(Bloomberg) -- Morgan Stanley's fintech partnerships continue to grow.
Software from Silicon Valley-based data aggregator Addepar will be used by the wirehouse's largest private-wealth teams, according to Eric Poirier, the tech firm’s chief executive.
It’s the latest example of the finance industry working with technology firms that provide services the old guard can’t easily replicate. JPMorgan Chase announced agreements last year with Virtu Financial and On Deck Capital, upstarts in electronic trading and online lending, respectively.
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Morgan Stanley is first among big U.S. brokerages to sign with Addepar, whose gains until now have mainly come from RIAs. Addepar reports it has almost doubled the assets on its platform last year to $560 billion.
“We’ve proven it out with clients who are competing with the banks,” Poirier said. “Now the banks are adopting it because they felt they were at a disadvantage.”
Addepar, whose investors include tech billionaire Peter Thiel, has created “an innovative platform” that will help Morgan Stanley advisers better serve clients, Chris Randazzo, the brokerage’s chief information officer, said in a statement.
Some Morgan Stanley teams using Addepar manage more than $10 billion, and additional teams may adopt the platform this year, Poirer said.
The startup is in talks with other wirehouses, a category that includes Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo, Poirier said. At the current growth rate, Addepar’s platform will reach $1 trillion in assets by year-end, he estimates. Next, he wants to bring on pensions, endowments and sovereign wealth funds.
