55ip expands unified managed account offering for RIAs, adding model portfolios tied to BlackRock and J.P. Morgan

55ip, a tax-smart investment technology platform, said on Oct. 20, 2026 that it is expanding its unified managed account, or UMA, capabilities for the registered investment adviser, or RIA, channel. A UMA generally allows an RIA to manage client assets across one or more underlying holdings through a single account structure, which can be used to support portfolio construction and ongoing tax management. 55ip’s announcement frames the change as an extension of its UMA offering into a wider set of advisory workflows.

The company said the RIA-focused offering begins with a set of model portfolios, but did not provide detailed descriptions of the specific strategies, holdings, or tax-management mechanisms in the material available. “Tax-smart” is used in the company’s characterization of its platform, but the announcement did not break out the approach, methodology, or performance or tax-loss harvesting claims in the information provided for this review.

55ip also said the initial offering includes model portfolios connected to two major asset managers: J.P. Morgan Asset Management and BlackRock. The announcement did not specify the number of models, the account minimums, or how the models are selected, customized, or implemented at the RIA level, beyond naming the partner firms.

For BlackRock, the move comes as RIAs remain a key distribution channel for diversified managers, particularly as advisers seek tools that can scale multi-client portfolio operations without sacrificing customization and tax considerations. BlackRock, which is publicly traded under the ticker BLK, is a frequent supplier of index-based and active model components across adviser ecosystems, though the announcement did not state which specific BlackRock products or index strategies are being wrapped into the UMA framework.

J.P. Morgan Asset Management is similarly identified as a partner for the initial models. The announcement did not disclose whether the included models come from a particular lineup (for example, active strategies versus factor or index approaches), nor did it describe whether the models are intended for taxable accounts, retirement accounts, or both. That gap matters because UMAs are often implemented differently depending on account type and tax status.

The announcement did not provide financial terms, such as whether 55ip receives platform fees, revenue shares, or other compensation tied to assets deployed through the UMA program. It also did not specify the rollout timeline beyond “initial offering,” nor did it state what geographic markets or RIA firms are included at launch.

For advisers and clients, UMAs can be attractive because they centralize portfolio management and reporting while potentially enabling more consistent handling of tax events across the underlying holdings. However, the practical value depends heavily on implementation details that were not included here, including trade-level mechanics, tax-lot selection, and how model changes flow through to live accounts.

What to watch next is whether 55ip and its asset-management partners publish additional documentation describing the model portfolios, such as strategy objectives, risk parameters, account eligibility, and the operational process for rebalancing and tax event handling within the UMA structure. Those details will determine how quickly advisers can operationalize the offering and what constraints, if any, apply to different client situations.