Best TAMP Platforms for Small RIAs in 2027: 4 Steps

Key Takeaways

• A TAMP suits a small RIA that wants a provider to run models, trading and rebalancing under one contract. A model marketplace or in-house stack suits a firm whose team already trades.

• Most vendors reviewed here do not publish a fee schedule on the pages we could open, so a shortlist needs written quotes on the same basis.

• Compare all-in totals rather than headline rates, because platform, strategist and fund costs stack on top of each other.

• Scope is the main risk. Several vendor pages do not describe billing, reporting or trading, so ask for those in writing.

• Industry rankings reflect advisor survey feedback. They help build a shortlist but do not measure fit for your book.

• Run the cost math on your own assets and staff hours before you sign. The four steps later in this guide show how.

Short answer: choose the operating model first

A turnkey asset management program (TAMP) is an outsourced service in which a provider runs model portfolios and handles trading and rebalancing for an advisor's clients, usually for an asset-based fee. For a small firm, the first decision is whether to outsource investment work at all, because that choice changes the shortlist more than any feature list does. If your principals want to keep investment decisions and only need better trading and billing, a full TAMP buys more than you need, and a platform with built-in trading or a model marketplace may be the simpler fit.

TL;DR: Choose a full TAMP when outsourcing investment work is the goal. Choose a platform or marketplace when you want to keep investment control and need operations handled well. Published price detail is thin across these vendors, so the practical job is to collect comparable quotes and confirm scope in writing.

This guide is an informed buyer's guide built from public vendor pages, trade press and one practitioner guide. We did not open accounts, run any platform or see client data, so each claim traces to a page or article cited inline.

How we evaluated these TAMPs

We weighted five criteria for a small firm. The weights are our judgment rather than a published index, and they set the order of the comparisons that follow.

We reviewed eight products. Seven are profiled as turnkey or platform-based TAMP options, and Altruist is covered as a model marketplace because small firms often compare it against TAMPs. Schwab's managed account pages returned an error during our review, so Schwab is not profiled. Trade-press rankings were used for their stated methodology and for the awards they report, not as proof of performance. Where a vendor did not publish a figure, we say so rather than estimate one.

What TAMP fees look like in 2026

Most TAMP quotes stack several layers, so a headline rate can hide the rest. Platform fee: 0.20% to 0.60% of assets according to XY Planning Network (2026), and the same guide puts strategist or model fees at 0.10% to 1.00%.

The table below lists the ranges that guide gives for each layer and for the in-house alternative. The guide was last updated April 24, 2026.

The guide's worked example assumes $30 million under management at a 0.30% platform-plus-strategist fee, which is $90,000 a year. It estimates the do-it-yourself route at $90,000–$160,000+ a year, according to XY Planning Network (2026). The central trade-off is that outsourcing charges a fee on every dollar, while in-house work costs software and salaried hours whether or not assets grow. The guide frames the choice as "whether they reallocate your time toward higher-value work and faster growth."

Feature matrix: what each vendor publishes

This matrix records what each vendor's own pages, or the trade coverage we opened, say about scope. "Described" means the capability is named. "Not described" means we did not find it on the pages we opened, which is not the same as the vendor lacking it. Treat blank cells as questions for the sales call.

Orion's page is the most complete on operations, which is useful evidence but also means its pricing is the least visible of the full-service options. Amplify, AssetMark and SEI describe investment and practice support more than trading mechanics on the pages we opened. Ask every vendor directly for scope before you assume a feature is included.

Pricing and total cost

Altruist's fee page was checked October 26, 2026. Apart from Altruist's platform fee for connected accounts, none of the pages we opened publishes a TAMP fee schedule, so those rows read Quote-based. Amplify's pricing page returned a not-found error when we checked, so its row is also Quote-based.

Connected-account fee: $1 per account per month after 100 according to Altruist (undated page). Altruist charges that fee only on connected accounts held at other custodians, and its own brokerage accounts are excluded. The first 100 connected accounts are free each month, and the page publishes no model marketplace fee.

Vendor profiles

Each profile separates what the vendor publishes from our reading. Evidence links point to the page or article behind each claim.

AssetMark

Best fit. A firm that wants to outsource some or all investment work and values practice-management help. AssetMark's investment management page describes three routes: use researched third-party or proprietary strategies, build custom solutions, or outsource investment management to AssetMark. Managers are checked quarterly, per AssetMark. Trade press gave AssetMark the Best Overall TAMP distinction for 2025, with rankings based on advisor feedback, according to The Wealth Advisor (2025).

Limitations. The pages we opened do not describe trading, rebalancing, billing or reporting tools, and they publish no minimums or fees. The RIA services page covers operational support, client growth and a peer community, but names no trading or billing tools. Confirm the operations scope in writing.

Implementation. Ask about transition support, which AssetMark lists as a service on its site, and request a written onboarding timeline. None was published on the pages we reviewed.

Envestnet (Tamarac)

Best fit. A firm that wants portfolio management, reporting, a client portal, proposals and unified managed accounts on one platform. Tamarac's page lists trading, rebalancing and compliance, AI-assisted reporting, a proposal tool, UMA automation and CRM. The company says more than 1,800 firms use its TAMP technology, a figure it reports itself.

Evidence and claims. Envestnet estimate: 1,077 hours saved a year according to Envestnet (2026). That estimate assumes five reports per client a year, 55 minutes saved per report and 235 households. Those inputs give 64,625 minutes, or about 1,077 hours. The same release describes a $35 million investment in Tamarac, which the company says is 2.5 times its usual technology spend on the platform.

Limitations. No pricing is published. In 2024, one planner told InvestmentNews that Tamarac is one of the best options but "not the cheapest option," and that trading is "an additional fee, of course." That is one advisor's view from 2024, so confirm it in the quote.

Implementation. Ask for onboarding, data migration and the transition plan in writing. The pages we opened do not describe them.

SEI

Best fit. Independent and hybrid RIAs that want investments, technology, custody and business-growth support under one relationship. SEI's advisor page describes "a total business solution for independent advisors" and reports $8.1 trillion in assets on its wealth platforms, according to SEI (2025).

Limitations. The page does not name a TAMP program and publishes no minimums or fees. Older SEI TAMP figures we found date to 2015, so we do not use them. Because custody is part of the bundle, ask whether custody is required or optional before you sign.

Implementation. The page describes a free-to-start business audit covering eight focus areas. A small firm can request that audit as a low-commitment first step, per SEI.

Orion Portfolio Solutions

Best fit. A firm that wants portfolio accounting, billing, proposals and planning in one stack, especially one already using Redtail CRM. Orion's TAMP page describes trading and rebalancing with tax-intelligent trading across custodians, portfolio accounting, reporting, automated monthly fee billing and Redtail CRM, which it calls fully integrated. Its Advisor as a Portfolio Manager option gives access to more than 2,700 no-load or load-waived funds, according to Orion (2026).

Limitations. Orion publishes no fee figure. Its page says the rate is a basis-point fee on assets that varies with firm size, total AUM and selected services. The Redtail integration is a dependency if you run a different CRM, and the advisor-managed option puts the research on your team.

Implementation. Each firm gets a dedicated Investment Specialist who leads technology setup, investment selection and account transition. The page gives no timeline. Its developer guide describes the household-creation example and says full endpoint documentation sits behind a login, per Orion's developer guide.

GeoWealth

Best fit. RIAs that want a model marketplace and a pricing structure built around accounts rather than only assets. In 2021 coverage, GeoWealth described itself as a hybrid of software and TAMP that charges a per-account fee plus a basis-point fee only on model-portfolio assets. The same article said TAMPs generally charge clients 35 to 50 basis points, according to Institutional Investor (2021). That comparison is GeoWealth's framing and dates from 2021, so treat it as a starting point.

TAMP fee range cited in 2021: 35 to 50 basis points. The company's claim that advisors could save half or more is its own.

Limitations. The pricing page publishes no prices and asks firms to request pricing. Access depends on an arrangement with the client's custodian, and manager-traded SMA models may depend on the custodian too. The page lists Axos, Charles Schwab, Fidelity, Goldman Sachs, Pershing and Raymond James. Confirm your custodian is on that list.

Implementation. Investing requires access to the GeoWealth platform, so onboarding involves the platform and your custodian together. Ask for both timelines in writing.

Amplify

Best fit. A firm that wants a newer TAMP built around advisor-led technology and is comfortable with a platform still building its track record. Amplify scale: more than 655 advisors according to InvestmentNews (2026). The same July 2026 article reports $24.5 billion in assets and says Goldman Sachs Custody Solutions handles account opening for Amplify's new custody layer.

Claims to verify. Amplify's own release says it earned a Best Value special distinction in WealthAdvisor's 2026 guide and a top customer-satisfaction rating in the 2026 T3/Inside Information survey. Both are company-reported.

Limitations. The pricing page we tried returned a not-found error, so no public fee is available. Because the custody arrangement is new, ask how it applies to accounts already held at your current custodian, and request references from firms that use it.

Implementation. Ask Amplify to describe onboarding and account transition in writing. The pages we opened do not state a timeline.

AdvisorEngine Portfolio Solutions

Best fit. Firms already using AdvisorEngine's wealth platform, or considering it, that want the TAMP inside the same system. The March 2026 launch, reported by Pulse 2.0, covers portfolio construction, trading, rebalancing, billing, reporting and client communication. It offers more than 1,500 strategies from over 300 asset management firms, according to Pulse 2.0 (2026).

Limitations. The launch is recent, so the track record is short, and the launch coverage states no minimums or fees. The platform is also the main dependency. If you are not already on AdvisorEngine, the switching cost belongs in the decision.

Implementation. The coverage describes customizable transition rules for onboarding assets, plus tax-loss harvesting and lot-level tracking. Those are the items to test on a reference call.

Run the fee math on your own book

Take a hypothetical firm with $40 million under management that wants to keep investment decisions but outsource trading. At the 0.20%, 0.30% and 0.60% points of the platform-fee range above, the annual fee is $80,000, $120,000 and $240,000, because $40,000,000 × 0.0020 = $80,000, × 0.0030 = $120,000 and × 0.0060 = $240,000. The $80,000 sits below the guide's $90,000 low-end in-house estimate, the $120,000 falls inside the $90,000–$160,000 range, and the $240,000 is above it. If the firm's books sit in Orion, the public developer guide names OrionApi.Portfolio.ClientSave as its example for creating a client, or household, record, so a data-quality check on the household list needs API access before the fee math is trusted.

Check the bill before it reaches your ledger

A proposed US Tech Automations design for fee checks would start when a TAMP's monthly billing export lands in an agreed folder or API endpoint (trigger). It would match each billed household against the firm's CRM household list and the expected rate for its account type (action), then write a variance report listing each household whose billed amount differs from expected by more than a threshold the principal sets (output). Prerequisites are a scheduled export or API access from the TAMP, read access to the CRM and a named reviewer. If a vendor offers only PDF statements, the design needs a parsing step and a manual check first. Human review points are simple: the principal approves every variance before anything reaches the accounting ledger, and the workflow does not change billing or message clients.

Onboarding and model assignment

Onboarding is where manual steps pile up, so a second proposed US Tech Automations design would start when a new client is approved in the proposal tool (trigger). It would create or update the household record in the CRM and attach the model the advisor selected (action), then post a checklist showing custodian transfer status and open items (output). The prerequisites are API or export access to both the TAMP and the CRM, and the vendor must allow model assignment through that route. None of the pages we opened confirms that. Human review points are the advisor confirming the model choice and suitability notes before assignment, and the principal signing off on any transfer that changes a client's holdings.

Build it yourself, buy a TAMP, or configure a workflow

Many small firms will compare a TAMP with stitching the same steps together in Zapier, Make or n8n, or building them in-house. Those tools can support run histories, retries, error branches and audit evidence when they are configured that way. The buyer still owns the design: observability, idempotency so a retry does not double-post a fee, escalation paths, access controls, and maintenance when a vendor changes an export format. A proposed US Tech Automations design could configure the same steps with those controls set up front, though the firm would still own its vendor relationships and data permissions.

Altruist's model marketplace sits between a TAMP and a DIY stack. Its page lists more than 500 models, direct indexing and tax-sensitive rebalancing, and calls the marketplace an alternative to TAMPs at "a fraction of the cost," per Altruist. The same page says these products "may not include all features or services typically offered by other TAMP providers," and it discloses that the advisor quoted in its testimonial was compensated by Altruist.

When NOT to use US Tech Automations. A simpler existing tool wins in three cases. If your custodian already provides trading, rebalancing and billing for the models you use, the extra design work adds little. If you plan to outsource investment decisions to a full TAMP, the TAMP's own operations carry most of the load, and a workflow layer on top mostly duplicates it. If one person reconciles fees in a spreadsheet each month without trouble, a documented checklist is cheaper than any automation.

Four steps to a shortlist

1. Write down what you are outsourcing. List investment decisions, trading, rebalancing, billing, reporting and custody, and mark each as keep or outsource.

2. Request a written fee schedule. Ask for platform, strategist, trading, custody and minimum terms, and ask for an all-in example at your current asset level.

3. Confirm scope and integrations in writing. Get the custodians, CRM and planning tools the vendor supports, and ask which operations it describes but does not perform itself.

4. Run the math, then take reference calls. Compare all-in totals with the in-house range in the cost table, and call two firms of your size about onboarding and billing accuracy.

Who this is for

• A full TAMP fits a firm that wants to outsource investment work and accept an asset-based fee. Candidates include AssetMark, Envestnet (Tamarac), SEI, Orion Portfolio Solutions and Amplify.

• A platform-based TAMP fits a firm that already runs on AdvisorEngine or Orion, or that wants one stack for operations and investments. Candidates include AdvisorEngine Portfolio Solutions and Orion Portfolio Solutions.

• A model marketplace fits a firm with trading capacity that wants models and tax tools without a full outsourcing contract. Candidates include Altruist and GeoWealth.

• Red flags: no written fee schedule before signing; no confirmed support for the custodians you use; operations promised on a sales call but absent from the contract.

Questions small RIA owners ask

Is a TAMP cheaper than running models in-house?

Not automatically. Compare the outsourced fee on your assets with the software and staff hours you would otherwise pay for, using the cost table and the worked example above.

Do I need a TAMP if I already use Orion or AdvisorEngine?

Not necessarily. Both platforms describe trading, rebalancing and billing in their own products, so the real question is whether you also want their investment models or only their operations.

Can a small firm use a model marketplace instead of a TAMP?

Yes, if your team can run trading and monitor managers. Altruist's marketplace is one example, and its own page says these products may not include every TAMP feature.

What should I ask for before I sign?

Ask for a written fee schedule, the custodians supported, the minimums, and a list of operations the vendor performs itself versus through partners.

Should I choose the highest-rated TAMP?

Not on rating alone. The Wealth Advisor's rankings are built on advisor feedback, so use them to build a shortlist, then test scope, fees and fit for your book.

Where to go from here

A TAMP is an operating decision as much as an investment one, so start with the scope list and the written fee schedule rather than the brand. To see how the fee-check and onboarding designs above would be configured, see how US Tech Automations configures this for a firm like yours, starting from the prerequisites and review points described here.