Advisors are under more pressure than ever to grow efficiently while maintaining the personal touch clients expect. Across the wealth management industry, the pressure to modernize is a real concern. Rising client expectations, talent constraints, and margin compression are forcing firms to rethink their approach. Planning-led service models are expanding, and advisors need tools that let them scale intelligently without sacrificing what makes them trusted.
Model marketplaces provide scalable, ready-to-use investment strategies that advisors can tailor to each client, striking a balance between efficiency and customization.
Why Advisors Are Turning to Model Marketplaces
Model portfolios have gone mainstream. Nearly 80% of fee-based advisors in the U.S. use model portfolios for at least a portion of client assets, with model assets totaling $7.96 trillion as of April 2025, nearly double the GDP of Japan. That’s up from $6.44 trillion just a year prior, with Broadridge projecting that figure will climb to $13.2 trillion by 2029.
Customized model portfolios are also surging, topping $125 billion in assets as of September 2024. With a nearly 50% increase since mid-2023, advisors are signaling that they want flexible, scalable options without having to reinvent the wheel.
Reclaiming Time and Refocusing It on Growth
Managing portfolios manually is time-intensive, often consuming a quarter of an advisor’s working hours. Model marketplaces change this by giving advisors back up to 35% of their time, according to BNY research.
Advisors who regain the 300 hours a year typically spent on repetitive investment tasks, such as trading, rebalancing, and tax overlays, can redirect that time into high-impact work. This means more focus on building client relationships, onboarding, and business development.
Higher Client Satisfaction, Stronger Retention
Clients in model-based strategies consistently report stronger advisor trust and satisfaction:
95% of investors in models are satisfied with their advisor’s ability to earn trust and confidence, vs. just 79% for clients without model portfolios.
93% of model investors felt their advisor understood their financial goals, compared to 79% among non-model clients.
79% of clients invested through models were satisfied with fees, versus 56% satisfaction among clients not using models.
The upshot is that clients who feel better served tend to stay longer, deepen their relationship with their advisor, and increase the share of wallet that their advisor manages.
Delivering Customization
Model marketplaces enable deeply personalized experiences without the operational overhead of custom builds. Advisors can implement tax-managed overlays, asset allocation tweaks, and multi-manager sleeves with ease.
According to Cerulli, 24% of model-based assets are already personalized at the client level, even though only 12% of firms exclusively use models for this purpose. The ability to fine-tune portfolios while scaling operations is a true differentiator. This balance—scalable model efficiencies with advisor control—is especially valuable in a competitive marketplace where differentiation matters.
A Proven Growth Engine
Model portfolios are more than simple operational tools. Firms using models oversee 13% of advisor assets and account for 18% of total advisor headcount. Additionally, one-third plan to increase model use in the coming year, demonstrating their value as growth accelerators.
These accounts also bring higher value: the average size of an account using a model is $120,000 compared to $10,000 for mutual fund investors. These clients have higher retention levels and invest 12 times more than mutual fund users.
Bringing Strategy and Scale Together
SS&C Black Diamond® Wealth Solutions integrates institutional strategies, such as those from Fidelity and Invesco, directly into its Model Marketplace. Deep integration across the proposal-to-trade workflow creates a curated menu of strategies, accessible directly within advisors’ operational workflows. Advisors enjoy:
Speed to deployment: Advisors can implement vetted models quickly, without having to build them from scratch.
Tax optimization: Built-in overlays that help manage realized gains and efficiency.
Flexibility: Advisors can mix and customize models per client objectives and risk profiles.
This seamless experience allows firms to scale portfolio management without disrupting advisor efficiency or the client experience.
Why it Matters Now
Model marketplaces represent a clear shift from time-consuming bespoke portfolio construction to scalable, tech-enabled precision.
For years, firms faced a difficult tradeoff between efficiency and personalization. Model marketplaces remove that compromise, enabling advisors to grow their business while delivering tailored, high-touch experiences for every client. The real risk for advisors today isn’t in adopting these solutions; it’s falling behind those who do.
Discover how easy it is to launch scalable, tax-efficient, and customizable model portfolios without disrupting your team’s workflow by requesting a personal demo, calling us at 1-800-727-0605, or emailing info@sscblackdiamond.com today.
