Neil Azous

Neil Azous is a veteran of the institutional research world with strong opinions about the economics of the TAMP (turnkey asset management platform) business , and he doesn't sugarcoat them. As the CIO and founder of Rareview Capital, he runs both a research delivery business and an ETF (RSEE), giving him direct experience with the tension between model delivery, wealth management, and fund management. His candor about the business challenges makes this one of the more honest conversations about what it really takes to build a multi-product investment firm.

The TAMP Business: Honest Math

When Brad asks which side of the business , research delivery or ETF , is more challenging, Neil doesn't hesitate: "The ROI in the TAMP business, as much as I appreciate the growth of that channel, is really horrific." He breaks it down: working for 10 to 30 basis points, potentially cannibalizing other parts of the business, managing regulatory and compliance obligations, ensuring equal treatment across all investor bases (wealth management, TAMP models, and ETF), and then needing dedicated personnel to market to each platform.

"It's not one of these exercises any longer where you go put a model on a platform and somebody's going to buy it," he continues. "Now you have to pay to get onto a platform. And then you have to have a body dedicated to that platform to market to it. And these platforms that have marketplaces now have a thousand-plus investment strategies on there. So the competition in that open architecture is extremely high, but you're generating probably one-third to one-fourth of what you normally would in some other revenue stream."

Brad adds a dimension Neil agrees is critical: the expectation of ongoing support. "When you're driving core model business for an advisor, the expectation , not only for that model to perform, but also for you to provide ongoing support whether it be commentary, webinars, talking to prospects or clients of theirs , can also be a heavy lift." Neil provides what he calls OCIO services , outsourced CIO capabilities , specifically to address this demand, but acknowledges it's a significant resource commitment.

Statistical Edges Over Human-Driven Decisions

Rareview's investment philosophy centers on finding strategies where the statistics favor success, and specifically avoiding strategies that require human judgment at critical moments. "We want to play in favor of the statistics that have higher degrees of success and stay away from the ones that are human-driven or that force you to be in your seat at any given time , knowing that you're never in your seat when it matters the most."

This is a direct reflection of Neil's institutional research background. He spent decades publishing research for institutional clients before starting the fund business, and that analytical rigor carries through. The approach isn't about bold calls or market timing , it's about identifying repeatable statistical patterns and building portfolios that exploit them systematically.

Managing Three Businesses as One

The most interesting thread in the conversation is how Neil manages running research delivery, TAMP models, and an ETF simultaneously. The regulatory requirement to treat all investor bases equally creates operational complexity that most single-product firms never face. Every trade, every rebalance, every communication has to be consistent across all vehicles , "you need to make sure that you're treating all of your investor bases equally along the way."

The Business Owner vs. CIO Tension

Neil articulates a tension that every investment firm founder faces: "As a business owner, but also as a CIO slash portfolio manager, you think about things differently and it's sometimes challenging to separate that. You might have passion about investing and really believe in your product. And then on the flip side as a business owner, you have to weigh the resources that go into certain deliverables and what your ROI is on that."

It's a moment of genuine transparency that most ETF issuer conversations avoid. The romance of being a portfolio manager collides with the reality of running a business , and the TAMP channel, despite its growth, often doesn't pencil out when you account for the full cost of supporting it. Neil's willingness to say this publicly is itself a form of market intelligence for anyone considering a similar multi-channel approach.

What makes this episode particularly valuable is the rare honesty about the economics of building an investment business across multiple distribution channels. Most conversations with fund managers focus on investment philosophy and performance. Neil pulls back the curtain on the business side , the ROI calculations, the resource allocation decisions, the regulatory complexity of treating all investor bases equally across different vehicles. For any fund manager considering launching a TAMP model alongside their ETF, this is required listening. The math often doesn't work the way the growth narrative suggests, and Neil's transparency about that reality is more valuable than another discussion about factor premiums or risk management frameworks.

Key Takeaways

• As the CIO and founder of Rareview Capital, he runs both a research delivery business and an ETF (RSEE), giving him direct experience with the tension between model delivery, wealth management, and fund management.
• He spent decades publishing research for institutional clients before starting the fund business, and that analytical rigor carries through.
• The approach isn't about bold calls or market timing , it's about identifying repeatable statistical patterns and building portfolios that exploit them systematically.
• The most interesting thread in the conversation is how Neil manages running research delivery, TAMP models, and an ETF simultaneously.

Listen to the full conversation on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.