Goldman Sachs attracts Creative Planning to its RIA custody business

investmentnews.com:

Creative Planning is joining Goldman Sachs Advisor Solutions, marking perhaps the largest victory yet for the investment bank’s growing custody business.

The Overland Park, Kansas-based registered investment advisor with $210 billion in combined assets under management and advisement announced Monday that its advisors will have access to Goldman’s investment products and technology. The firm declined to specify whether it’s the largest RIA to join its custodian.

While the deal gives Creative’s advisors an additional choice of custodian for new client accounts, the RIA plans to move “multiple billions of dollars” in client assets from existing custodians to Goldman Sachs over the next 18 months, said Jim Williams, chief investment officer at Creative Planning. The firm will continue to work with other large custodians in the industry: Charles Schwab Advisor Services, Fidelity Institutional and BNY Mellon Pershing.

“In general, keeping clients where they are at makes more sense more often than not,” Williams told InvestmentNews. However, the firm does anticipate accelerating the movement of assets to Goldman Sachs’s custodian after building an initial base of clients, he added.

After significant growth and two big acquisitions in 2023, the deal with Goldman ensures Creative Planning can continue providing the tools and services that clients need, Williams said. Creative Planning is specifically interested in Goldman’s ability to provide operational efficiency with digital onboarding and electronic lending.

“I think the advantage that Goldman Sachs has is thinking about today’s technology with the today’s needs in mind,” Williams said. “They are starting fresh rather than building on top of a legacy platform.”

Goldman