Delivering on our Mission

Last year was an unprecedented year marked by uncertainty and challenges—millions of lives lost, record-high unemployment, social unrest, and political divide. 2020 changed how we worked, lived and interacted with one another. It tested our resolve and our ability to trust. At the same time, we can take some comfort in knowing that in many ways people around the world came together to confront these shared challenges. It was remarkable to witness our associates and our advisors doing just that—helping investors at a time when financial advice was more crucial than ever.

We are proud that during this extraordinary time, our team of over 700 dedicated associates continued to deliver on our commitments and make a positive difference for all our stakeholders.

Starting with advisors, we helped them stay connected by delivering on our three strategic pillars.

• Fully integrated and compelling technology: As the global pandemic proved, technology and a digital experience has become core to our everyday interactions. For the full year, we invested $50 million in the development of technology and in our dedicated technology team. We built and enhanced tools to empower advisors to clearly demonstrate how investments align with their clients’ goals, risks and financial dreams.
• Personalized and scalable service: This is where we shine for our clients, particularly last year when we were able to maintain outstanding support through a period of high disruption. We built stronger relationships with our advisors in the virtual world, hosting over 530 webinars and creating thought leadership that helped inform, educate and stay connected. Through increased sales and marketing outreach, our sales activity almost doubled in 2020 when compared to 2019.
• Curated investment platform: Lastly, we expanded our offering to meet the evolving needs of advisors and their clients. Throughout the year, we added three fixed income solutions to increase diversification, enhanced access to liquidity with an improved securities backed line of credit offering and expanded our solutions for high-net-worth investors with customized portfolios and wealth planning expertise.

I’m proud that in such a challenging year, our client satisfaction improved. Our net promoter score increased by five points from the prior year to a score of 64.

When our advisors can count on effective technology, high-impact support, and robust solutions, investors do better. AssetMark advisors helped over 186,000 investor households navigate uncertainty and get closer to achieving their financial dreams.

Throughout the year, we also invested in our associates. We increased training hours and enhanced learning and development programs to ensure professional and personal development. As part of our commitment to increasing diversity and inclusion, we launched Respect at AssetMark with the goal of bringing new, diverse talent into the financial services industry, so that the talent we (and our industry) attract results in workforces that are as vibrant as the communities we serve.

We also delivered on our commitment to shareholders by focusing on improved business fundamentals such that by the end of 2020 AssetMark was a higher revenue, better margin and more profitable business than it was in 2019. This can be seen by

• Platform assets grew 21% to $75 billion, a record level in AssetMark’s history.
• We maintained healthy, organic growth, generating $5.5 billion in net flows.
• Total revenues grew 3% to $432 million, despite volatile markets and a low interest rate environment.
• We delivered strong profitability, expanding adjusted net income margin by 110 basis points, while continuing to invest in our business.

We believe that focusing on our mission while delivering strong fundamentals will generate shareholder value over time.

At AssetMark, we’re dedicated to making a difference in our communities. We have supported charitable giving for more than 20 years and each year, we aim to donate at least one percent of our profits to support causes that positively impact our industry and our communities. We believe giving back is the right thing to do.

In 2020, we came together to show our commitment to our mission through our culture and values of heart, integrity, excellence and respect. In the midst of the pandemic, we found new ways to give back. We delivered meals to seniors, fed the homeless, made and donated face masks, fostered animals impacted by the fires in California, and stepped our way in support of children’s health care, cancer prevention, food banks, wounded veterans, and the hearing impaired. To increase diversity and inclusion in the financial services industry, we’re proud to support the charities selected by our newly created Employee Resource Groups, which empower women, people of color, and the LGBTQ+ community.

We are innovating and investing in the business to continue to be a leading wealth management technology platform and to create long-term value for all our stakeholders. In the year ahead, we are focused on transforming the advisor experience by expanding on the foundation we have built over the past few years. Our key initiatives include:

• Enhancing advisor value: We are enhancing our suite of digital solutions and outsourcing services, while continuing to build a comprehensive financial wellness program, so that our advisors can continue to engage in meaningful conversations and build deeper client relationships.
• Supporting underserved advisors: AssetMark Institutional (AMI) levels the playing field for underserved Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) to help them compete with a fully assembled, holistic suite of solutions built specifically for them. Our program helps scale their businesses to drive enterprise growth and value through the right set of products, operational support, technology and community resources.
• Investing in infrastructure: We are strengthening our back-office capabilities, security and trading systems to support our future growth and the growth of our advisors.

Trust is hard earned, but easily lost. Investors have trusted our advisors to help them make sense of uncertainty and keep them focused on their financial goals. Our advisors, in turn, have trusted us to help them manage and grow their businesses. We continue to work to deliver on our commitments to our advisors, investors, associates and shareholders. In addition, we never rest in our pursuit to attract new advisors, to anticipate emerging investor needs and to expand our services where we can have the most impact.

We remain committed to a mission-driven, client-focused culture. AssetMark is a partner that you can depend on to deliver even when times are difficult. We embrace the opportunities offered in both good times and bad. I am proud of all the hard work and dedication demonstrated by our people. I am inspired by all of you and energized by the opportunities ahead. Together we make a difference.

Thank you for continuing to believe in AssetMark.

Natalie Wolfsen
Chief Executive Officer