BlackRock, GeoWealth Partner to Expand Wealth Management Lineup

BlackRock announced a strategic partnership with turnkey asset management platform (TAMP) and fintech firm GeoWealth, allowing it to cater more effectively to the diverse needs of clients within the $37 trillion U.S. wealth market.

The global asset manager will offer custom models on GeoWealth’s platform, allowing advisors to provide clients with single-account access to private markets, direct indexing, fixed income SMAs, traditional ETFs, and mutual funds.

The collaboration is expected to boost BlackRock’s custom models business, which has generated $31 billion in new assets in the last four years, making it the firm’s fastest-growing model segment. Private market strategies, together with ETFs and mutual funds, are expected to be among the first offerings on GeoWealth’s platform.

“By combining BlackRock’s portfolio design expertise with GeoWealth’s implementation platform, we will make it easier for advisors to build a models-based practice and enable broader access to private markets – one of today’s most sought-after asset classes,” said Eve Cout, head of portfolio design & solutions within BlackRock’s U.S. wealth advisory business.

BlackRock sees the U.S. wealth market as a huge growth opportunity. In 2023, its U.S. wealth advisory business accounted for approximately one quarter of the $17.9 billion in revenue.

As of December 31, 2023, the GeoWealth platform has over $28 billion across more than 180,000 accounts and nearly 200 RIAs. In 2023, the company expanded its third-party model marketplace to include over 700 models from more than 70 asset managers.

GeoWealth began offering BlackRock products in 2021, including BlackRock’s standard models, and launched Aperio and fixed income SMAs as standalone strategies earlier this year.