Orion Advisor Solutions Acquires Redtail Technology
April 19, 2022 | Michael Thrasher | RIA Intel
Orion Advisors Solutions, one of the largest turnkey asset management platforms that supports more than 2,300 advisory firms, has acquired Redtail Technologies, the developer of the most popular client relationship management software used by financial advisors.
The deal was announced by the companies Tuesday afternoon and it’s expected to close this quarter. Terms and conditions were not disclosed.
In a statement, Orion founder and CEO Eric Clarke said the deal made his company’s ecosystem of services even more attractive to advisors. “The addition of Redtail to Orion will further enhance our user experience. By embedding Redtail’s highly regarded, next-generation CRM software with our portfolio accounting and advisor technology, we will connect the advisor-client journey with a highly integrated, most-in-one technology suite,” Clarke said.
Brian McLaughlin, who co-founded Redtail in 2003 and is the CEO, will become the president of CRM at Orion and report to Clarke. McLaughlin will also join both Orion’s executive team and board of directors. Redtail’s executive leadership team and employees will continue working at their existing locations as part of Redtail, which will become a brand entity of Orion.
“In general, we like the merger,” Doug Fritz, founder and CEO of F2 Strategy, a technology consultant to wealth management firms, told RIA Intel. “It won’t help those already on Saleforce, Wealthbox, [or Microsoft Dynamics 365] but Redtail has a long-standing client base and this might keep more of them on the platform.”
If Orion’s goal is to become the “App Store” for wealth managers — a reference to Apple’s platform — a CRM software was the missing piece, Fritz said.
