Refinitiv buys US wealth management fintech Scivantage

Written by Ruby Hinchliffe
3rd March 2020

Refinitiv, the UK-based analytics firm which is on track to be bought for $27 billion by the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), has made its own acquisition of wealth management technology provider Scivantage. The deal amount is yet to be disclosed.

“Scivantage’s deep roots, knowledge and capabilities will enhance our wealth management portfolio of solutions,” says Refinitiv

US-based Software as a Service (SaaS) provider Scivantage, described as an “innovator” in the fintech space by Refinitiv, will help the analytics firm more securely establish its presence in the advisory and tax management space.

Until now, Refinitiv’s 40,000 users have been made up largely of banks, institutions, and large enterprise fintechs, whilst Scivantage has been developing brokerage technology for end clients and wealth professionals. The newly-acquired software provider serves companies such as Ally Invest – formerly TradeKing – and US Bank as customers.

“Scivantage’s deep roots, knowledge and capabilities will enhance our wealth management portfolio of solutions,” says Refinitiv’s global head of wealth management Joe Mrak, calling the acquisition “a tremendous opportunity”. This is because the data provider can now sell workflow benefits to end clients, as well as focusing on the institutions in between.

Refinitiv will add two of Scivantage’s biggest products – Wealthsqope, a portal for digital clients and investor reporting, and Maxit E2E, a tax information reporting solution – to its armour of features. These additions help the data provider build out its offering around areas such as tax management.

“There is a desire to use back-office functionality, especially around tax and reporting, to drive a first-class advisor and investor experience,” William Trout, head of wealth management for research firm Celent, tells Financial Planning.

“Refinitiv wants to help its financial institution clients deliver this experience, and by gearing its institutional services to the needs of the retail investor, it gains the pricing power that comes with proximity to the end client,” Trout adds.

The two companies have “an excellent history of collaboration” according to Mrak, who highlights that they have previously worked together on tax reporting and client portal solutions.