OMAHA, Neb.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NorthStar Financial Services Group, LLC, the parent company of Orion Advisor Services, FTJ FundChoice, LLC, CLS Investments, LLC, and Constellation Trust Company, announced today that it will be renamed Orion Advisor Solutions and unify its subsidiaries under the Orion brand identity. The changes, which will take effect in September 2019, will enable NorthStar and its subsidiaries to better align their corporate strategies; bring clarity and cohesion to the product and service experiences offered, and help identify technological synergies as the company accelerates the growth of its open architecture advisor platforms.
“For more than 20 years, the Orion brand has been known as an industry leader for best-in-breed portfolio accounting technology and integrations, providing the flexibility, customization, and support financial professionals need to succeed,” said Eric Clarke, CEO. “Now, consolidating our tech and investment companies under the same brand challenges even our largest competitors with a more connected, more seamlessly serviced, and all-around better offering, while allowing each firm to continue to invest in building upon its core strengths.”
Although the companies will continue to operate independently, the new parent company, Orion Advisor Solutions, will be led by an integrated leadership team tasked with supporting the overall shared mission of the brands. Eric Clarke will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer and be supported by Dean Cook as President; Ryan Beach as Chief Operations Officer; Daniel Applegarth as Chief Financial Officer; Kylee Beach as General Counsel; Kelly Waltrich as Chief Marketing Officer; and Julie Lane as Vice President of Human Resources. Each company will also leverage its existing leadership team for direction and guidance on day-to-day operations, as Clarke will continue to serve as the CEO of Orion Advisor Tech, Cook and Ryan Beach will lead Orion Portfolio Solutions as CEO and President, respectively, and Rusty Vanneman will serve as President of CLS Investments.
“Our new leadership team has a clear vision for the future,” says Clarke. “Which is to remain squarely focused on delivering exceptional technology and investment solutions that empower financial professionals and firms to operationalize their own vision for growth.”
The news comes as NorthStar sets its sights on continuing its aggressive growth trajectory. Last year, the company acquired open-architecture TAMP FTJ FundChoice—an Orion client and partner for more than a decade— to expand its presence among RIAs and broker-dealers.
Since that time, a number of collaborative initiatives have been set in motion, including launching an Enterprise offering; broadening the strategies available through Orion Communities; integrating and modernizing the FTJ FundChoice and CLS Investment TAMP platforms; among others. Today, as growth continues both organically and through acquisitions, the unified branding underscores the superior experience clients can expect across all Orion companies.
"In everything we do, we’re trying to enhance the advisor experience,” says Dean Cook, President of Orion Advisor Solutions. “The platform we’re building provides an unmatched level of control and support for advisors of all sizes. And the reality is that Orion’s TAMP will be primed to not only have the best technology on the market but also be the best at using it on behalf of our clients.”
The changes to the brand will be represented in the following ways:
- NorthStar will become Orion Advisor Solutions, and continue to serve as the parent company of all organizations
- Orion Advisor Services will become Orion Advisor Tech
- FTJ FundChoice will become Orion Portfolio Solutions
CLS Investments and Constellation Trust will retain their names but pickup use of the Orion logomark; the Orion Enterprise product offering—spanning services offered by Orion Advisor Tech, Orion Portfolio Solutions, and CLS Investments—will also take on a refined visual identity and be provided at the parent company level.
More information on the details of the rebrand will be shared over the coming months.
About NorthStar Financial Services Group, LLC
NorthStar Financial Services, LLC (“NorthStar”) exists to innovate and develop products and services, strengthen its partners, and provide tools and resources to empower investment advisors. With over 695 employees and over $800 billion in assets under management and administration, NorthStar is a holding company for several subsidiaries. Each company offers unique services within the financial industry, including asset management, and portfolio accounting. NorthStar provides accounting, IT, human resources, and legal services for all its subsidiaries.
About Orion Advisor Services, LLC
Orion Advisor Services, LLC (Orion) is the premier portfolio accounting service provider for advisors. Our firm has unique insights into the advisory profession because it was founded for investment advisors by an investment advisor in 1999. Orion frees advisors from back-office tedium so they can enjoy their business again by devoting their time and energy to better serving clients. Orion provides the integrated and fully customizable technology solutions that advisors need to help grow their businesses over the long term. The firm's technology solutions empower more than $750+ billion in AUA and over 2 million accounts. For more, please visit www.orionadvisor.com or follow our news and insights via our blog.
About FTJ FundChoice, LLC
Founded in 2001, FTJ FundChoice, LLC, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor, provides advisors access to independent asset allocation strategies and model trading functionality. With more than $15 billion in assets under administration,* FTJ FundChoice assists advisors in simplifying their business by absorbing back-office tasks, such as trade reconciliation, account administration, fee billing, and performance reporting, allowing the advisor to spend more time on client relationship-building activities. To learn more about FTJ FundChoice, please visit www.ftjfundchoice.com. *As of April, 2019.
About CLS Investments
CLS is an Omaha-based registered investment adviser managing in excess of $9 billion. As one of the largest third-party money managers and ETF strategists in the U.S., CLS partners with thousands of advisors, plan sponsors, and institutions to offer a full suite of outsourced portfolio management solutions for more than 44,000 individual investors. CLS specializes in creating portfolios based on a distinct risk budgeting methodology and active asset allocation approach. The CLS investment process is governed by systematic research across asset classes and strategies and the continuous measuring of risk. CLS claims compliance with the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®). CLS Investments, LLC is a registered investment adviser. To obtain a copy of a fully compliant presentation and/or a list of composite descriptions, contact us at 888-455-4244. To learn more, visit www.clsinvest.com.
