Another roboadvisor just landed an asset manager as a backer ... only this time it's a private label roboadvisor receiving the cash and a pure-play, publicly-traded ETF shop that's buying in.

Rich Cancro AdvisorEngine CEO & Founder

Today Jonathan Steinberg, president and CEO of WisdomTree [profile], confirms that his New York City-based shop has shelled out $20 million for a 36-percent equity interest in the two-year-old private label roboadvisor that has been known as Vanare. And Vanare also rebranded itself as AdvisorEngine and revamped its online presence.

AdvisorEngine and WisdomTree have also sealed a two-way distribution deal that will involve AdvisorEngine making WisdomTree's asset allocation models available on the platform while WisdomTree pushes AdvisorEngine out to the ETF shop's distribution network.

This is Vanare's Series A financing round, and SenaHill Securities served as AdvisorEngine's financial and strategic advisor on the deal. ETF.com and InvestmentNews reported on the deal.

While some roboadvisors are building out retail brands and distribution, AdvisorEngine founder and CEO Rich Cancro and his team have chosen a more under-the-radar, B2B approach. AdvisorEngine offers broker-dealers, RIAs, and other financial services firms a customizable roboadvisor chassis that they can use for their advisors.

Though WisdomTree now owns more than a third of AdvisorEngine, Cancro stresses that the deal will help the startup "grow as an independent, open architecture firm." Steinberg calls AdvisorEngine "a natural choice" for "forward-thinking institutions" to team up with in a changing wealth management environment. 

Edited by: Neil Anderson, Managing Editor


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