Flourish launches Flourish Crypto, the turnkey Cryptocurrency access solution custom built for RIAs

By Edlyn Cardoza

Flourish, a platform that provides innovative access to financial products that help RIAs secure their clients’ financial futures, recently announced the launch of Flourish Crypto, a turnkey cryptocurrency investing solution built for registered investment advisers (RIAs) and their clients. Flourish Crypto is built on the Flourish Platform, which is already in use today by over 400 RIAs managing over $1 trillion in combined assets and is offered through Flourish Digital Assets and Paxos Trust Company. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company wholly owns flourish. 

While cryptocurrency has grown into a $2 trillion asset class, solutions for independent advisors have been lacking. More than 80% of financial advisors have fielded crypto inquiries from their clients, while wirehouses, private banks, and online retail trading platforms actively offer competing solutions. 

To help advisors meet this growing demand, Flourish developed Flourish Crypto for independent RIAs and their clients. Flourish Crypto offers advisors secure and compliant access to cryptocurrency investing through a simple, easy-to-use platform, complete with key reporting and planning integrations, trading and transfer flexibility, a co-branded client experience, and advisor-specific compliance resources.

“We’ve heard from countless advisors that they are fielding questions about crypto on a daily basis—and that they don’t have the right solutions to meet this growing client demand or to compete with offerings from retail trading platforms and wirehouses,” said Ben Cruikshank, Head of Flourish. “We listened to our clients and built Flourish Crypto with the flexibility advisors need around integrations, trading, branding, and compliance. Advisors can now keep these assets within their orbit and offer a crypto solution as part of each client’s holistic financial plan.”

Key features of Flourish Crypto include:

• Direct cryptocurrency ownership: Clients can open accounts online in minutes and have the ability to trade bitcoin 24/7 with $100 minimums and unrestricted liquidity—meaning no complex fund structures, added fund fees, or subscription documents. 
• Deeply embedded in the RIA ecosystem: Flourish Crypto integrates with existing systems—such as eMoney Advisor, Orion, and Envestnet | Tamarac—allowing advisors to report or bill on crypto-like any other asset. Advisors can feature their branding, take discretion or offer as client-directed accounts, and have visibility into balances, statements, and 1099-Bs.
• Qualified Custodian: Cryptocurrency execution and custody services for Flourish Crypto accounts are provided by Paxos Trust Company, a highly regulated and audited crypto custodian which Flourish Crypto selected after a rigorous due diligence process. Paxos was the first company to secure a New York Department of Financial Services Trust charter for crypto in 2015, has both SOC1 and SOC2 certifications and custodies more than $12B in assets through relationships with leading FinTechs and Fortune 500 companies. 
• Robust security: Security is a top priority for Flourish Crypto, which combines modern security features such as bank-level encryption and multi-factor authentication with secure custody via Paxos Trust Company.
• Designed for RIA compliance: Flourish Crypto was designed with the compliance needs of RIAs in mind. Through a partnership with Compliance Solutions Strategies, RIAs will have complimentary access to comprehensive compliance resources and expertise, including sample ADV language, risk disclosures, and more.
• White-glove support: Flourish’s NYC-based team is staffed to meet the unique needs of RIAs and their clients, with support available via phone, email, and chat—and an average call wait time of just 32 seconds over the past year.

“We are excited to support the needs of RIAs and their clients through our partnership with Flourish,” said Walter Hessert, Head of Strategy at Paxos. “We’ve built the leading regulated blockchain infrastructure platform with robust security so that our clients have confidence in the safety of their digital assets.”

Flourish was acquired by MassMutual in February 2021 and operates independently from MassMutual’s insurance and wealth management businesses. 

“At MassMutual, we believe that cryptocurrencies are increasingly becoming a part of the financial landscape, both as an investment strategy and technological innovation. In line with our diversified approach to the space, we’ve invested in bitcoin for our own general investment account and are also laying the groundwork for other cryptocurrency offerings and products,” said Gareth Ross, MassMutual’s Head of Enterprise Technology and Experience. “We are excited to support the Flourish team as they make cryptocurrency investing more accessible to independent advisors and their clients.”