The US-headquartered group, which has been through a lot of change since it was taken off the stock market last year, is now owned by Bain Capital. And the impact of that move appears to have already made itself felt with an R&D drive. The business unveiled the investment at the annual "Future Proof Festival" in Huntingdon Beach.

Envestnet, the turnkey asset management program and provider of fintech-driven back-office services, announced yesterday that it intends to invest $1 billion in research and development over five years.

And the announcement comes less than a month after it unveiled a new chief financial officer, John Hoffman, who has the responsibility of overseeing Envestnet’s finance, M&A and transformation organizations. 

The Berywn, PA-based business said it wants to “solidify its role as the leading adaptive wealthtech platform for broker-dealers, RIAs and institutional partners."

In October 2024, Envestnet was taken private and is now owned by Bain Capital. It looks as if Bain’s capital backing is an important part of the strategy. Last October, FWR’s US correspondent Charles Paikert took a deep dive into Envestnet’s go-private move, strategy, leadership and prospects.

From the beach
Envestnet announced its investment move – part of a five-year strategy – at the Future Proof Festival in Huntingdon Beach (main picture), California.

The strategy includes unifying platforms; enhancing Unified Managed Account infrastructure; flexible household modeling; integration of different investment types and expanded tools to help advisors strengthen and widen client relationships, Envestnet said in a statement. 

“This moment marks a redefinition of who we are – and where we’re going,” Chris Todd (pictured below), CEO of Envestnet, said. “Advisors are telling us they want to consolidate with fewer partners, deepen integrations, and leverage better wealthtech that helps them expand their business, especially to serve the HNW market. This roadmap delivers that – not in pieces – but as a fully-connected solution, and one in which we’ve dedicated significant resources to in terms of software and product development, and its delivery.”

Chris Todd

Envestnet cited research that it said shows that as an investor’s wealth increases, the top reason they choose to work with an advisor shifts from retirement planning to investment management: Almost half of HNW and UHNW investors give investment management as the number one reason why they work with an advisor.

A force driving the firm’s strategy, it said, is the increasing use of alternative investments such as private equity. In 2004, about 8.5 per cent of HNW investors’ portfolios were in alternatives, compared with 3 per cent for affluent investors. (Source cited was Cerulli and Boston Consulting Group.)