Product Partnerships – 4/17/24

Baird Selects CAIS to Centralize Alternative Investments

CAIS, an alternative investment platform, announced that Baird, a wealth management, asset management, investment banking/capital markets, and private equity firm, has expanded their relationship with CAIS to consolidate all their alternative investment products, processes and data management onto a single platform.

“We have a longstanding relationship with CAIS and are thrilled to be expanding our strategic partnership to power our entire alternative investment platform,” Nic Reisenbichler, senior vice president and manager of investment products at Baird, said in a statement. “The collaboration between our operations team and CAIS to bring funds onto one centralized platform using CAIS’ modern technology for advisers, makes them the ideal partner for us.”

Baird’s 1,300+ advisers will now have centralized access to additional Baird alternatives sourced and approved by Baird via CAIS’ SaaS technology, CAIS Solutions. CAIS Solutions allows advisers to centralize their funds – no matter where they are sourced – through automated processes, comprehensive reporting, and end-to-end data integrations.

“We remain solely focused on building, refining, and deploying new tools to enable advisors to bring all their alternatives, no matter where they find them, onto one platform,” Brad Walker, chief client and product development officer of CAIS, said in a statement.”

Cerity Partners Merges with Agility in OCIO Push

Wealth management firm Cerity Partners announced its intent to merge with Denver-based outsourced CIO provider Agility on Monday. Agility provides OCIO services for endowments, foundations, family offices, corporations, healthcare organizations and other institutions. The firm oversaw $15 billion in outsourced assets as of December 31, 2023, according to its website.

Agility will be rebranded as Cerity Partners OCIO upon completion of the merger. The new combined firm will oversee $100 billion in assets across business units. The investment leadership of Agility will form an OCIO committee within Cerity Partners.

Agility, founded in 2007, is the OCIO arm of Perella Weinberg Partners Capital Management LP.

“We are thrilled to welcome the Agility team, which brings nearly two decades of experience and unparalleled expertise in serving non-profit organizations, businesses and ultra-high-net-worth clientele,” said Kurt Miscinski, CEO of Cerity Partners, in a press release. “This partnership will reinforce our ability to serve this very important segment of the market.”

Ameritas Works With Pontera to Offer 401(k) Management

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC has selected Pontera to help its financial professionals manage their clients’ 401(k), 403(b), 457(b) accounts and other workplace retirement accounts by using the platform.

“With the addition of the Pontera platform, our financial professionals can provide holistic, personalized investment advice powered by greater visibility into their clients’ 401(k)s and other workplace-sponsored plans,” Brandon Mann, president of Ameritas Advisory Services, said in a statement. 

Ameritas offers financial professionals multiple affiliation models and custody options. Additionally, Pontera gives its financial professionals more choice in the technology they can use to deliver available options to clients.

“We’re excited to have Ameritas join Pontera’s mission to help more retirement savers achieve better outcomes by getting professional guidance on their 401(k)s,” Peter Nolan, vice president of enterprise at Pontera, said in a statement. “When financial professionals are equipped with clear insight across all their holdings, including workplace-sponsored accounts, retirement savers may be more confident in their financial future.”