry. At the completion of the merger, the firm will have over 1,250 employees and 18 offices globally and will serve over 6,300 clients. “Clients are looking for a comprehensive, one-stop solution for their GRC needs and we are thrilled to step up to the plate together to make GRC a competitive advantage for our clients,” said Shvetank Shah , CEO of ACA. “Foreside and ACA have earned outstanding reputations and our aligned vision and culture, client-centric focus, and commitment to innovation will help our customers navigate their most complex GRC challenges.”
Combining ACA’s award-winning technology, regulatory compliance, cybersecurity, ESG, and performance capabilities with Foreside’s distribution and broker-dealer capabilities creates the industry-leading end-to-end GRC platform financial services companies need to achieve superior growth in a compliant way. “Together we will create an industry leader that meets client needs today and can adapt to changing needs in the future through state-of-the-art product innovation,” said David Whitaker, former President of Foreside, and now Global Services Leader, ACA. “The combination of ACA and Foreside will bring more diverse and robust offerings, and our platform architecture will offer leading financial firms the widest scope and acumen of services and technology to meet their regulatory requirements.”
Tony Salewski, Managing Director at Genstar and Sid Ramakrishnan, Director at Genstar, commented: “The combined business is a disrupter in the financial services GRC space, offering end-to-end regulatory advisory, benchmarking, managed services, technology platforms and the power of an unmatched network all under one roof. We are excited to partner with an exceptional management team who will lead the company on the next chapter of growth while continuing to focus on delivering exceptional service to clients.”

ACA Group and Foreside Complete Merger Combined Firm Will Be Known As ACA

The merger brings together two of the industry’s most well-respected GRC solutions providers. ACA and Foreside together will be positioned to transform the future of GRC, creating a world-class platform for the financial services industry. May 31, 2022 06:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
NEW YORK--( BUSINESS WIRE )--ACA Group (“ACA”) and Foreside Financial Group, LLC (“Foreside”), two of the leading providers of governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) solutions to clients in the financial services industry, today announced the completion of its merger, to become one of the largest providers of tech-enabled GRC solutions globally. Foreside’s distribution business will be rebranded as ACA Foreside and will become a division under ACA. Genstar Capital (“Genstar”), a leading private equity firm, is the lead investor in the combined business. ACA’s current CEO Shvetank Shah will be the combined entity’s CEO. The combination of ACA and Foreside will bring together the industry’s most experienced professionals to provide a full suite of GRC advisory, technology, managed services, analytics, distribution, and outsourcing solutions to the financial services industry. At the completion of the merger, the firm will have over 1,250 employees and 18 offices globally and will serve over 6,300 clients. “Clients are looking for a comprehensive, one-stop solution for their GRC needs and we are thrilled to step up to the plate together to make GRC a competitive advantage for our clients,” said Shvetank Shah, CEO of ACA. “Foreside and ACA have earned outstanding reputations and our aligned vision and culture, client-centric focus, and commitment to innovation will help our customers navigate their most complex GRC challenges.”
Combining ACA’s award-winning technology, regulatory compliance, cybersecurity, ESG, and performance capabilities with Foreside’s distribution and broker-dealer capabilities creates the industry-leading end-to-end GRC platform financial services companies need to achieve superior growth in a compliant way. “Together we will create an industry leader that meets client needs today and can adapt to changing needs in the future through state-of-the-art product innovation,” said David Whitaker, former President of Foreside, and now Global Services Leader, ACA. “The combination of ACA and Foreside will bring more diverse and robust offerings, and our platform architecture will offer leading financial firms the widest scope and acumen of services and technology to meet their regulatory requirements.”
Tony Salewski, Managing Director at Genstar and Sid Ramakrishnan, Director at Genstar, commented: “The combined business is a disrupter in the financial services GRC space, offering end-to-end regulatory advisory, benchmarking, managed services, technology platforms and the power of an unmatched network all under one roof. We are excited to partner with an exceptional management team who will lead the company on the next chapter of growth while continuing to focus on delivering exceptional service to clients.”
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. About ACA
ACA Group (“ACA”) is a leading governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) advisor in financial services. We empower clients to reimagine GRC and protect and grow their business. Our innovative approach integrates advisory, managed services, and distribution solutions with our ComplianceAlpha® regulatory technology platform with the specialized expertise of former regulators and practitioners and a deep understanding of the global regulatory landscape. About Genstar
Genstar Capital ( www.gencap.com ) is a leading private equity firm that has been actively investing in high quality companies for over 30 years. Based in San Francisco, Genstar works in partnership with its management teams and its network of strategic advisors to transform its portfolio companies into industry-leading businesses. Genstar currently has approximately $35 billion of assets under management and targets investments focused on targeted segments of the financial services, industrials, healthcare, and software industries. Contacts

ACA Group and Foreside Complete Merger; Combined Firm Will Be Known As ACA

ACA Group and Foreside Complete Merger

      Submitted
              31/05/2022 - 10:25am
      

        ACA Group (ACA) and Foreside Financial Group (Foreside), two of the leading providers of governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) solutions to clients in the financial services industry, have completed their merger.
Foreside’s distribution business will be rebranded as ACA Foreside and will become a division under ACA. Genstar Capital (Genstar), a leading private equity firm, is the lead investor in the combined business. ACA’s current CEO Shvetank Shah will be the combined entity’s CEO.
 
The combined firm has over 1,250 employees and 18 offices globally and will serve over 6,300 clients.

  

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