Osaic Institutions: where scale meets specialization to power growth

Osaic’s institutional business has spent the past several years refining a model that blends national scale with local focus. Assets under administration have climbed from $29 billion to $47 billion since acquisition in 2022, supported by consistent double-digit growth and a 95 percent retention rate. The numbers point to momentum, but leadership insists the results come from structure, not speed. The firm’s “Journey to One” initiative unified several affiliated broker-dealers under a single platform, giving Osaic’s various businesses access to shared resources and technology. Yet one segment, the financial-institution channel, remained intentionally distinct. It would operate – and will continue to operate – with the same infrastructure, but would preserve the dedicated teams, technology, and service model that had long defined its approach to banks and credit unions.

“That decision was deliberate,” says Stephen Amarante, who leads the channel. “We wanted to gain the advantages of scale without losing the specialization that makes this business work. This is a cornerstone of Osaic’s strategy and commitment to providing flexible ways for advisors to partner with us.” Amarante, executive vice president, Osaic Institutions, describes the culture that sustains it as collaborative and fast-moving. “There’s always something new, new projects, new ideas,” he says. “The energy comes from building something that feels different in the marketplace.” Scale meets specialization When the former Infinex platform became part of the Osaic family, it brought both opportunity and responsibility. The integration offered access to capital and infrastructure that could extend what had already been a successful model. But the leadership team wanted to protect what made the institutional channel distinct. Osaic’s financial-institution business is led with a practical rule: scale only works if clients still feel like they are working with a small, attentive partner. That idea shaped how the firm built its service structure. Instead of folding the bank and credit union business into its broader advisor platform, it invested in separate support and technology. Every interaction, from the back office to the field, connects to people who work exclusively with financial institutions. “When someone from a branch calls, they’re speaking with people who understand their world,” Amarante explains. “They know what it’s like to sit in a branch or work with a commercial lender.” The relationship management group, a cornerstone of the model, focuses on helping institutions plan three, five, and seven years out. These teams bring business-planning expertise, marketing strategy, and digital campaign design, acting as an extension of each partner’s internal management team. Amarante calls them “the think tank,” providing the intellectual capital to help banks and credit unions anticipate what’s next. The approach has helped drive meaningful growth. The institutional business expanded by 38 percent in one year and more than 32 percent the next, figures that reflect both advisor productivity and deeper institutional engagement. Retention has held at nearly 95 percent. “If we lose an institution, it’s almost always because they were acquired by a larger firm that already had a broker-dealer,” Amarante says. He attributes that loyalty to consistency. “We are not a vendor,” he says. “We are a partner. That is how we treat every institution we work with.” Culture plays a major role in that consistency. Amarante often compares the organization to a basketball team that knows each other’s next move.

That structure gives both advisors and their institutions a shared view of the client relationship, powering advisor productivity and enabling opportunity for growth. Branch staff can see deposits, loans, and investments in one place, while the advisor sees every financial touchpoint in context. It is a model built for transparency, allowing a banker or lender to recognize when a client’s financial life is ready for a planning conversation. Amarante says that connection between banking data and wealth advice is the real differentiator. The firm’s focus on CRM is not new, but its application within the bank channel is distinctive. Osaic’s system helps institutions use the data they already possess to identify where clients are in their financial lives and match them with the appropriate service, from lending to retirement planning at the right time. The opportunity is substantial. Across the industry, only about 15 to 18 percent of bank or credit union customers use investment services. “That means more than 80 percent of clients in most institutions haven’t connected to advice yet,” he says. “That’s where the next decade of growth will come from. If firms don’t have CRM at the core of their business, they’re already missing the boat.”

The next decade for banks and credit unions As Amarante sees it, the future of the channel will be defined by how well institutions integrate deposits, lending, and advice into one cohesive experience. He believes community and regional institutions, in particular, are positioned to succeed. “When I first moved into this business, people told me there’d only be four banks left by 2000,” he says. “Decades later, there are still about 10,000 financial institutions. There will always be a place for community and regional players.” Amarante expects the distinction between banks and credit unions to narrow further. “Both channels are moving in the same direction,” he says. “They’re becoming more alike in how they approach advice and in how clients experience financial planning.” That convergence, he adds, will not erase local identity. Despite ongoing consolidation, Amarante believes community-oriented and super-regional institutions will remain essential to the financial ecosystem. Their advantage lies in proximity and trust, the ability to pair local relationships with the resources of a larger platform. Osaic’s approach reflects that balance. Each quarter, the firm surveys its institutional partners on service, training, and technology, following up directly when issues arise. Many of its most effective improvements, Amarante notes, have come from those conversations, whether through better training or from entirely new ideas suggested by clients. The challenge, in Amarante’s view, will be sustaining that sense of closeness as technology accelerates and margins tighten. AI and predictive analytics will help institutions deliver more relevant advice, but culture will determine whether that advice feels personal. “AI and automation will help everyone see the same signals,” he says. “The difference will be who interprets them best, who applies judgment in a way that actually improves a client’s outcome and ultimately enhances their lives and legacies.” “Scale only works if it still feels personal,” he says. “The firms that can keep that balance will define what advice looks like for the next generation.”

Spotlight

Data at the core Technology in Osaic’s institutional business is not just a delivery tool. It is designed to mirror how banks and credit unions operate − integrating client data, compliance processes, and advisor workflow into one system that speaks the same language as the institution’s core banking technology. At the center of that system is a purpose-built CRM that acts less like a contact database and more like an operating hub. Every client interaction, account update, and service request flows through it.

Osaic Institutions, Inc., a subsidiary of Osaic Holdings, Inc., is focused on the institution channel. Osaic Institutions’ mission is to support the strategic role that bank and credit union investment programs can play in the lives of their clients and members. Cultivating a spirit of community and partnership, Osaic Institutions champions the enduring value of financial institutions, investment programs and financial professionals. For more information, visit www.osaic.com/institutions.

Company Profile

270+

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

$800bn+

ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT

$8.5bn

YEAR-TO-DATE CLOSINGS

$47bn

ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT

95%

RETENTION RATE

QUICK FACTS

Over 30 years of wealth management industry experience

Tenure at current position

Was president and CEO of Infinex Financial Holdings for 26 years

BAsed In

Based in Dorset, Vermont

Stephen Amarante

Executive Vice President, Osaic Institutions

With only 15% of bank clients using investment services, Stephen Amarante sees sustained growth for programs that prioritize data-driven action over being the biggest player

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“More than 80 percent of clients in most institutions haven’t connected to advice yet. That’s where the next decade of growth will come from”

Stephen Amarante, Osaic Institutions

“We are not a vendor. We are a partner. That is how we treat every institution we work with”

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Published December 1, 2025

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