NEW YORK & RALEIGH, January 2, 2018 –
AdvisorEngine, the innovative fintech company that is reimagining how technology can serve financial advisors, has acquired CRM Software, Inc., better known as Junxure – provider of the industry's most awarded CRM ("client relationship management") software with a 98 percent client satisfaction rate1 across 12,000 users managing over $600 billion in assets. The combined company will pair digital solutions with consulting services to help financial advisors use technology as a competitive advantage.
The acquisition further enhances AdvisorEngine's open-architecture ecosystem and continues the company's approach of connecting disparate technologies, data and workflows to create a unified user experience. Junxure users will not experience any changes in service and will continue to be supported by their dedicated Junxure client success team.
"The next frontier of innovation within financial services is happening at the intersection of personal relationships, data science and automation – which makes native CRM functionality especially powerful," said Rich Cancro, AdvisorEngine Founder and CEO. "I am thrilled to bring the companies together while maintaining Junxure's culture of innovation and independence."
"This combination opens up new possibilities for Junxure clients across prospecting, client engagement, financial planning, portfolio construction and business operations," said Greg Friedman, Junxure President and Co-Founder. "Having known Rich for years, I am truly excited about this next chapter for Junxure clients and employees."
As part of the acquisition, WisdomTree Investments, Inc.—the global ETP sponsor driven by research and technology, and AdvisorEngine's largest shareholder—has committed to lend up to $30 million of working capital to AdvisorEngine, including providing an initial funding amount of $22 million today. The majority of the proceeds will be used to fund the acquisition, with the remainder to be used for future technology development and other growth initiatives.
"WisdomTree is proud to be part of AdvisorEngine's open-architecture ecosystem," said Jarrett Lilien, Executive Vice President–Head of Emerging Technologies for WisdomTree. "We see compelling opportunities to help advisors create operational alpha through technology and differentiate investment performance through smart portfolio construction."
A HISTORY OF INNOVATION AND CLIENT SERVICE
The concept behind Junxure began in 1995, when financial advisor Greg Friedman was searching for a way to scale his business without compromising personal service. "I was frustrated because there were no providers out there who actually understood how my advisory business worked," Friedman added. "So, I built my own solution. I didn't set out to build a CRM company, but over the years people started asking if they could use our technology."
Since launching its purpose-built CRM for financial advisors in 2001, Junxure has built a loyal user base, including financial advisors, operations leaders and business management personnel. Today, many Junxure users spend more time in Junxure than any other financial software application. Recently, the firm's Junxure Cloud® product was recognized at the 2017 Wealthmanagement.com Awards as the industry's top CRM.
ADVISORENGINE + JUNXURE = A POWERFUL COMBINATION
"As the companies are integrated, Junxure clients will gain access to a beautiful user experience that is unified across business management personnel, financial advisors and their clients," Friedman said. "AdvisorEngine uses design as differentiation."
AdvisorEngine offers prospecting and client engagement tools, paperless client onboarding, account aggregation, CRM, goals-based financial planning tools, model portfolios, portfolio construction analytics, compliance monitoring tools, performance reporting and fee billing. Beginning immediately, AdvisorEngine will invest significantly in CRM-related initiatives to further enhance Junxure functionality and integrate more deeply with third-party technology companies, including other CRM providers.
"AdvisorEngine is fully committed to an open-architecture technology framework. We know that every advisory firm is different, so we believe in delivering powerful workflows that are CRM-agnostic," Cancro said. "Regardless of their contact management system of choice, all AdvisorEngine users will benefit from the Junxure acquisition."
BOLSTERING COMPANY LEADERSHIP
"AdvisorEngine will benefit tremendously from the experience and leadership of the Junxure team. We expect to retain Junxure employees and will make new hires across our offices in Atlanta, New York and Raleigh," said AdvisorEngine Chief Operating Officer Craig Ramsey.
Chris Lybeer, AdvisorEngine General Manager, will lead the integration of the firms, ensuring close coordination across AdvisorEngine's offices. Carly de Diego, AdvisorEngine Head of Advisor Solutions, will oversee the client success organization, ensuring consistent client service.
Junxure employees will take on key leadership roles in the combined company. Greg Friedman will serve as a strategic advisor and speak at AdvisorEngine workshops around the country. Junxure Vice President Mike Sbrocco—a finance and operations executive with public company experience at digital creative agency Isobar—has been named AdvisorEngine Chief Financial Officer, overseeing finance and human resources for the combined business. Junxure Chief Information Officer Tim Betts—a technology executive with previous experience at Charles Schwab, LMS Medical Systems, GE Healthcare and IBM—has been named AdvisorEngine Chief Information Officer, overseeing all technology efforts for the combined business.
About AdvisorEngine
AdvisorEngine builds powerful and intuitive technology for financial advisors. The company delivers a unified experience across three core groups: client, advisor and business management personnel. AdvisorEngine's wealth management technology platform operates at the forefront of the industry, applying smart automation to mission-critical advisor activities. The AdvisorEngine team is made up of enterprise technologists, data scientists, designers, futurists, business builders and former financial advisors. For more information, please visit www.AdvisorEngine.com.
About Junxure
CRM Software, Inc. (d/b/a Junxure) was established in 2001 by Ken Golding and Greg Friedman, MS, CFP®, a financial advisor who developed the initial Junxure software to streamline operations at his growing firm. Today, Junxure is an industry leader of advisor technology and practice management solutions with more than 12,000 active users and a client retention rate of 96 percent. Greg Friedman serves as both President of Junxure as well as President of Private Ocean, one of the West Coast's most innovative wealth management firms. The inspiration for Junxure consulting, training and software comes from Mr. Friedman's day-to-day experience running his practice and helping his clients achieve their personal financial goals. For more information, please visit www.junxure.com.
About WisdomTree
WisdomTree Investments, Inc., through its subsidiaries in the U.S., Europe, Japan and Canada (collectively, "WisdomTree"), is an exchange-traded fund ("ETF") and exchange-traded product ("ETP") sponsor and asset manager headquartered in New York. WisdomTree offers products covering equities, fixed income, currencies, commodities and alternative strategies. WisdomTree currently has approximately $48.9 billion in assets under management globally. For more information, visit their Investor Relations website.