Many TAMP providers are grappling with identity, struggling to prove their relevance in a fast-changing industry. Absolute Capital Management, however, stands out from this crowd. For more than 20 years, the firm has delivered advisor-first solutions, pairing scalable technology with a concierge-level service model that has made AbsCap one of the enduring names in the space.
Brenden Gebben, CEO of Absolute Capital, sat down with The Wealth Advisor’s Scott Martin at the 2025 Future Proof Festival in Huntington Beach, California, to discuss how the firm’s approach is giving advisors tools to manage client assets in ways previously thought impossible—particularly in workplace retirement plans.
Helping Advisors Access Workplace Retirement Assets
The Workplace Investment Navigator (W.I.N.) is one of Absolute Capital’s most innovative offerings. The platform allows advisors to manage clients’ workplace retirement accounts—401(k), 403(b), and 457—while the clients are still employed, pre-rollover. Traditionally, those accounts were “held away,” leaving advisors unable to provide direct guidance until a job change or retirement freed the assets.
Gebben has seen firsthand how unfamiliar many advisors are with the option. As the CEO points out, “98% of advisors we talk to, when we say we could help you with your 401(k) for your client, they think we’re trying to sell them a plan versus helping them with a participant in the plan.” That distinction is key. Absolute Capital isn’t positioning advisors as plan consultants—it’s equipping them to directly support their clients’ largest assets without waiting for a liquidity event.
“The super exciting thing about it,” Gebben continues, “is what we usually tell advisors is just looking at the current book of business, the AUM is already sitting there, they’re working for a company. You think you have to wait for the rollover or break in service, but you don’t have to. You can help them now.”
For advisors, that means the ability to provide meaningful advice today while building a foundation for future rollovers. This approach represents both an immediate value-add for the client relationship and a long-term growth strategy.
Integration and Customization
One of Absolute Capital’s strengths lies in its flexibility. Advisors can integrate W.I.N. data directly into their existing dashboards, enabling a holistic client view across taxable, retirement, and other assets. Alternatively, they can leverage AbsCap’s tools for proposal creation, allocation, and reporting.
“The neat thing about the platform is we don’t need client credentials,” Gebben notes. “We pipe right into the client account, we do the trading, and we’re able to bill out the account. And then we have the UMA capability we attach to the account.”
UMA functionality allows advisors to move beyond the cookie-cutter fund menus that dominate most workplace plans. As Gebben points out, many default menus are packed with life-cycle funds that don’t necessarily align with client needs. “We want to try to get away from that,” he says.
The UMA and risk tools together open up a broader design space. Gebben notes that about 75% of the time, Absolute Capital can surpass the limited fund menus typically offered in workplace plans. Instead, advisors can access 350 institutional models across leading asset managers, creating a fee-based UMA within the retirement account itself—with the goal of allowing advisors to sleeve strategies, diversify more effectively, and move clients away from cookie-cutter life-cycle funds.
Risk Alignment Aiming for Better Outcomes
Risk management is another cornerstone of the Absolute Capital platform. Using the firm’s risk proposal tool, advisors can help ensure that portfolio allocations align with targets. The system flags mismatches beyond a threshold, helping advisors avoid allocations that could expose clients to unintended risks.
“Your client will have a risk score,” Gebben explains. “Say it’s a 65, and you put different models together, and it’ll have a risk number for the amalgamation of the models. So, you want to keep it within 5%. Otherwise, they’ll say, Nope, can’t proceed.”
Building these risk-aligned portfolios that comport with clients’ broader financial plans is just one aspect of Absolute Capital’s scalable, customizable approach.
“One thing I really enjoy about my job is I see the accounts come in before they’re allocated, and sometimes you get someone who’s old who is super aggressive or someone who is 32, investing like my grandmother and not aggressive enough,” he says. Advisors have the ability to intervene, address imbalances, and deliver more personalized outcomes—something plan sponsors and consultants typically cannot provide.
Advisor Benefits: Revenue and Relationships
For advisors, the potential benefits of Absolute Capital’s platform extend beyond client satisfaction. W.I.N. enables fee-based billing directly from workplace accounts, potentially creating a steady revenue stream while keeping assets in-plan. Advisor compensation can range up to 1.60%, billed quarterly, ensuring that firms are compensated for the value they deliver.
The revenue arrives without requiring advisors to be the plan’s rep of record or take on compliance obligations associated with plan-level consulting. Instead, they stay squarely focused on the participant relationship—on the client.
That focus may translate into stronger, longer-lasting client relationships. Advisors who guide workplace assets are well-positioned to be the “home team” when rollovers eventually occur. By then, trust and loyalty are already established.
Scaling Advisor Businesses
In addition to W.I.N., Absolute Capital’s Navigator Platform provides access to hundreds of diligenced strategist models and separately managed accounts. Advisors can build customized, risk-adjusted portfolios tailored to client goals, all within a scalable ecosystem designed to free time for growth.
Concierge-level service complements the technology. Absolute Capital works closely with firms to implement solutions, streamline workflows, and provide ongoing support. For Gebben, watching the “light bulb moment” when advisors realize what’s possible with the platform never gets old. “It’s always fun,” he says. “You see that light bulb moment when it all clicks together, and to see that and the look on their face is very entertaining.”
Why Absolute Capital Stands Out
In an increasingly crowded TAMP market, Absolute Capital has clarity of purpose. Its focus on advisor-first solutions, combined with decades of experience, makes it a partner of choice for firms that want both innovation and reliability. While many TAMPs struggle to articulate their value proposition, AbsCap doesn’t waver: Gebbens’ firm is about equipping advisors to manage more assets, deepen client relationships, and scale efficiently.
For this CEO, that mission comes down to enabling advisors to provide better outcomes without unnecessary barriers. The ability to serve clients today while building for tomorrow is exactly why advisors across the country turn to Absolute Capital—and why it continues to be recognized as one of America’s Best TAMPs.
____________________
