It has been a very interesting few months for Cheryl Nash and her team at Tegra118. As recently as the beginning of this year, she ran what was then the Investment Services unit of Fiserv. Then, Motive Partners, a specialist private equity firm focused on technology-enabled business and financial services companies, announced transaction with Fiserv , Inc. a global provider of payments and financial services technology solutions, under which Motive Partners acquired a majority interest in the Investment Services business of Fiserv . Fiserv retained a 40% equity interest in the business.
The new, independent company was rechristened Tegra118, with Cheryl Nash as CEO. The closing of that deal remains crystal clear in my mind because it happened during the 2020 T3 Advisor Conference. On February 18th, I visited the Fiserv Investment Services booth in the exhibit hall. When I visited the same booth the following day, it was rebranded at Tegra118.
Although the Tegra118 name might initially sound unusual to company outsiders, according to Nash, the name is a bold declaration of the company’s integrated platform, fresh perspective, and forward-thinking approach to delivering client-centric solutions. Tegra stands for Integrity and Integration. The ‘T’ stands tall in ‘Tegra’ representing the company’s rich, proud heritage and its grounded stable foundation. “Tegra” speaks to integrated, seamless technology and the “integrity” of the company’s mission to redefine how people interact with, manage, and grow their wealth. “118” reflects the number of elements in the universe and the totality and flexibility of Tegra118’s solutions that provide clients with ultimate choice and control over their platform.
Here are some of excerpts from my conversation with Cheryl Nash:
T3: Cheryl, Tegra118 and its predecessor Fiserv are not new to WealthTech, but not all advisors are familiar with your brand. Can you tell us a little bit about Tegra118?
Nash: Our firm has been serving the financial community for over 30 years. We were originally part of CheckFree, then Fiserv . Motive Partners is now the majority shareholder in Tegra118, although Fiserv continues to hold a minority interest in the firm.
T3: Who are your clients?
Nash: Our sweet spot is independent broker/dealers. We also serve wirehouses and we see opportunities to serve RIA aggregators as well.
T3: What services do you provide?
Nash: We provide technology that powers some of the TAMPs in the industry. We have over 115 asset managers on our platform. To be clear, we are not a TAMP, we are the technology that powers TAMPs. We provide technology for trading, rebalancing, performance reporting and financial planning tools.
T3: Where do you see opportunities for Tegra118 going forward?
Nash: Traditionally, we have provided middle/back office technologies, but a number of firms we deal with are looking for help with front end technologies as well. We think there is an opportunity to help existing clients in this area.
T3: Let’s talk about leadership for a moment. You assume the role of CEO of this new entity, and almost immediately, the world gets turned upside down with the coronavirus. What’s it been like assuming a CEO role in this environment?
Nash: It’s a great time to be a leader. During times like these, leadership matters. You can really make a difference!
T3: What can you tell us about Motive Partners and your relationship with them?
Nash: Often, when private equity firms invest, they look to trim costs. That is not the case here. Motive invested in us because they want to grow the business.
T3: Can you be a bit more specific?
Nash: Now that we are a separate company, we are going to focus on value creation. We’ve done a virtual road show. We think the environment coming out of this situation is going to be different than it was in the past. We are trying to determine where we can add the most value. In some areas we will partner to add value. In others, we will acquire. We also have an initiative to start a co-creation lab where we can co-create with clients to deliver the solutions they need to grow their businesses.
T3: Thank you Cheryl.