SmartRIA and Greytwist have announced today the acquisition by SmartRIA of Greytwist Data Governance, a solution for vendor due diligence and management, personally identifiable information (PII) data governance and cybersecurity policy and procedures management and oversight. The asset sale includes the Greytwist Data Governance software platform, which will be integrated into the SmartRIA Compliance Management Platform, and other related assets.

The rollout of EU’s GDPR regulation of PII data and recent statements from the SEC together with the near-constant stories of massive data breaches and cyber theft have brought this area of compliance to the forefront of everyone’s awareness. Founded and led by CEO Brad Demeter and CTO Brian Bero in 2018, Greytwist Data Governance is a forward-looking solution that simplifies and standardizes multiple complex aspects of this new and rapidly growing compliance market, including a centralized database of cybersecurity profiles of common vendors and a unique approach to mapping out use of client data across organizations.

“Greytwist Data Governance has taken a bold step forward in standardizing a deeply complex problem. We believe their unique approach to solving the troubling issues around data governance and vendor management combined with SmartRIA’s Compliance Management Platform and our continuing passion for simplifying compliance is a very powerful combination,” said SmartRIA CEO Mac Bartine, who will continue to lead the combined platforms. “We look forward to welcoming aboard the Greytwist Data Governance team and taking special care of their customers to assure an easy transition into SmartRIA care.”

Brian Bero, CTO and co-founder of Greytwist, also commented: “Working with the SmartRIA team, we quickly learned that their market knowledge, development expertise and commitment to customer success matched our vision for Greytwist Data Governance. Joining forces with SmartRIA will accelerate the product roadmap and deliver innovation to our customers in the market. I look forward to working together to support our customers and shared vision of simplifying compliance for investment advisors.”

SmartRIA’s expanded business will serve more than 1,500 wealth management firms ranging in size from one-person shops to large firms with over $15 billion in assets under management.