EQIS Capital, an asset management firm based in San Raphael, Calif., is gearing up to work with advisors who have client assets at Curian Capital, which is being shut down by its parent company, Prudential Plc.
EQIS is standing by to help financial advisors who have clients with assets on the Curian platform, EQIS said Monday. Prudential Plc, the United Kingdom’s largest insurer by market value, is winding down the Curian Capital asset management operation in the United States by the end of March, Prudential announced Thursday.
“Curian was the most similar turnkey asset management platform to EQIS,” says Scott Winters, EQIS CEO. “It was the only other company that concentrated on that middle-market private client by providing fractionalization of shares and diversification across asset classes, equity styles, foreign markets and investment philosophies.
“In addition, we think there are some capabilities we have that Curian didn’t provide,” Winters adds. “Curian had static asset allocations, whereas EQIS allows customization down to the individual client account level. Essentially, EQIS is Curian on steroids, with an account minimum of only $25,000.”
EQIS is establishing an internal process to smooth the transfer of assets from the Curian platform to the EQIS platform, EQIS says.
Curian, which had $12 billion of funds under management at the end of 2014, has stopped taking new clients. The time between now and the shutdown “will allow financial professionals and clients sufficient time to plan for the transition of accounts,” Mark Mandich, Curian’s interim president, said in the statement.
“Given the industry-wide changes in technology, product offerings and market size, Curian has determined that it is no longer commercially positioned to provide clients high-value investment programs over the long term,” Mandich added. Curian is a subsidiary of Prudential’s Jackson National Life Insurance Co. in the U.S., with 304 employees, according to SEC files.
EQIS, with $1.25 billion in AUM, feels it will pick up a substantial portion of Curian’s business, Winters says, and the firm expects to grow rapidly in the near future. EQIS feels its technical superiority is part of the reason Curian is withdrawing from the business, he says, rather than a lack of profits.
The advisors who worked for Curian and other employees are being encouraged to talk with EQIS about employment, Winters says. Advisors can find additional information at EQIS.com or by calling 800-949-9936.
Folio Institutional, a technology and infrastructure support firm, is offering advisors and broker-dealers free transititon services for the switch from Curian to another turnkey asset management program. Advisors and broker-dealers can contact Folio at [email protected] or 1-888-485-3456.