
Customized at Scale: A Framework for Next-Generation Advisory Platforms
October 1, 2025
Comprehensive tax-aware portfolio customization is crucial to the future of wealth management
Access White Paper
Download Our White Paper
There is an evolution underway in the U.S. wealth management industry, as several factors are converging to create a greater emphasis on customization, particularly around tax management. From the demand side, end-investors and financial advisors increasingly value customization and tax management. Enabling this are efforts from wealth managers, asset managers, and technology providers, which are innovating to develop solutions for customization broadly, but especially those related to tax management.
As advisors increasingly look to investment tax management as a differentiator, it becomes incumbent upon wealth managers to have a comprehensive suite of process (e.g., onboarding transformation, active tax management, distribution optimization) and product (e.g., direct indexing, custom bond SMA, tax-managed equity long/short SMAs) solutions to enable customized outcomes for their clients.
Use Cerulli’s latest white paper, in partnership with Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC, to explore best practices for building a roadmap that considers the processes and products to enable customized outcomes at scale.
Trends Spotlight
Investor Demand
69% of affluent investors agree that it is important their provider helps them reduce their tax bill. More investors are aware of the impact of taxes on their investment returns.
Advisor Behavior
Financial advisors are increasingly seeking to incorporate advanced financial planning services, such as the consideration of tax consequences, into their planning offerings, to differentiate themselves from their peers. Nearly half (47%) of financial advisors report offering tax planning services.
Managed Account Priorities
As advisors seek to capitalize on the benefits of customized tax management at the holistic level, 82% of managed accounts sponsors agree that improving tax management capabilities is a top-three priority for their firm.
About the Authors

Hannah Curtis
Analyst
Bio →

Hannah Curtis
Analyst
Hannah is an analyst in the Wealth Management practice at Cerulli, specifically working in Managed Accounts. She contributes to the Managed Accounts annual report and The Cerulli Edge series, providing quantitative support to both.
Prior to joining Cerulli, Hannah worked as a Finance Analyst at Audley Travel, where she provided analysis for improvement of business processes, sales metrics, and employee productivity measures. She graduated from Wesleyan University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a minor in Data Analysis.
Full biography here.

Chayce Horton
Associate Director
Bio →

Chayce Horton
Associate Director
Chayce is an Associate Director in the Wealth Management practice and is the lead author of the annual High-Net-Worth and Ultra-High-Net-Worth Markets report. He also helps lead the annual Private Banks and Bank Trust Companies report as well as the quarterly Cerulli Advisor Edge. Chayce specializes in research and consulting related to high-net-worth investors and advisory firms, including multi-family offices, RIAs, broker/dealers, private banks, and trust companies, as well as the asset management providers that serve these investors and intermediaries.
Prior to joining Cerulli, Chayce worked in enterprise data governance, geopolitical research, and commercial banking at multiple global financial institutions.
Full biography here.

Michael Manning
Research Analyst
Bio →

Michael Manning
Research Analyst
Michael is an analyst in the Wealth Management practice at Cerulli, specifically working in Managed Accounts. He is a contributor to the U.S. Managed Accounts annual report and The Cerulli Edge series, providing quantitative and qualitative analyses. He also supports various consulting projects within the Wealth Management practice.
Prior to joining Cerulli Associates, Michael started his career as a financial analyst at Granite Telecommunications where he created quote proposals and developed special pricing analyses in response to customer needs.
Full biography here.

Brendan Powers, CFA
Director
Bio →

Brendan Powers, CFA
Director
Brendan is co-head of Cerulli’s Product Development and Institutional practices.
The Product Development practice focuses on trends related to asset managers’ product strategy, development, and management functions. This broadly includes assessing the opportunity for product line expansion, evaluating emerging product trends, assessing optimal pricing strategy, and understanding distribution and product positioning for investment products across retail and institutional channels.
The Institutional practice specializes in research and consulting related to institutional asset owners, including defined benefit plans, endowments, foundations, insurance companies, and healthcare organizations as well as third-party allocators including consultants and outsourced chief investment officers (OCIOs).
Full biography here.

Scott Smith
Senior Director
Bio →

Scott Smith
Senior Director
As the Senior Director of Advice Relationships, Scott leads Cerulli's coverage of fee-based managed accounts and investors' engagement preferences. With more than 25 years of wealth management experience, Scott adds valuable context and perspective in assisting Cerulli's clients with optimizing their advisors' and investors' platform experiences, given the evolving demand for financial advice.
During his tenure at Cerulli, Scott’s research and consulting work has covered the full spectrum of wealth management topics, from product development and wholesale distribution to portfolio management and comprehensive financial planning.
Full biography here.

Bing Waldert
Managing Director, U.S. Research
Bio →

Bing Waldert
Managing Director, U.S. Research
Bing Waldert leads Cerulli’s U.S. Research team comprising seven research practices that cover all elements of the U.S. asset management, wealth management, and retirement markets. He has authored Cerulli reports on the wealth management industry, high-net-worth market, the annuity industry, and retirement markets. He is a frequent board-level and C-suite speaker and well-regarded industry thought leader. He has spoken in front of the Investment Company Institute (ICI), the Asset Management Association of China (AMAC), the Investments and Wealth Institute (IWI), and the Money Management Institute (MMI).
He has worked on client projects on emerging manager expansion strategies, independent registered investment advisors (RIAs), multi-family offices (MFOs), investment platforms, and the outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) industry. In addition, he has advised multiple private equity firms on acquisitions in the wealth management space.
Full biography here.
Related Research

December 2022
The Case for Direct Indexing: Differentiation in a Competitive Marketplace
Demand for customization and differentiation from financial advisors and wealth management firms will lead to a surge in assets for direct indexing, with assets expected to grow at a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.3% and close 2026 with $825 billion in total assets.

August 2021
Improving Client Experience: Customizing with Direct Indexing
Access this white paper to learn more about direct indexing, key players and assets under management, growth projections, and market adoption.

September 2025
Managed Account Sponsors Highlight Tax Optimization
Managed accounts sponsors focus on developing tax management capabilities to enhance the advisor experience and to differentiate.
You may also be interested in:
- Annual report
- The Cerulli Edge