"We're trying to improve what we think is a noble profession."

That noble profession, Montage Investments [profile] president and chief investment officer Gary Henson explains, is financial advice. He points to a recent study where Americans rated FAs 29th out of 30 different industries; car salesmen ranked 30th. Montage (and the rest of the Mariner Holdings family of companies, which include a B-D/RIA arm) wants to help advisors improve themselves while also improving public perception of advisors.

"The wealth advisory industry is changing rapidly," Henson tells MFWire. "We want to be on the forefront."

To that end, Montage recently did a deal with roboadvisor Betterment Institutional. Henson describes partnering with a roboadvisor as a way for FAs "to reach a much broader market."

"We also have additional offerings to help in practice management," as well as insurance resources and a small investment management practice, Henson says.

On the product development side, Henson says the multi-boutique is looking "all the time at new partner firms or launching organically new product, generally around the periphery of the asset allocation." Montage favors unconventional offerings in uncrowded sectors, often with capacity constraints or unique wrappers. Its 16 mutual funds on the market today include 15 open-end mutual funds and one interval fund, totaling about $5 billion in assets under management out of Montage's $27 billion total. Mariner's total assets reach about $36 billion.

"We're always looking and willing to consider new partner firms," Henson says, noting that Montage currently has 32 partner firms. 

Stay ahead of the news ... Sign up for our email alerts now
CLICK HERE