Altruist Adds Donor-Advised Funds to Its Platform
Custodian Altruist has added donor-advised funds to its platform, allowing advisors to open, fund, invest and manage those charitable vehicles for clients in minutes without a separate system, the company said.
Advisors can transfer an existing fund in two steps: contribute cash or appreciated securities and see the fund appear alongside other holdings in the household view, according to Altruist.
“Giving is one of the most personal things a client does with their advisor. We want to support advisors and their clients through that process by making donor-advised funds easy to navigate and access,” said Jason Wenk, founder and CEO of Altruist, in a prepared statement.
According to Altruist, assets in the new donor-advised fund can be invested in any model in the marketplace, including custom portfolios and personalized indexing strategies, unlike most DAF platforms that restrict investment choices to a fixed menu.
The platform has no account-opening, balance or grant minimums, and fees start at 50 basis points annually, below the 60 to 65 basis points typical among other donor-advised fund sponsors, according to Altruist.
Clients can recommend grants directly from their Altruist account or mobile app, choosing from more than 1.8 million eligible charities without waiting for their advisor to initiate the transaction.
Donor-advised fund accounts created on the Altruist platform will be sponsored by Endaoment, a 501(c)(3) public charity that is the legal owner of DAF assets and the customer of record on the account, according to Altruist.
It has been a busy few months for the custody, clearing, and technology provider to RIAs. In late August, news came that the company had agreed to be acquired by Vanguard for $4.6 billion.
On the technology front, Altruist announced a new financial planning agent for its Hazel AI platform a few days after news of the acquisition broke (a tax planning agent was announced in February).
