55ip extends UMA offering to RIAs with J.P. Morgan and BlackRock SMAs

55ip, a Boston-based tax-technology firm owned by J.P. Morgan Asset Management, is extending its unified managed account offering to the RIA channel, InvestmentNews reported. The initial lineup pairs model portfolios with separately managed accounts from J.P. Morgan Asset Management and BlackRock, and more asset managers are expected to join later this year.

An asset manager's or advisor's own model of ETFs and mutual funds sits alongside an active equity SMA in one account. 55ip's ActiveTax Technology recommends tax-aware transitions and ongoing management across both sleeves. A tie-up with InvestCloud, announced in December, would add private investments to the UMA, according to the report.

"The rapid growth in the RIA channel highlights the issue of scale for advisors," said Gautam Sachdev, 55ip's chief executive, in comments carried by InvestmentNews. Stephen Kaplan, managing director and head of customized managed account solutions at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, said advisors want customized portfolios with tax management.

Cerulli projects US UMA assets will reach about $3.7 trillion by the end of 2026.

Syntax, a New York-based index and economic data firm led by CEO Patrick Shaddow, has connected Syntax Direct, its index development and production engine, to iRebal, the rebalancing platform from Schwab Advisor Services. With the integration, iRebal users reach Syntax Direct through single sign-on, then send custom indexes by API into iRebal, where the indexes act as model portfolios that can be rebalanced, tax-managed and personalized down to the individual account and fractional share.

Index changes and custom rules now feed account-level workflows directly, removing a manual reconciliation step. The tie-up extends Schwab's push into the space, which includes the 2023 overhaul of its personalized indexing product for RIAs. "Connecting Syntax Direct to iRebal means an advisor can build a custom index and put it to work across client accounts without the manual handoff in between," said Alison Dooher, head of Advisor Services AI and partner ecosystem at Schwab Advisor Services, in the report.

Vise, a New York-based RIA and technology platform, has launched Asset Location, a tool that places each of a client's holdings across accounts.