Acquisition Deals Signal Advisor-Centric Consolidation

Recent deals highlight asset managers’ race to capture the booming demand for model portfolios and outsourced investment solutions. Within the span of a week, two acquisitions — Janus Henderson’s purchase of Richard Bernstein Advisors (RBA) and Raymond James’ acquisition of Clark Capital Management Group — have signaled a strategic shift toward specialized, advisor-centric distribution.

"ETF providers are increasingly seeing demand from model portfolios as advisors look to leverage their in-house expertise,” Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, said. “While firms like BlackRock and WisdomTree have organically built out teams to run these efforts, others have turned to acquisitions to bring on the management and distribution capabilities."

Janus Henderson Scales With Richard Bernstein Advisors

Janus Henderson Group (JHG) on January 23 announced its intent to fully acquire Richard Bernstein Advisors, an asset allocation specialist. RBA focuses on longer-term investment strategies that combine top-down, macroeconomic analysis and quantitatively-driven portfolio construction.

RBA, which manages approximately $20 billion in assets, will be fully integrated into the Janus Henderson ecosystem. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026.

This transaction also marks the exit of iM Global Partner (iMGP), which had held a minority stake in RBA since July 2021. During that five-year partnership, RBA utilized iMGP’s distribution network to scale its macroeconomic and quantitatively driven strategies. For Janus Henderson, the acquisition is a direct play to bolster its footprint in model portfolios and separately managed accounts (SMAs).