RIAs and wealth management firms in the US run one of three core platforms for client relationship management, portfolio reporting, and investor operations: Redtail CRM, Orion Advisor Technology, or Backstop Solutions. Each handles the baseline: contact management, basic portfolio views, document storage, calendar integration. None of them handle the three problems wealth management teams consistently report: workflow automation that can't handle the complex branching logic advisory practices need, data fragmentation between portfolio analytics systems and client-facing portals, and reporting that forces operations teams back into Excel for the views clients and investors actually request. Those gaps create manual work that scales linearly with AUM growth — and manual work is where compliance errors happen. This is the gap map: what each platform does, where it stops, and what custom software fills the space.
What platforms do RIAs and wealth management firms actually run?
The wealth management technology market splits by firm size and investor type. Redtail CRM serves independent financial advisors and RIAs — roughly half of all advisory firms in the US use Redtail, making it the most widely adopted CRM in the independent advisor channel. Founded in 2003 and now part of Orion Advisor Solutions, Redtail handles contact management, workflow automation, calendar syncing, and basic reporting for advisor practices managing $50M–$2B in AUM. Orion Advisor Technology serves mid-to-large RIAs and enterprise wealth management firms — companies that need portfolio accounting, performance reporting, trading, and compliance in a unified platform. With 400+ G2 reviews and a data layer (Denali) designed to unify fragmented advisor data, Orion targets firms that have outgrown point solutions. Backstop Solutions serves hedge funds, private equity firms, fund-of-funds, and institutional allocators — organisations that need investor CRM, fundraising pipeline management, research management, and LP reporting in a single platform.
| Platform | Primary Users | G2 Rating | Reviews | Add-On Ecosystem |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redtail CRM | Independent financial advisors, small-to-mid RIAs | 4.0/5 | G2 + Capterra | Small (Orion ecosystem) |
| Orion Advisor Technology | Mid-to-large RIAs, enterprise wealth management | 4.4/5 | 400+ | Medium |
| Backstop Solutions | Hedge funds, PE firms, fund-of-funds, institutional allocators | 3.9/5 | Capterra + G2 | None |
The ecosystem column is the signal. Orion has a growing integration ecosystem through its Denali data layer and Orion Connect marketplace, but niche workflow and reporting add-ons for specific advisory practice types are underserved. Redtail benefits from the Orion ecosystem but its own add-on options are limited. Backstop Solutions has no meaningful third-party add-on marketplace. If the platform doesn't do what your wealth management team needs, you're building workarounds in Excel, paying for vendor professional services, or building custom software.
What are the three gaps every wealth management platform leaves open?
Three gaps show up across all three platforms, regardless of firm size or investor type.
First: workflow automation that hits a ceiling quickly. Redtail's workflow automation handles basic repeatable processes — client onboarding, annual review scheduling, account opening checklists — but can't handle complex branching logic. Reviewers describe it as "decent but basic" and "functional but not flashy." Workflows are described as "clunky for automations." For advisory practices that need conditional workflows (if client AUM exceeds $1M, route to senior advisor; if beneficiary designation is missing, trigger compliance review), Redtail's automation stops short. Orion's workflow capabilities are stronger but focused on trading and rebalancing operations, not client service workflows. Backstop has no meaningful workflow automation for investor relations processes.
Second: data fragmentation between systems. Orion users report that "data isn't cohesively displayed throughout the entire ecosystem — data in one area such as Portfolio Audit doesn't show up in the Client portal." Supplemental data like beneficiaries or product underlying data doesn't surface in the firm-level or client-facing views where advisors and clients need it. Orion acknowledges this with its Denali data layer — designed to normalise data across Orion, Redtail, custodians, and non-Orion sources — but Denali is still rolling out and many firms run with fragmented views today. Backstop has limited integration between contact data and account data. Redtail's data lives in its own silo unless connected to Orion.
Third: reporting and client-facing output that requires Excel. Backstop's reporting is described as "cumbersome and slow" with custom reporting that is "not intuitive." The Excel Toolkit and Excel add-ins crash occasionally. Users can't customise performance review sheets or pitch decks within the platform. Redtail's reporting is basic — the platform is less flexible when it comes to "deep customization of fields, reports, or complex workflow automation." Orion's client portal has specific pain points: the Gain/Loss page is described as "clunky," cost basis information lacks detail, and older clients "complain about having to scroll left and right through a box that takes up half the screen." The pattern: every platform stores financial data, but producing the client-facing and investor-facing views wealth management teams need happens in Excel, PowerPoint, or a parallel system.
Why can't Redtail CRM automate the workflows financial advisors actually run?
Redtail CRM has a 4.0/5 G2 rating and is used by roughly half of all independent advisory firms in the US — the most widely adopted CRM in the RIA channel. The platform handles contact management, basic workflow automation, calendar syncing, and document management. Users praise the advisor-specific design: Redtail was built for financial advisors from the start, not adapted from a generic CRM. But the automation ceiling, dated interface, and integration friction are the documented failure points.
Workflow automation in Redtail works for simple, repeatable processes. Client onboarding checklists. Annual review reminders. Account opening steps. But reviewers are direct about the limits: automation is "decent but basic — don't expect deep automation or complex branching logic." Workflows are "clunky for automations, and calendar integration is a hassle." For an advisory practice with 200+ clients across multiple service tiers, conditional workflows are not a nice-to-have — they're how the practice scales without adding headcount. When a client hits a life event (inheritance, retirement, divorce), the service response should trigger automatically based on the client's tier, portfolio complexity, and advisor assignment. Redtail can't do this.
Other documented pain: the interface requires too many clicks for basic navigation. Outlook calendar sync is unreliable. The mobile app is limited. Training resources require significant investment — some features require "strong tech-savvy ability or an investment in Redtail University." AI features are limited to communication assistance, lagging behind competitors like Wealthbox which offer AI-powered meeting summaries and smart task creation. Post-onboarding support response times are slow.
Redtail's ecosystem is limited to the Orion integration. The highest-value custom build: a workflow automation engine that adds conditional branching, multi-path routing, and event-triggered service responses on top of Redtail's contact data — turning the basic checklist system into an intelligent practice management layer. The second: an Outlook and calendar sync module that replaces the unreliable native integration.
Why doesn't Orion Portfolio Audit data show up in the client portal?
Orion Advisor Technology has a 4.4/5 G2 rating with 400+ reviews — the largest review base in this cluster. It serves mid-to-large RIAs and enterprise wealth management firms with portfolio accounting, performance reporting, trading, compliance, and client portal capabilities. The platform is the most comprehensive in the independent advisor space. But the data fragmentation between modules and client portal limitations are the documented failure points.
The core complaint is specific: data in Portfolio Audit doesn't show up in the Client portal. Supplemental data — beneficiaries, product underlying data, account-level details — exists in the system but doesn't surface in the client-facing views. For an advisor meeting with a client, this means switching between internal portfolio tools and the client portal, or exporting data to build a consolidated view. For the client logging into their portal, it means seeing an incomplete picture of their financial life — which erodes the trust the advisor relationship is built on.
The client portal has specific usability complaints. The Gain/Loss page is described as "clunky" with users needing to scroll to see everything within a table. Cost basis information lacks detail. Navigation is tough for older, less tech-savvy clients who "complain about having to scroll left and right through a box that takes up half the screen." For firms competing on client experience — and every RIA competes on client experience — a portal that frustrates clients defeats its purpose.
Orion acknowledges the fragmentation problem. The Denali data layer is designed to pull data from Orion, Redtail, custodians, CRMs, and non-Orion sources and normalise it without manual cleanup. But Denali is still in rollout, and many firms operate with fragmented data views today. The highest-value custom build: a unified client portal that surfaces portfolio data, account details, beneficiary information, and performance views in a single interface — pulling from Orion's data via API and presenting it in a format clients can actually navigate. The second: an advisor dashboard that consolidates the internal data Orion fragments across modules into a single pre-meeting view.
Why do hedge fund teams complain about Backstop Solutions most?
Backstop Solutions has a 3.9/5 G2 rating and serves hedge funds, private equity firms, fund-of-funds, and institutional allocators. The platform handles investor CRM, fundraising pipeline management, research management, and portfolio analytics. It's the specialised platform for alternative investment firms. The dated UI, reporting limitations, and Excel dependency are the documented failure points.
The UI is described as dated. "Lack of flexibility in the UI" is a recurring complaint. Navigation is inconsistent, layouts are less intuitive than modern SaaS products, and mobile responsiveness is limited. For investment teams that spend hours daily in the platform tracking investor relationships and researching managers, a dated interface isn't cosmetic — it's a productivity drain.
Reporting is described as "cumbersome and slow." Custom reporting is "not intuitive" and "locating specific charts and data sets can sometimes be difficult." Users can't customise their performance review sheets or pitch decks within the platform. The Excel Toolkit — a core feature for many Backstop users — is described as taking significant time to master, and the Excel and Outlook add-ins crash occasionally. For hedge fund teams preparing investor presentations and due diligence responses, the path from Backstop data to investor-ready output goes through Excel — which means manual formatting, version control problems, and data that may not reflect the latest portfolio state.
Backstop has no add-on ecosystem. Limited integration between contact data and account data compounds the reporting problem — investor relationship context doesn't flow into portfolio views. The highest-value custom build: a reporting and presentation layer that produces investor-ready performance views, pitch decks, and due diligence responses directly from Backstop data without the Excel intermediate step. The second: a unified investor portal that combines relationship history, portfolio data, and document management in a single view.
What custom software have wealth management firms actually built?
| Build Type | What It Does | Platforms | Typical Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Workflow automation engine | Conditional branching, multi-path routing, and event-triggered service responses — turns basic checklists into intelligent practice management | Redtail CRM | 10–14 weeks |
| Unified client portal | Surfaces portfolio data, account details, beneficiary information, and performance views in a single interface — replaces the fragmented native portal experience | Orion Advisor | 12–18 weeks |
| Investor reporting and presentation layer | Produces investor-ready performance views, pitch decks, and due diligence responses directly from platform data — eliminates the Excel intermediate step | Backstop Solutions | 10–16 weeks |
| Advisor pre-meeting dashboard | Consolidates fragmented internal data into a single view — portfolio, service history, compliance flags, and upcoming action items for each client meeting | Orion, Redtail | 8–12 weeks |
| Calendar and Outlook sync module | Replaces unreliable native calendar integration with reliable two-way sync between CRM, Outlook, and scheduling tools | Redtail CRM | 6–8 weeks |
Each of these exists because the wealth management vendor either built automation for basic use cases (Redtail's checklist workflows), fragments data across modules (Orion's Portfolio Audit vs Client Portal disconnect), or relies on Excel as the output layer (Backstop's reporting and presentation path). Wealth management firms can't switch platforms easily — CRM migrations involve re-entering client relationships, retraining staff, and re-establishing custodial integrations. Custom add-ons that extend the existing platform are the practical alternative.
How do you scope a wealth management platform add-on project?
Three questions determine whether a custom add-on is the right move for a wealth management firm.
First: what's the operational cost of the current manual process? For a practice with 300 clients across three service tiers, manual workflow management means an operations coordinator tracking tasks in spreadsheets, missing follow-ups when advisors are in back-to-back meetings, and service inconsistency across client tiers. For a hedge fund preparing quarterly investor reports in Excel from Backstop data, the cost is measured in days of analyst time per quarter — time that could be spent on investment research instead of data formatting.
Second: what API or data access does the platform provide? Orion has a well-documented API and its Denali data layer is expanding access. Redtail has API capabilities through the Orion ecosystem. Backstop's API access is more limited. The data access pathway determines whether the add-on can read live portfolio data or relies on scheduled exports — which affects how current the client-facing output is.
Third: is the add-on client-facing or internal? Client-facing add-ons (portals, reports, performance views) have a higher design bar — they represent the firm to its clients and investors. Internal add-ons (workflow automation, advisor dashboards, data consolidation) prioritise speed and accuracy. The distinction affects timeline, cost, and the level of design investment required.
Madgeek builds custom software for wealth management firms and RIAs alongside Redtail CRM, Orion Advisor Technology, and Backstop Solutions. Discovery calls are 30 minutes. For related reading: fintech software development and enterprise software development, Redtail CRM workflow problems.
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