Starting in April, the biggest turnkey asset management provider in the U.S., Envestnet, will be led for the first time in its nearly 25-year history by someone who wasn’t there in the beginning.
On Monday, CEO Bill Crager announced plans to step back from his role at the end of March, with board chair James Fox taking the job on an interim basis. Crager, who co-founded the fintech in 1999 with the late Jud Bergman, indicated that the time is right for him to make a change. The company has stated that the decision to move to an advisory role was Crager's alone, and was not influenced by activist investor Impactive Capital, which owns a stake of more than 7% stake in Envestnet.
Analysts have cast some doubt on that, pointing to Envestnet’s CFO change in September following pressure from Impactive, which in March settled a proxy dispute with the company by getting two members added to its corporate board. That included Impactive managing partner Lauren Taylor Wolfe and Lane Holdings chair Wendy Lane.
Leading up to that, Impactive had openly criticized the publicly traded company over its stock performance, which for several years had significantly lagged the S&P 500. While Envestnet skyrocketed to become the biggest TAMP, its financial performance has made it a target for scrutiny, with at least that one big investor demanding a change in course.
Despite the pending change in leadership, analysts haven’t changed their outlook on Envestnet, with many retaining their "buy" ratings on the stock.
“Bill has built a strong and experienced management team that will continue to execute Envestnet’s growth strategy – many of whom are seasoned and tenured leaders holding long-standing relationships with Envestnet’s partners and clients,” senior vice president of communications Eric Jones said in a statement. “Envestnet remains dedicated to advocating for financial advisors, empowering them with innovative technology, solutions, and intelligence to power the growth of their business.”
The company also indicated that it will focus on “provid[ing] more holistic solutions and a more connected environment,” but it's not clear whether data aggregation service Yodlee will be a part of that. Envestnet didn't comment on speculation that it is exploring a sale of Yodlee, which it bought for $590 million in 2015, but reports have hinted it has been a drag on the company’s overall performance.
“From time to time, media reports have suggested a sale of Yodlee or the entire company. In our view, the sale of the company or unit will depend more on market sentiment and financing conditions than on internal leadership changes,” Morningstar equity analyst Rajiv Bhatia wrote in a Jan. 5 report.
Further, “the news does not change the likelihood that Envestnet sells itself, which we see as more dependent on market sentiment and financing conditions,” Bhatia wrote, pegging fair value of the company at $48 per share. As of Tuesday afternoon, the firm’s stock was above $51, up from a recent low of less than $34 on Nov. 13.
D.A. Davidson senior research analyst Peter Heckmann put a $70 price target on the stock. That firm recently forecast 8% to 8.5% returns for Envestnet’s “market basket” in the fourth quarter, based on the 60% of its revenue that comes directly from its assets under administration and management. Currently, Envestnet has relationships with 107,000 advisors, representing $5.4 trillion in client assets.
“The [Yodlee] segment has been a distraction for management as well as investors,” Heckmann wrote in a Jan. 2 report, noting that the firm does not have insight into the rumored sale exploration. “With pressure from the activist, Impactive Capital … and a new CFO, we can see why the board would want to do a market check on interest. A divestiture at an attractive price would return Envestnet to a pure-play in advisor technology and allow the company to reduce financial leverage.”
While the company searches for a new CEO, executive vice president Tom Sipp will continue to lead its business lines, the firm stated. The only apparent candidate for the CEO job is recently appointed CFO Josh Warren, who previously was global head of business strategy for iShares and index investments at BlackRock, Bhatia wrote. The prior CFO, Peter D’Arrigo, had been in the role since 2008.
“We don’t see other internal candidates as likely picks given the need for strategic change at the company,” Bhatia wrote.
In response to a request for comment, Crager reflected on his time at the firm he co-founded, saying in a statement that “the company has come a long way from the day when it opened its first account. Back then, we received a handwritten check in a white envelope for a fixed income separate account.
“In those days, we were dialing into the internet on a 28.8 [Kbps] modem. We had a vision to level the playing field for financial advisors to deliver fiduciary, objective advice to their clients in a manner they believed was most suitable for them.”
The company serves more advisors, assets and accounts than any competitors, “with the most holistic, connected, intelligent platform to help people achieve their financial aspirations,” Crager said. “The work we just completed opens the gateway to the future of advice. My biggest point of pride has been working alongside all of the extraordinary people at Envestnet along that journey.”
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