In the increasingly sophisticated world of wealth management, financial advisors are being asked to do more, scale faster, and demonstrate greater value—all without compromising client service or performance. SS&C Black Diamond® Wealth Platform, long regarded for its innovation and deep advisor-centric tools, defines what it means to be a modern TAMP partner.
In an interview with The Wealth Advisor’s Scott Martin, John Milne, VP of Black Diamond Product Management at SS&C, discussed the firm’s newly evolved capabilities, including Black Diamond Investment Management Services. This suite of integrated tools brings portfolio construction, model marketplaces, rebalancing, proposals, and managed accounts into a unified experience. By marrying cutting-edge technology with SS&C ALPS Advisors’ investment acumen, Black Diamond has built something more than a platform—it has engineered a scalable, intelligent ecosystem.
Purpose-Built for Advisors Seeking Flexibility and Scale
Black Diamond’s TAMP capabilities weren’t retrofitted—they were intentionally built and shaped by years of advisor feedback and strategic collaboration. The firm’s relationship with SS&C ALPS Advisors began when ALPS joined the family through SS&C’s acquisition of DST Systems in 2018, opening the door for deeper alignment.
Milne says what started as exploratory conversations evolved into a true partnership, grounded in a shared understanding of advisor needs and market gaps. Recognizing the opportunity to combine ALPS’s investment expertise with Black Diamond’s technology and workflow strengths, the two teams co-developed Black Diamond Investment Management Services—a purpose-built solution, not a patchwork of legacy systems.
The partnership has been hands-on from the start. Rather than functioning as traditional integration partners, Black Diamond and ALPS operate as collaborative teams, bringing together ALPS’s experience in building investment products such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and mutual funds with Black Diamond’s strengths in technology and advisor workflow optimization.
“We are working as one collective group,” Milne explains. “It doesn’t feel like an integration partner where you’re trying to schedule calls. We’re working as joint development teams so that we have their expertise and our expertise side by side, which has allowed us to move much faster.”
A Curated Model Marketplace Built for Precision
Many model marketplaces promise breadth, but few offer the kind of deliberate curation and level of support that Black Diamond now delivers. The team initially focused on building a marketplace that provides value without overwhelming users.
Milne describes the development process as one focused on precision: constructing a range of multimanager models through trusted relationships and subjecting each one to rigorous due diligence, just as ALPS does with its proprietary offerings. Unlike sprawling supermarkets of strategies, Black Diamond has created a tailor-made environment where every model has a place.
Advisors also have flexibility in how they engage. They can choose from ALPS-curated models or white-label options designed by larger firms using Black Diamond’s infrastructure. For those needing more guidance, ALPS can act as an outsourced CIO, helping advisors construct, customize, or convert portfolios, including transitioning separately managed accounts into ETFs.
Crucially, the model marketplace is an integral part of the platform, eliminating the need for platform-hopping or duplicate data entry. “Everything is natively built into Black Diamond, so there’s no learning curve,” Milne says. “We are very sensitive to people not having to maintain multiple systems.”
That integration ensures that every action an advisor takes—from model selection to portfolio monitoring—remains frictionless and consistent.
Proposal Generation That Drives Growth
Proposal tools are often afterthoughts in advisory platforms—clunky, outdated, and disconnected from the rest of the ecosystem. At Black Diamond, they are anything but.
The proposal generator built in collaboration with ALPS brings depth and clarity to client conversations. Advisors can now construct data-rich, visually compelling proposals using models built either in-house or through ALPS. “It’s fully embedded within the Black Diamond experience,” says Milne. “We already have a lot of the data there.”
That native integration means advisors don’t need to combine information from disparate systems. The platform can automatically incorporate the necessary variables into a seamless proposal narrative, whether dealing with held-away assets, household structures, or legacy positions.
“We’re trying to tell that rounded story: Here’s where you are, here’s where we’re trying to get you to,” Milne says. That includes back testing, portfolio theory, taxes, and fees—all essential to a persuasive pitch to new and existing clients.
The net result is an attractive and actionable proposal tool. It feeds directly into the platform’s powerful rebalancing engine, enabling smooth transitions and eliminating the need for manual implementation.
Managed Accounts That Scale with Confidence
Black Diamond doesn’t stop at helping advisors build and present portfolios—it supports them through every step of implementation, including outsourcing execution via managed accounts. That’s the third leg of the TAMP value proposition, and Black Diamond takes it seriously.
“We’ve tried to make that as seamless as possible on our side,” notes Milne. Once a sub-advisory agreement is signed, advisors can simply opt accounts into the managed program. Black Diamond handles the rest—from capital gain budgets and trade restrictions to feeding the correct data to ALPS.
Importantly, the firm understands that advisors vary in their comfort level with outsourcing. “We’ve seen advisors start with a couple of accounts before moving over a bigger portion of their business,” he shares. While enrollment processes for managed accounts can be tedious on many platforms, often requiring extensive manual entry and multiple verification steps, Black Diamond has focused on minimizing administrative obstacles. Its system streamlines the account transition with automated workflows that reduce the typical barriers advisors encounter when adopting managed solutions. “We’re trying to remove as much friction as possible,” Milne adds.
The ease of adoption is also matched by infrastructure built to scale. “We have—and have continued to invest to make sure we have—the right infrastructure so that for the next hundred clients that come on, we’re not going to be the bottleneck,” explains Milne. That includes leveraging enterprise-grade execution tools within the SS&C ecosystem, such as Eze for trading, a capability that can generate meaningful value through smarter execution.
The message to advisors is that you can delegate without disconnecting. You can control the client experience while benefiting from institutional-level execution and support.
Why It All Matters
Every tool Black Diamond has introduced and every enhancement it has made to its platform are built around one principle: helping advisors grow with efficiency, confidence, and control. From curated models to integrated proposals and scalable managed accounts, the platform’s value lies in its cohesiveness and intentional design.
“Everything starts with our clients,” Milne affirms. “We just want to ensure that what we have today works for you. If it doesn’t, we’d love to know more about why, and maybe share when we think we can get there.”
The result is a TAMP partner offering sophisticated technology, investment options, and a clear path forward. Whether advisors want to dip their toes in or dive in fully, the platform accommodates their pace. At every step, Black Diamond stands ready with the tools, partnerships, and support needed to deliver better client outcomes and business results for advisors.
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