F2 Strategy, a wealth management technology and marketing consultancy, has acquired investment operations and technology provider MD Solutions to expand beyond consulting and strategy into wealth technology services and implementation.
F2 had been working with MD Solutions on projects before the acquisition and was attracted to its “white glove” service in setting up and helping to implement investment management platforms with clients, said Doug Fritz, co-founder and executive chairman at F2 Strategy. It adds a team of about 20.
“F2 has been great at helping people with strategy, scaling for growth, M&A, etc., but this allows us to go a layer deeper,” he said. “We can now offer implementation of solutions in software solutions.”
MD Solutions had been offering clients a setup for two investment management platforms: SS&C Advent and Ridgeline. F2, however, is nearing numerous other vendor partnerships to expand the scope of offerings.
Fritz said offering the service became an area of focus for F2 after its consultants had seen numerous clients struggle with implementing and using perfectly good software.
“We knew from the sidelines that really good software didn’t always land very well with the clients because they didn’t have a great implementation,” he said. “People inside the wealth firms didn’t know what questions to ask about the technology, and the people outside the firms didn’t know the right solutions to provide.”
The acquisition is F2’s third in the past two years, following its funding from Renovus Capital Partners in 2023.
F2’s first acquisition was for wealth management consulting firm OakBrook Solutions, which expanded its team by 75 people. That was followed by SKY Marketing Consultants, a wealth management marketing consultancy.
Fritz said F2 will clearly distinguish between providing consulting advice and selling its software implementation services. It will also avoid conflicts of interest by offering clients multiple vendors.
Future deals will continue in a similar vein for the consultancy started by Fritz and his wife, Liz, in 2016. Doug Fritz became executive chairman last year, with former Orion executive Ryan Beach becoming CEO.
“We have a healthy deal pipeline and our next series of acquisitions will be continued expansion within our industry into pockets of high value for our clients and the industry,” Fritz said. “We want to be a highly trusted, well-known, quality brand that any wealth management client can come to for an expanding set of capabilities, all with the same bedside manner, execution, and growth.”