Vanguard has entered a definitive agreement to acquire Altruist, an AI-forward wealth technology and custody platform serving financial advisors. The deal, expected to close later this year pending regulatory approvals, aims to expand access to financial advice by enabling advisors to serve more clients efficiently. Vanguard first invested in Altruist in 2020 to increase competition in the registered investment advisor custody space. Following the acquisition, Altruist will operate as a standalone business, retaining its leadership, brand, and operating model whilst gaining access to Vanguard's resources and investment expertise. The transaction terms were not disclosed. Altruist will continue focusing on providing integrated technology solutions for independent financial advisors, combining custody services with portfolio management tools.

Altruist, an upstart custodian and registered investment advisory platform, is challenging industry giants with AI-powered technology and competitive pricing. The firm's Hazel AI tools, which automate tasks like tax planning and client notifications, sparked a Wall Street reaction in February when shares of rivals Charles Schwab, LPL Financial and Raymond James dropped after its announcement. Early adopter Alex Chalekian of Lake Avenue Financial predicts Altruist's platform will replace existing tools, comparing it to the iPhone displacing BlackBerry. However, questions remain about scale: the 8-year-old company serves only 6,500 financial advisors across 4,000 registered investment advisors. Last year, Altruist raised $152 million in Series F funding at a $1.9 billion valuation, two years after acquiring brokerage firm Shareholders Service Group.

Altruist has opened a waitlist for early access to its AI-powered financial planning feature within Hazel, its AI platform. The tool can create comprehensive financial plans in minutes, compared to the typical 18 hours required manually, according to Ken Vincent, head of business at Hazel. The company will onboard an initial cohort of advisory firms in the coming weeks before a general launch expected in August. Pricing will mirror its tax planning capability, ranging from $50 per seat monthly for standalone use to $125 with tax planning included. Hazel is custodian-agnostic, allowing advisors to use the platform without custodying assets with Altruist. CEO Jason Wenk emphasised the tools are designed to help advisors serve more clients better, not replace them. This follows Hazel's February launch of an AI tax planning agent.