Envestnet Inc, a firm well-known for serving broker-dealers, plans to pay $54 million to buy Tamarac Inc., a provider of sophisticated rebalancing, portfolio management and CRM tools for registered investment advisors.

Envestnet announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Tamarac, subject to certain post-closing adjustments. The transaction was announced less than two after Envestnet purchased Prima Capital, a Colorado-based provider of separate account performance data, for $13.8 million.

The acquisition positions Envestnet, long a leading technology provider in the broker-dealer side of the business, as a major technology player in the independent RIA sector as well.

"While Tamarac has developed industry-leading software for rebalancing, practice management, performance reporting and CRM integration, we value their market position within the independent RIA segment, which is core to Envestnet's growth initiatives. We are eager to leverage Tamarac's highly sought-after solutions in combination with our integrated wealth management software and advanced portfolio solutions," said Jud Bergman, Envestnet's chairman, founder and CEO. "As more advisors look to outsource to an integrated platform, we are uniquely positioned to meet this need -- now and well into the future."

Tamarac, founded in 2000, is headquartered in Seattle, Wash. The company currently has relationships with approximately 500 RIA firms collectively managing over $250 billion in assets. Envestnet, headquartered in Chicago, has over $127 billion in total assets on its platform representing more than 909,000 investor accounts.