The major wealthtech provider Orion made or was part of two significant technology announcements related to different parts of its technology stack this week.
First to be announced was Orion’s new collaboration with the AI Data Cloud provider Snowflake, which will, when development is complete, provide advisory firms additional choice in how they can securely access and analyze their own real-time data.
In a second development, Pontera, a fintech that provides financial advisors with the ability to remotely manage clients' assets in 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and other workplace-sponsored accounts, announced an integration that allows advisors to connect to Pontera directly from Orion Trading.
Orion works with thousands of independent advisory firms, has almost $5 trillion in assets under administration and just under $100 billion in assets being managed on its wealth platform.
Snowflake Partnership
The new Snowflake partnership is not Orion’s first foray into real-time cloud-based data management for advisory firms.
In the fall of 2022, Orion introduced Amazon Web Services’ Redshift cloud-based data warehouse repository and its tools and technology to a set of its larger client firms. In the interim, Orion has formalized access to Amazon Redshift as an offering to its client firms.
In simplest terms, this gave Orion client firms the ability to use AWS and Redshift to analyze their own firm-level data, which can be replicated, clustered and firewalled off for their own use.
“Since our data sharing launch more than two years ago, we have demonstrated how this can support better decision-making and improve operational performance for advisors,” said Adam Palmer, a leader in strategic product development at Orion.
“Now, we’re making an even greater impact by making real-time data sharing available in the additional cloud platforms our clients are already using,” he said.
While Orion has had an integration with Snowflake for more than a year, this latest expansion provides firms with more depth and choice in managing and performing analytics. It adds cross-cloud compatibility and the ability to centralize both structured and unstructured data in a single location. Features, including Snowflake’s elastic scalability supports, help firms manage their data as datasets and workloads continue to expand.
The Snowflake partnership is another example added to the roadmap that Orion CEO Natalie Wolfsen and former president of Orion Advisor Technologies Brian McLaughlin discussed in late 2023. (McLaughlin stepped down from his role in September of 2024; he was replaced by Reed Colley in December when Orion acquired his latest startup, the next-generation portfolio management platform Summit Wealth.)
Orion is rolling out the new Snowflake technology to a beta group of clients in the second quarter, and general availability will be announced later this year.
Pontera Partnership
With the newest integration—Orion’s first integration with Pontera dates back to 2021—firms that rely on Orion Trading for investment management can now integrate clients’ 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and other held-away accounts and perform household-level, tax-efficient and compliant rebalancing.
Pontera provides access to retirement plan fund lineups, which are visible within Orion’s Eclipse trading system. This means firms can manage household allocations, including retirement plans, without leaving the Eclipse environment, according to an Orion spokesperson. Users must still log into Pontera for some specific actions, including making allocation changes or reviewing fund fact sheets.
While Orion’s previous integration with Pontera allowed for the retrieval of positions and accounts, the latest iteration allows for access to more detailed plan information, including holdings across qualified and non-qualified accounts from within Orion Trading than before.
“Bringing 401(k) accounts into the Orion Trading platform makes it easier for advisors to ensure the client’s 401(k) is invested in the most optimal way, by taking into account all of the other household assets being managed by the advisor. Together, we’re helping advisors deliver a truly holistic experience,” wrote Pontera co-founder and CEO Yoav Zurel in a post on LinkedIn.
Pontera has announced numerous partnerships with advisory firms using the platform in recent years, including Benjamin Edwards, Carson Group, CoastalOne, Dynamic Advisor Solutions, Dynasty Financial Partners, OneDigital, Priority Financial Group, SageView Advisory Group, Savant Wealth, Stifel Financial, Wealthspire and others.
Founded as FeeX in 2012 and headquartered in New York City, the company was rebranded as Pontera in February 2022 and announced it had raised $80 million in capital. In December 2023 the company raised an additional $60 million in capital led by new investor ICONIQ Growth, bringing its total raised to $160 million.
