--- title: "Horizon’s LSA deal and Creative Planning’s RVK agreement serve different clients | Altss Blog" description: "Horizon’s LSA purchase serves advisory firms; Creative Planning’s RVK agreement targets institutional consulting, with closing expected in January 2027." canonical: "https://altss.com/blog/horizon-lsa-creative-planning-rvk-client-services-deal-status" --- [Altss Research](https://www.linkedin.com/company/altss) 3 min read Updated Oct 22, 2026 Share # Horizon’s LSA deal and Creative Planning’s RVK agreement serve different clients Horizon’s LSA purchase serves advisory firms; Creative Planning’s RVK agreement targets institutional consulting, with closing expected in January 2027. [Back to blog](https://altss.com/blog) Share [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=) [X](https://x.com/intent/tweet?url=&text=Horizon%E2%80%99s%20LSA%20deal%20and%20Creative%20Planning%E2%80%99s%20RVK%20agreement%20serve%20different%20clients) Copy link Horizon’s acquisition of LSA Portfolio Analytics and Creative Planning’s proposed purchase of RVK reach different parts of the investment-distribution chain. LSA serves more than 200 advisory firms with research, analytics and investment models. RVK advises just over 200 institutional clients. Similar customer counts conceal different commercial relationships—and the two September 2026 announcements describe different stages of completion. For an asset manager assessing these businesses, the central question is whom each firm serves and what work it performs. An advisory firm using portfolio support is a different counterparty from a pension or foundation receiving institutional investment advice. Neither client count, by itself, identifies a pool of capital newly delegated to the buyer. ## Horizon buys a service business for advisers [Horizon’s September 22 announcement](https://www.horizoninvestments.com/horizon-announces-acquisition-of-lsa-portfolio-analytics/) reported that its purchase of Missouri-based LSA had completed. It described LSA’s outsourced-CIO offerings as research, portfolio analytics and investment models supporting independent financial advisers. The release did not give an exact legal closing date. LSA’s founders, Brad Kasper and Ryan Kasper, were to join Horizon as directors of account management in Consulting Solutions, reporting to that business’s head, Austin Fitch. The roles place the acquired relationships within a consulting-services operation, alongside Horizon’s wider investment and technology offering. That is more specific than treating the transaction as the purchase of 200 investment portfolios. The announced customer relationships are with advisory firms; the release does not quantify their clients’ aggregate assets or establish which investment decisions those firms delegated. Research and models can inform an adviser’s portfolio work without an acquisition announcement settling the authority attached to each mandate. Horizon also discussed its growing ETF business in the release. Those product assets describe another part of its platform. They are not a disclosed asset balance for LSA’s customers or a measure of consideration paid for the acquisition. ## RVK brings institutional consulting relationships [Creative Planning’s September 15 release](https://creativeplanning.com/press/creative-planning-to-acquire-rvk-expanding-its-institutional-investment-consulting-capabilities/) announced a definitive agreement to acquire RVK. It expected closing in January 2027, subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals. The announcement therefore establishes a proposed combination, rather than a completed Q3 transfer. RVK’s approximately $4.3 trillion in advised assets belongs to a client base including retirement plans, endowments, foundations, insurers and health systems. The release expressly describes its investment consulting as non-discretionary. Its work spans policy, asset allocation, asset-liability studies, manager research and selection, performance measurement, operational diligence and governance. Creative Planning said RVK would continue under its current management team and preserve its institutional consulting focus. The announced rationale is to add research depth and institutional capabilities. The asset figure describes the scale of the client relationships being advised; it does not identify discretionary assets acquired by Creative Planning, transaction consideration or new money available for fund commitments. ## The counterparty follows the work For a fund-distribution team, these are two separate relationship maps. LSA’s services support advisory firms undertaking portfolio construction for their clients. RVK’s research and consulting support institutions with their own investment objectives and governance. A contact serving those adviser businesses occupies a different position from a consultant working directly with an institutional asset owner. Altss’s [consultant and OCIO guide](https://altss.com/blog/investment-consultants-as-gatekeepers-in-2026) explains the broader distinction between recommendations and delegated manager selection. These transactions add a corporate-development dimension: buying the service provider does not, on its own, document a change in a client’s investment mandate. The actionable comparison is therefore the business relationship and its timing. Horizon reported a completed acquisition of adviser-facing services; Creative Planning announced a future combination with an institutional consultant. The announcements can inform which organization and service team to research, while mandate-specific authority and any product-placement decision still require their own evidence. Share this article Share ## Related articles [Image: Top 6 Private-Company Deal-Sourcing Databases Used by PE & VC Firms (2026)](https://altss.com/blog/top-6-private-company-deal-sourcing-databases-used-by-pe-and-vc-firms-2025) Private Markets 18 min read ### [Top 6 Private-Company Deal-Sourcing Databases Used by PE & VC Firms (2026)](https://altss.com/blog/top-6-private-company-deal-sourcing-databases-used-by-pe-and-vc-firms-2025) Updated for 2026: the six platforms buy-side teams actually use—PitchBook, S&P Capital IQ Pro, SourceScrub, Grata, CB Insights, and Altss—with ownership ch [Altss Research](https://www.linkedin.com/company/altss) Oct 6, 2025 [Image: A removable report face for Citadel and a separate reveal shield for HBK illustrate restatement versus later disclosure of historical holdings.](https://altss.com/blog/13f-amendments-restatement-new-holdings-citadel-hbk) Private Markets 4 min read ### [13F amendments: replacing a report or adding previously omitted holdings](https://altss.com/blog/13f-amendments-restatement-new-holdings-citadel-hbk) 13F restatements and additions need different dataset operations. Exact Citadel and HBK filings show reporting-period and entry-count boundaries. [Altss Research](https://www.linkedin.com/company/altss) Oct 15, 2026 [Image: A three-date comparison instrument separates June30 holdings, August14 filing and October15 observation,107days after the holdings date.](https://altss.com/blog/13f-october-2026-june-holdings-q3-reporting-deadline) Private Markets 6 min read ### [13F dates in October 2026: June holdings and the Q3 deadline](https://altss.com/blog/13f-october-2026-june-holdings-q3-reporting-deadline) Original Q2 filings and current SEC guidance explain holdings dates, filing dates, the Q3 deadline and what an October 13F observation can establish. [Altss Research](https://www.linkedin.com/company/altss) Oct 15, 2026 ## Canonical URL https://altss.com/blog/horizon-lsa-creative-planning-rvk-client-services-deal-status