Host Ryan Nauman interviews Rob Battista, executive vice president of Advisory Solutions at Vestmark, about the evolution from traditional one-size-fits-all model portfolios to more personalized custom model investment solutions.
Battista explains how models grew from manager-traded SMAs to scalable, lower-cost model delivery, fueled by greater accessibility through marketplaces and asset managers selling total portfolio solutions. He highlights key limitations of traditional models—especially inadequate customization and the tax impact of rebalancing in taxable accounts—and argues tax transition and ongoing tax overlay are now table stakes.
The discussion covers how custom models can reflect advisor preferences, support multi-manager open architecture, and incorporate multiple vehicles (ETFs, mutual funds, SMAs, direct indexing, bonds, alternatives) within a UMA. Battista outlines benefits for advisors (scale, time savings, outsourcing, recurring revenue) and asset managers (stickier relationships, greater wallet share), and emphasizes implementation partners can reduce operational burden, often subsidized by asset managers.
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www.NaumanStrategicPartners.com
Learn more about Vestmark:
00:00 Welcome and Agenda
01:20 Meet Rob Battista
01:51 Vestmark Overview
03:45 How Models Evolved
06:07 What Drove Model Growth
08:06 Limits of Traditional Models
09:42 Personalization and Tax Overlay
12:24 How Custom Models Work
15:18 Multi Manager and UMA Flexibility
18:10 Advisor Benefits and Scale
20:25 Asset Manager Incentives
21:57 Operational Challenges Solved
23:36 Implementing Custom Models
26:25 Wrap Up and Resources
