Portfolio management and trading platform Vestmark announced the capability to add private market assets to tax-managed unified accounts. To develop the custodial accounts, Vestmark partnered with iCapital, asset manager BlackRock and RIA support platform Dynasty Financial Partners.
The UMA’s initial launch integrates iCapital’s technology platform and tools with BlackRock model portfolios, including private and public assets. It will help Dynasty Financial Partners’ RIA clients with streamlined administration and custodial integration in a single account.
“The wealth management industry has for too long been on the precipice of UMAs fulfilling their promise of simplicity and efficiency. With what we are launching today, Vestmark is fulfilling that promise,” said Karl Roessner, CEO of Vestmark, in a statement.
According to Marc Hineman, COO of Dynasty, ”the UMA was developed in response to demand from the network’s RIAs as an extension of Dynasty’s Model Select program. Models Select model portfolio, launched in November 2024, provides portfolio construction capabilities across passive and active fund strategies, including ETFs and mutual funds. The portfolio incorporates tax-efficient management and tax overlay capabilities and features investment options across multiple risk tolerance levels.
“The ability to add subscription-based private investments enables advisors to better serve larger relationships with more sophisticated portfolios and equips them with the technology and execution capability to manage those relationships at scale,” Hineman said in a statement.
According to a just-released report from Boston-based research firm Cerulli Associates, the volume of assets in all managed accounts rose by 19.8% during 2024, to $13.7 trillion. UMAs posted the highest total net flows during the year at $257.7 billion. Cerulli forecasts that in 2025, UMAs could overtake rep-as-portfolio manager programs as the largest managed account platform type. They currently hold $3.2 trillion in assets, compared to RPMs’ $3.4 trillion.
However, one of the challenges of UMA adoption has been that they often don’t offer all types of assets under the same account, often separating listed securities from fixed-income and alternative investment options. Incorporating tax management across all asset sleeves is also important for maximizing the value of UMAs for RIA advisors.
The move is the latest in a string of announcements from firms incorporating private assets into SMAs, UMAs and model portfolios.
In October of last year, BlackRock partnered with iCapital and turnkey asset management platform GeoWealth to allow RIAs who use BlackRock’s custom model portfolios to invest in private assets alongside traditional investments in UMAs. Similarly, Goldman Sachs Asset Management partnered with GeoWealth to build open-architecture custom models for its RIA clients using GeoWealth’s UMA platform.
In addition, this year CAIS added the first investment models from BlackRock, Carlyle and KKR to its CAIS Models Marketplace. Wealth management platform Envestnet also revealed it was adding models with private market exposure options from Fidelity, BlackRock, Franklin Templeton and State Street Global Advisors. Last year, alternative investment platform iCapital launched its first model portfolio, with access to private equity, private credit and real assets.
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