In addition to the deal for a customizable communications hub, the two firms also agreed for Clearstead to take on the role of subadvisor to eCIO.
“We are there as support on any number of things they may need to win business or to service their clients,” he said.
As a subadvisor, Clearstead will provide investment research as well as model portfolios, ongoing monitoring of those portfolios, capital market assumptions, and due diligence on investment strategies, Shebak said.
Finally, in select situations Shebak said Clearstead could provide performance reports for some of eCIO’s clients.
“They go from a pretty thin investment team that’s doing a lot of things to now being able to tap into over 100 plus investments professionals at the firm,” Shebak said.
The two firms initially touched base due to a connection between Roquitte and Aneet Deshpande, Clearstead’s senior managing strategist and chief investment officer. The two worked together years ago. According to Roquitte, Deshpande saw a social medial post about eVestech, which prompted a conversation between the two. The timing of when this conversation began is unclear, however the end result became an arrangement between the two firms.
As for the Clearstead arrangement, Roquitte is excited to have the deal with the firm, which it sees as its biggest relationship.
“We view the Clearstead relationship as the model relationship,” he said. “We think there is pretty big opportunities [out there for our platform].”
With the Clearstead deal, eCIO is now working with five different financial advisors and is in talks with others. Roquitte could not say how many talks were ongoing or when the next deal would be struck, but said there were several pending in the pipeline.
The firm’s target firms are those with about $3-$100 billion in assets. Although its longer-term goal is to create a more turnkey suite for the market just below that level. Roquitte anticipates rolling that out within the next 18-24 months.