A huge number of Investment Advisors are independent -- they don't work for Schwab or Merrill -- and Envestnet makes sure they are equipted with high-quality tools and financial products. This includes otherwise inaccessible funds as well as the tools to pick investments, build portfolios and execute trades. At this point it's surpassed enough in-house systems that they're begining to license it to traditional Advisory firms. In a newsletter, Morningstar mused whether they would impact the industry as Amazon did shopping.
Jud had a solid and diverse career at Nuveen Investments where he directed Corporate Development, their M&A advisory business and then ran their mutual fund operations. When he came up with the idea to develop a web-based platform for individual advisor, the firm wasn't interested. He decided to build the plan and do it himself.
Dimensions: 120 people x 6 years x $40MM (est. by Fin. Planning Mag)
Funding: Founder, Apex Ventures
Customers: Indedpendent Investment Advisors, Traditional Investment Firms
Location: Chicago [Downtown] + www.envestnet.com
