Source: Investment News
Motive Partners has closed its acquisition of a majority interest in Fiserv’s investment services business and is relaunching it as an independent company called Tegra118.
Cheryl Nash, the unit’s president under Fiserv, will lead the company as CEO and will serve as a board member. Motive Partners founder and managing partner Rob Heyvaert will serve as executive chairman.
With Motive’s financial commitment, Ms. Nash is confident Tegra118 can build the wealth management technology platform of the future. She said Motive’s investment will accelerate several developments the company is already working on, especially when it comes to what advisers want from front-end technology.
“It gives us a big bolt of energy,” she said. “We’re running at 100 miles an hour right now.”
She also plans to build out more APIs and make some acquisitions in the adviser technology space.
“There’s a lot of activity, especially from a client perspective. A lot of consolidation,” Ms. Nash said, referring to the flurry of recent mergers and acquisitions. “We know that we’re not going to be able to build everything ourselves, and we know there are some platform capabilities out there that would be nice additions to what we currently offer.”
Ms. Nash added that she has her eye on tools that can help advisers comply with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Regulation Best Interest, as well as technology for retirement, data analytics and tax optimization.
As for the name, Tegra118, Ms. Nash said it reflects her company’s commitment to integration and integrity, while the 118 refers to the number of elements in the periodic table.
“We really wanted a name that was modern, that stood out, that represented the next age,” she said when asked about the new name.
Fiserv retains a 40% stake in Tegra118 and two associates will sit on the new board of directors.
Ms. Nash said that while she had a “great run” at Fiserv, her team didn’t really fit with Fiserv’s focus on payments and banking.
“This is a new start for us,” she said.