HK Financial Services (HKFS), a CPA-focused RIA headquartered in Dubuque, Iowa, which Blucora, Inc., acquired last July for $100 million, has rebranded to Avantax Planning Partners, and will operate alongside Blucora’s Avantax Wealth Management, an independent network of tax and non-tax professionals collectively managing more than $76 billion in AUA, the company announced today in a news release.
Under its new name of Avantax Planning Partners, the rebranded firm will continue offering a turnkey wealth management program for affiliates, while delivering comprehensive tax and financial planning services, client development, training marketing, compliance service, and related services, Blucora said.
Avantax Wealth Management offers three affiliation models that Blucora anticipates will benefit from the firm's new partnership with the former HKFS: an independent broker-dealer for tax and wealth management professionals seeking to maintain their independence; multiple referral models for tax professionals who prefer a partnership or affiliation model that meets their clients’ financial planning needs; and an employee-based model serving CPAs and tax professionals partnering with Avantax’s in-house RIA.
According to Blucora, the three affiliation models are attractive to mid- and large-sized accounting firms. The firm maintained that the new, more tightly aligned branding would not alter client experience.
Under the rebranding consolidation, the in-house retirement offering formerly referred to as HK Financial Services Retirement Plan Services will also rebrand, and will now be known as Avantax Retirement Plan Services. Blucora said that the rebranded product offering will serve a broader base of business clientele in a more holistic manner by providing full fiduciary services, investment management, dedicated administration and support, and employee enrollment and education to all tax and financial professionals affiliated with Avantax,
“Our thesis behind the highly complementary acquisition of HKFS was that it would help Avantax expand the ways its works with accounting firms and tax professionals, while also supporting Blucora’s growth objectives,” Blucora President and CEO Chris Walters said in the news release. “The rebranding is an important, public-facing demonstration that our lines of business are tightly aligned. We are confident that our differentiated tax-focused wealth management strategy and market position are compelling for the right financial professionals and their customers, and likewise, will support our future growth.”
Founded in March 1996 as InfoSpace, Blucora, Inc., is a financial services company headquartered in Irving, Texas.