J.P. Morgan Asset Management today announced it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 55ip, a fintech company whose forte is enabling financial advisors to build tax-efficient portfolios. The deal terms weren’t disclosed.
The move comes two months after J.P. Morgan Asset Management partnered with 55ip and its automated tax technology to enable registered investment advisors to move into J.P. Morgan’s model portfolios more tax efficiently via tax-smart trading and tax-benefit reporting.
According to the press release announcing today’s deal, 55ip will operate as a separate entity under its own brand, and will continue serving its existing clients and enterprise partners. 55ip founder and chairman Vinay Nair will be a consultant and special advisor to J.P. Morgan Asset Management when the acquisition is completed.
In a statement, J.P. Morgan Asset Management CEO George Gatch said the deal "signifies broad collaboration between fintech and asset managers" in the quest for better investor outcomes.
In addition to J.P. Morgan, 55ip has partnership deals that let advisors tax-efficiently transition clients into model portfolios from the likes of BlackRock, WisdomTree and Robertson Stephens. Its technology is also integrated onto most of the leading custodial platforms used by advisors.
55ip says its ActiveTax Technology aims to improve portfolio performance by reducing taxes and portfolio costs through tax-smart transitions, management and withdrawals.
Based in Boston, 55ip is the marketing name used by 55 Institutional Partners LLC, an investment technology developer, and for investment advisory services provided by 55I LLC, an SEC registered investment advisor.