Vestmark Inc. and Allspring Global Investments have struck a partnership that will allow registered investment advisors to construct personalized, tax-efficient model portfolios using Allspring's actively managed strategies alongside other holdings. The collaboration, announced Tuesday, adds another asset manager to Vestmark's platform as its acquisition by Envestnet moves toward completion.
Under the agreement, Allspring will contribute its public-markets investment strategies and offer portfolio construction guidance. Vestmark will handle the operational side—trading, rebalancing, tax-aware transitions, and ongoing tax management—through its Vestmark Advisory Solutions subsidiary and its VAST tax-overlay service. The offering runs on Vestmark's unified managed account (UMA) infrastructure, which allows multiple investment vehicles to be held and managed in a single account. Advisors can place Allspring strategies in open-architecture portfolios alongside other managers while retaining control over asset allocation.
Allspring reported $603 billion in assets under advisement as of Sept. 30, including discretionary and non-discretionary assets. The firm's head of U.S. intermediary distribution, Tony Svach, noted the pressures on growing practices. "Advisors are under pressure to deliver more sophisticated and personalized outcomes while maintaining efficiency as their businesses grow," he said in a statement.
The partnership targets one of the fastest-growing segments of the advice business. Third-party model portfolios held more than $943 billion as of March 31, according to Morningstar's US Model Portfolio Landscape report, up 46% from a year earlier. Custom models—where advisors work with a provider to tailor strategies—rose 40% to $258 billion over the same period.
Vestmark has been active in this space. The company struck a custom model arrangement with BlackRock in 2024 and launched a custom premier offering with T. Rowe Price in January. In August, Vestmark was selected to help implement Vanguard's new custom model portfolios for RIAs. Envestnet, Vestmark's pending acquirer, is also pursuing the market; earlier this week it announced custom model solutions with 10 asset managers, including BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, and T. Rowe Price.
The Allspring deal follows a busy year for Vestmark. In June, the firm said its RIA subsidiary had crossed $50 billion in assets under management, a fivefold increase over 18 months. Earlier in the spring, it expanded the role of chief technology officer Freedom Dumlao to include chief AI officer. In May, the company launched Pulse, an AI tool that monitors client portfolios and suggests actions.
Perhaps the biggest development came in September, when Vestmark agreed to be acquired by wealthtech platform Envestnet. Terms weren't disclosed, and the deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter. Bain Capital-backed Envestnet says its platforms carry about $8 trillion in assets. Both companies have said Vestmark clients won't be forced onto new systems. "Our existing clients don't have to change, there'll be no forced migrations," Steve Gottschalk, Vestmark's vice president of marketing, told InvestmentNews at last month's Future Proof festival.
The move aligns with broader trends in advisor technology. As Allspring's own research on 401(k) savers shows, clients increasingly want personalized solutions without sacrificing control. Similarly, RIAs are expanding their use of active strategies to address concentration concerns. Vestmark's platform is designed to meet that demand, offering advisors the flexibility to build bespoke portfolios while outsourcing the operational heavy lifting.
